TOUR DIARY:TODAY,If I can get in the move and get enough points today, the King of the Mountains jersey would be incredible to pull on

ALL going to plan, I’ll do what I can to get into the breakaway and chase the King of the Mountains jersey. Yesterday’s stage saw a break go all the way to the finish, but the early part of the stage was flat and very fast, so it was always going to be tough for me to get into the move. Today is much better for me, as we have a big climb very soon after the start, and that will give a good platform for a group to go clear. If I’m climbing well, it should be a more straightforward move to get into.

On yesterday’s stage it was pretty evident a break had a good chance to succeed. With today being such a hard stage, and one which will undoubtedly play a part in the final general classification, all the GC guys were sure to be saving themselves.

The wind was behind us for 75 kilometres from the start and we rode it super-fast. On the start line there were 175 guys or something and of those, about 140 wanted to be in the break. In the Tour, it is almost an achievement in itself to get into the move! It was all-out war with high speeds and numerous groups going, being brought back and others attacking again.

It is incredibly difficult to be part of the breakaway and you have to be lucky as well. In the end a big group of 25 guys went and they rode incredibly fast. Our Garmin-Sharp team had two guys in there, David Millar and Dave Zabriskie, and with everyone pulling together, the break really was going fast. To give you an idea of how fast that was, after an hour and a half of racing we had covered an average of 46 kilometres per hour, even though we’d gone up a climb in that time.

Despite that, the break had opened six or seven minutes of a lead on us at that point, so they were really moving.

I ended up taking it quite easy. Because I’ve been sick, I am on antibiotics. My chest felt better, it is clearing and I am coughing a lot less, but I still had some tightness in my chest and my legs were quite sore. Part of that was understandable: after the rest day, you feel worse than if you had kept racing, as your body loses momentum.

My legs were pretty sore and I ended up easing back on the big climb in order to save something for today’s stage. I found a nice little group to ride in with my team-mate Christian Vande Velde. With my eye on today, there was no point in killing myself yesterday to get a top 50 place when I can lose 10 minutes, ride a bit easier on the climbs and lessen the muscle damage.

It is going to be an epic day today so I wanted to save as much as possible for that. There are three very big climbs, starting with the 2000 metre-high Col de la Madeleine, and I think it’s almost certain the break will go on the first climb.

Being in that move is going to be very important for the mountains jersey. Yesterday’s stage winner Thomas Voeckler took over the lead in that competition and has 28 points now. Today there are two hors categorie climbs, which are 25 each, the Col du Mollard with five or 10 points, and then the finish climb of La Toussuire has got 20. There are over 70 points up for grabs so unless Voeckler gets into the break and takes some more, the jersey could definitely change.

If I wake up feeling good, then I’ll try to be a part of the race. While it’s likely the break will be away for a lot of the stage and will gather up many points on those climbs, I’m not sure if it will stay clear until the end. I think it is going to be a really heated battle behind on the GC, and I think they will be riding really hard on the climbs and things could come back together before the finish.

Even so, if I can get in the move and get enough points, the polka dot jersey would be incredible to pull on. And if you get it today, you are going to be wearing it for a few days.

If I am not in the breakaway, I might see how I am in the finish. If it does come down to the general classification guys battling it out there, I might get a bit of leeway as I’m far back in the overall standings. If there is a little bit of cat and mouse being played, the stage win could definitely be an option.

Anyway, we’ll see how things play out. While my legs were sore yesterday, I’m feeling very solid on the bike and I’m pedalling well. My back is also feeling a lot better than it was in recent days; it was stiff after a rider ran into me from behind last week. I’m able to get out of the saddle a lot easier than I had been, which will be important.

Today’s going to be an epic day and everyone is going to suffer a lot, whether they are in the first or the last group. Let’s hope I’m going well again and can do something.