I felt even worse on Friday and I wondered how I would survive the “mountain”-stage in the beautiful countryside around Sancerre. After 20km in the first climb of “Orme aux Loups” I was panting (like my dog Bonnie on a hot summer’s day) and let the bunch ride away taking my own rhythm in order to survive the climbs to come (I knew them all too well from the last years!). On the top of the first hill we were around ten riders, but we caught up more and more exausted fellow riders so that we finished in a big group of around 25 riders at 20’ from the leaders (But I must say that we arrived at the level crossing just when it closed and had to wait a few minutes for a carge-train to pass!).

After a rather sleepless night, I needed 3 cups of coffee to get ready for the last stage. My cold got worse ad worse but as we could still ride for the podium (Tatiana being 4th in the general classification at 10’’), I just served the team until around km 80, I followed attacks, fetched drinks from the car and it was finally one of those attacks I used to followed that cut me off just before the final circuit in St Amand Montrond. I finished in a small group with Ludivine Henrion, who, just like me, had given everything for her leader Johannson. I was proud of my 2 points in the mountain classification which I collected when I was in the lead of the bunch that day. Unfortunatly Tatiana couldn’t improve her place in the general classification, but she did a great race (just like all my other team-mates) and team Fenixs had a great echo on the local press, Sioban Dervan being selected “coup de coeur” by the moto-security and also myself as being part of the big family of this race (since I nearly did it every year since it exists).

Un petit mot en français à tous mes amis et supporteurs du Berry: