<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /?>June 28, 2004 <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /?>

Girona, Spain: I know it's been a while since my last update, so if you have been checking back looking for new news from me, thanks for being patient. I had hoped to have updates up by the first week of every month, but my good intentions have not always been followed by action. The days seem to get shorter this time of year for some reason.

June has been a little hectic. We started out the month in the
Alps previewing the Tour de France climbs. Our training camp finished just in time for the challenging one day Classique des
Alps race, which I decided to sit out, since I had done so much riding in the days proceeding. But it was a successful race for our team, with four Phonak guys in the top 10. My teammate Oscar Pereiro won, which was a big victory for the entire organization.

So we headed to the Dauphine Libere on a high note, which started a day later. My personal goal was to try and test myself as well as some new equipment in the prologue and in the time trial on
Mt.
Ventoux. Both outings went okay, and I was happy to see my form was where it needed to be, if not a little ahead of schedule. It's difficult to come down off the spring season and then try and peak again for the Tour. Most guys don't want to show up for the prologue with 100% of their firing power. It's better to find the final percentage of your form during the race, since it's so long. It makes sense to try and get stronger as the race progresses. Otherwise, you will be suffering by the final week. That's my plan - 90-95% at the start and 100% by the last week. I'll let you know how it goes.

This year's Tour is almost two races. The first ten days and second ten days are totally different. With all the serious climbing stacked at the end of the race, the final stages promise to be a bit of a suffer-fest. There are a number of favorites given the way the course has been designed. So the race could be wide-open going into the final week. As a fan, I can't remember ever looking forward to a Tour de France as much as I am this year. As I rider, well, lets just say, I'm glad most of my teeth are already capped. I think everyone entering the race this year knows they are going to be enduring a significant amount of pain. But I'm not going to dwell on that until I have to.

If you can't make it to the race, but want to see some of the suffering live and on the big screen, the Tyler Hamilton Foundation, in conjunction with Regal Cinemedia and OLN will be hosting a live showing of Stage 13, which finishes atop Plateau de Beille in the
Pyrenees. This should be a great stage to see,