Soggy Sunday

The weather forecasters here in France are pretty good because the rain they forecast was coming down pretty good about the time I woke up this morning. That meant two days of slogging through wind – and rain – for the riders.

We lost Steve Morabito to back pain Friday. This morning, Yannick Eijssen told me he hadn't slept all night and wasn't starting. And by the end of the day, we only had three guys who finished the race (out of eight). "The Race to the Sun," as they call it, had no sun and lots of guys abandoning. I believe 51 called it quits just today. And there were 19 who hung it up Saturday.

Today's race started and finished in Nice, right along the beach. From the looks of the postcards I purchased, it's really quite a nice place when the sun is shining. When it's not, it is pretty ordinary. The walk from the team parking area to the press room in a hotel was pretty far – about 1.5 kilometers. Unfortunately, I didn't see any signs (see at right) and got a bit turned around. But my savior (besides St. Anthony) was using FourSquare's GPS navigation system. I didn't even know it existed until something (St. Anthony) told me to check for it. Sure enough, a little red arrow appeared on my map, showing me where I was. I would walk about 100 meters in one direction, then check my phone (remember, it was pouring rain) to see if I was going the right way. It really worked out nicely.

At the hotel, I ran into Phil Sheehan. Phil and I first met at the Tour of Britain. He was working for the BBC at the time and I was with Rock Racing. He's now moved on and is working as sort of a media concierge for Team Sky. Actually, for one of Team Sky's sponsors. They're doing something a little revolutionary by catering to the media's every need at races. Need a ride? They'll get you there? Need anything? They'll get it for you. It's a lot like the way the media is treated in Formula 1 – and, in fact, Phil's co-worker is a former PR person from F1. Should be interesting to see how things go. They invited me to a big VIP reception at Paris-Roubaix, so hopefully I can attend and see what's up.

The rest of my Sunday was a bit frantic. I returned to the team hotel – where all the teams had left – with Rik Verbrugghe, just in time to see the final kilometer of the race in Italy. Cadel Evans finished 12th, but was able to take the overall lead. What does that mean for me? Crazy, busy times. Like getting the story out quickly, processing photos quickly, etc. It really was a nice thing, but it also means total chaos.

Thankfully, the internet at the hotel was working great and I was the only guest using it. Yes, the only person staying the night at this huge hotel. It was very strange.

Notes
- I need to lose weight. Seriously. At these stage races, the food is pretty good. And there's always food around. That's not a good thing.

- The lights in the hallways of the hotel are activated by motion sensors. When you get off the elevator, it's completely dark until you step out into the hallway. Same goes for leaving your room. I wanted to get video of it, but had a bunch of other things to do.

- I sold some autograph cards at the race today, but not as many as I would have liked, because of the rain. I understand sales aren't quite as brisk in Italy.