ALEX DOWSETT

TEAM KATUSHA ALPECIN

So, 12 months with George and Emilia talking to you all about our life in the WorldTour this year. If it’s an exciting read then it means it’s an exciting year which can only be a good thing for us all!

My 2019 campaign kicked off in Australia. Marco Haller, my ‘on the road girlfriend, Chanel’ if you like, and I hatched a plan to head there earlier to acclimatise. Down Under is known for kicking the season off, but also for its extreme heat. It’s common to see temperatures in excess of 40°C, and our Wahoos/Garmin/ SRM etc can clock 50 plus in the middle of a sweaty peloton riding slowly up a hill with no breeze under the searing sun. In 2012 the heat crippled me to the point I was vomiting, experiencing cold sweats, unable to eat and was subsequently rendered somewhat useless for the race. I didn’t want a repeat of this so it made sense to head to Oz a bit earlier this time.

Before the extreme weather protocol was introduced, my favourite anecdote from the TDU was from 2011 when the local horse race deemed it too hot for the horses to race, but the cyclists still took to the start of the stage in 40 plus heat... Make of that what you will. Luckily, this year, we suffered just a couple of horror heat days. Marco’s 2018 was blighted by injury and he was eager to get going. He’s a true racer; there’s nowhere on earth he’d rather be than in the cut and thrust of a road race. The passion he has for it is admirable. He’s like an even hungrier Marco on his comeback - he’s seen his career nearly disappear and I think life on the other side underlined that he belongs in the peloton.

As the first race of the year, it doesn’t matter how fit you are, it’s a shock to the system. The peloton’s accelerations and pace changes are what get you.

It’s the part of our racing armoury that you acquire only after getting a few races under your belt, and this was evident chatting with Adam Blythe on the way home from the Cadel Evans Road Race. Adam’s one of the craftiest and punchiest riders in the peloton, yet he said the hardest race of his Oz campaign was the crit ahead of Tour Down Under, due only to the fact it was race one. I, on the other hand, a selfproclaimed diesel, found it comfortable, borderline easy, up until the final lap. The difference was we’d raced (and won with Marco) the Bay Crits beforehand in Geelong. That first exposure to the accelerations in the bunch was a belting, but it was done and dusted.

Australia was also interesting in other ways. Some riders are immensely fit, but like me, most are still building for the main part of the season. We’re all looking at what other teams do, talking about the miles some are clocking, getting nervous if we’re doing less but still having faith in our own coaching staff’s advice. We got things right. More intervals and efforts in the gap between Down Under and the Cadel Evans race, but fewer hours than some teams. It was comforting to hear that one team, having clocked 20 hours riding in the six-day gap, had been on their hands and knees for the final race while we performed well.

Oh, and Marcel Kittel won in Mallorca. A good start for us! Morale is high within the team!

“As the irst race of the year, it doesn’t matter how it you are, it’s a shock to the system. The peloton’s accelerations and pace changes are what get you”