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Cruz-in' at the Vuelta: Stage 14 and the rest day

By Antonio Cruz, U.S. Postal Service Cycling Team
Published: Sep. 25, 2001

Stage 14

This is longest stage of the Vuelta, with a nice profile to boot. The legs seem to be OK this morning on the way down for breakfast. It's a shame sometimes we are not able to enjoy our surroundings and accommodations to the fullest. We were right on the coastline just south of Valencia. After breakfast it was back to the room to try and squeeze in another half-hour of sleep. On the way over to the race everyone seemed a little quiet. I think we all had today's stage on our minds.

The team meeting was short and to the point: Benoit, Victor and myself in the early breakaways. It was very windy through the neutral that wound through the streets of Valencia. Johan came over the radio several times telling everyone to start at the front including Matt White who was at the back chilling wearing this crazy hat that made him look pretty thug-like.

With the strong cross winds it seemed like the perfect opportunity for a team to hit the front and blow the group apart. No one was up for it so Johan said it was going to be us. The team came to the front one by one and the other teams were starting to look a little nervous. We went for it just past the 30-kilometer mark but with a slight change in direction it became more of a head wind and we were not going fast enough. We tried again and were joined by the guys from Festina and Kelme.

The group split but then regrouped 10 kilometers later. I rolled with a few breakaways and then Benoit was with a rider from Team Relax, and Kelme seemed content with the duo. We headed inland for the feedzone and first climb of the day. I finally recognized some of the roads we were on from where we had our training camp. We started up the 6-kilometer climb with Banesto pulling from the bottom. We had a short descent and immediately started up another climb of 1.5 kilometers. The peloton was one long line of suffering riders.

The road was always twisting up and down with Banesto still putting down the smack. I made it over with the group but was pretty sure that I was gonna have a really hard time for the next climb. I was out of water so I dropped back to the team car and took my two bottles. Johan told me to get to the front because the next climb was soon.

Guys were all over the place as we flew up the road and I finally was joined again by some of my grupetto partners. Benoit and breakaway partner Flecha were still ahead of the peloton by a couple of minutes.

Benoit ended up flatting and was soon caught by the hard chasing group. I made it over the climb with the grupetto. Roberto was a great fourth on the stage with Chechu fifth. Levi was down a bit but still held strong to keep his place with the top ten contenders. I was very content with a stage finish and so ready for a rest day! I think my body hates me right now. Rest Day

The thing I need most today is sleep. I put in a good 10 hours, which was nice. I had a small breakfast and an hour later went out for an 80-kilometer ride. It's amazing how you can go from feeling like you may not be able to walk for a week to somewhat normal again. Another good nights rest and should be ready to repeat the cycle again, but hopefully with the Vuelta under my belt. Hello to everyone at home in the beautiful US of A.

If anyone would like to ask me any questions, e-mail me at vueltacruzing@yahoo.com. I will try to answer as many as possible.

Antonio