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6th Jacob's Creek Tour Down Under - 2.3
Australia, January 20-25, 2004
Rider Diaries
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The Chronicles of Thomas Lövkvist
Nationality: Swedish
Team: FDJeux.com
19 year-old Thomas Lövkvist is a new signing for the successful FDJeux.com team, and has come to Australia to race with the team for the first time. Although not inexperienced with races of the same calibre as the Jacob's Creek Tour Down Under, this is the first time he is starting a 2.3 category race as a part of a first division team.
Stage 5: Saturday Jan 24, Willunga - Willunga , 147 km
Keeping the directeur happy
Good evening,
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Today has been an easy day. Well, perhaps not that easy. Or actually it kind of was. We had an average speed of 45, which is hard of course, but then if you can sit in the bunch you might be off to quite a comfortable ride.
Our job today was to put our friends in a good position for the climb, which we started doing with five kilometres to go. Bernhard Eisel was the first one out, and he really hammered it. After him came Mark Renshaw, and after him I was supposed to take over, only I couldn't! Someone attacked right away at that point, and there was no way I could follow. Quite embarrassing actually.
After that I just found my own way up the climb. My orders had been to ride until the bottom of the climb, and then I was free for the day. I found out later that I was on TV during the stage. Apparently they were filming me as I went back to the car to fetch some bottles. I filled my pockets and my jersey with bidons and went back to the peloton in order to hand them out, only to find the peloton strung out for hundreds of metres. I passed on the first alright, I think it was to Baden, and I got the second one to Mark, but then I looked ahead, only to realise that the front was way up the road, and I had to get out of the saddle and sprint in order to get up there. Marc was happy though, so I must have done something right.
Last night I was awake thinking about this race. It seemed so short at that time, it's almost over. I wouldn't mind if it had lasted a couple of days longer. Then I though that perhaps I should consider myself lucky if I still had those thoughts at the end of the season. Maybe it's me being young and naive again?
I've made a couple of friends during the last days, and it's a bit ironic that I had to go all the way to Australia to get to know Mads Kaggestad who is Norwegian. Actually I first met him on the airport coming here, and we started to talk to each other. He seems to be a good guy.
A report from the last stage will follow tomorrow.
