After Tour de Wallonie I went to San Sebastian and did a good race, which was important for my confidence.Then from there I went to Mallorca for training, and also had time to relax a little bit which was important to fully recover and be ready for Eneco Tour. I always had good weather and could train well, so overall Mallorca was a very useful time leading up to this race. I think I had a good approach to the race even before the last few, so I should be ready to defend as 2013 Champion.
I really like Eneco Tour. The parcours suits my skills. There is, of course, a time trial. But fortunately the parcours is not long at only 9.6 kilometers. I worked a lot also on the time trial discipline, and the added fact that it's shorter will certainly help my chances.
Beyond the time trial, I like this kind of parcours. For example, Stage 5 with the finish in Geraardsbergen, and the day after, those seem to be made for a rider like myself. The climbs aren't too long and are good for riders like me who like the cobblestones and the Classics. We go there with a good team, guys like Tom Boonen and Niki Terpstra who love races like this. The competition level will be high as usual. It goes without saying that we respect everybody, but let me be clear that we are not afraid either. Especially not with the kind of team we have here.
After this race I will fly to La Vuelta and then I won't have much racing time for the rest of the season. Though I'll have some time without races, it gives me a period of time that I can spend with my family. After just being married before Tour de Wallonie, it will be nice to enjoy those moments. For now, I'm looking forward to representing myself, and my team, in this beautiful Czech Champion jersey I am proud to wear.