How do our riders dress for a race? What do they eat and what do they take with them during the race? You can discover all these from our newest blog series.
With the forecast for Sunday, it's difficult to decide what to wear. This time of the year it's always a challenge, but for Liège-Bastogne-Liège, if it's cold and raining as they say, you can't wear enough, because even if you are warm in the start, after six hours on the road you feel cold. Then, even after you made a decision, it's still a challenge not to be too hot, so you really got to get things right before the start.
During such a race of attrition, you burn a lot of calories and you sweat a lot, which means you still have to drink, despite the low temperatures Many people keep forgetting this, but you have to concentrate on drinking all the time. It's important to get calories in such a tough race, from the bottles and from the food. I like the rice cakes and the Etixx bars, which are very easy to eat – especially in the cold, when you have to eat as fast as possible – and give you the energy you need to overcome such an ordeal.
Liège-Bastogne-Liège is one of my favourite races in the calendar, I like the climbs and the fact that you have to play a little bit of poker to come out on top. This year, besides the tough hills, the weather could play a huge role in the outcome. The rain and cold will test the riders for sure, and together with the course could make the peloton race more conservatively. I'm prepared for bad weather conditions, I wouldn't be my first experience of riding with the weather turning foul, as I raced also the 2010 Giro d'Italia, with the now famous dirt roads stage, and also an edition of Volta a Catalunya when we had a lot of snow which blocked the course and we were forced to stay in the car for hours. This kind of weather only motivates me to give it my all and to get the result I came for!
Photo credit: ©BrakeThrough Media
