Greig Leach

Maciej Paterski (CCC Spandi) was feeling good on the final day of racing, he seemed to drag the rest of his break away companions along, thinning the group out in the process. With less than 30 kilometers left to race, the original six was now down to three. Those that were able to hold the Polish rider's wheel, Merhawi Kudus Ghebremedhin (MTN-Qhubeka) and Johnny Hoogerland (Roompot). Hoogerland always sticks in my mind as the most unfortunate rider from a number of years ago in the Tour de France. He was the rider who was hit by a VIP vehicle during an Alpine stage and knocked into a barb wire fence. The inspiring part of the story, he got back on the bike a finished the stage. That night, he went to the hospital to get something like forty stitches, then lined up for the start the next day. These are hard men who race in tight lycra!