I have reached my first goal. After the Tour de France was dead for me, I turned my total concentration on getting fit as quickly as possible so that I could be at the start of another race. As of today I am in the Tour of Poland. I could train well the last few weeks, feel good and hope that I can play a good role in the sprints.

I am looking forward to the race. I know the Tour of Poland and have good memories of it. The organization is top and the atmosphere along the course is great. And the weather is supposed to be super, too.

On Friday evening I was at the meet at the cycling track Andreasried in Erfurt, where I rode in a tandem race. That was really a special experience, because on the rear seat you have absolutely no control at all over the bike and have to rely totally on the man in front. I rode with Stefan Böttcher and in the last lap we won narrowly against John Degenkolb and Rene Enders. Tony Martin was originally planned to ride, but couldn’t because of his collar bone fracture. At any rate, it was good, after the last few weeks, to be cheered by the fans in Erfurt. I will take the momentum from the track with me to the first stage.

Photos: roth-foto.de