After riding the sportive on Saturday, shooting the race on Sunday, and getting a few minutes in beautiful Maastricht, I give the entire region a huge thumb’s up. It’s fantastic.

I’m averse to race starts, but we had to go in to meet our friend, Michael Ossieur, who had once again offered up his day to drive one of us around. I’m beginning to think he’s enjoying himself.

We always head for the Cannondale-Garmin bus on mornings like this. We work with them, and the black and green bus gives us some focus in an always dazzlingly chaotic pre-race hour. Everyone appeared super relaxed - Ramunas Navardauskas was on the anti-side of stressed. His attitude seemed closer to a guy about to go spend a Sunday hanging out with friends at a park, rather than a guy about to do battle with rivals, terrain, body, and soul for the next six hours.

Dan Martin is the team’s big hope this week, and he looked the part. He was focused and calm. He was also doggedly chased by the hordes of autograph seekers. I always wonder what I would do in a situation like that, and the thought that always comes to mind is: run for the bus and hide there and never come out. Poor Dan stopped at one point to sign something for a kid, and the sharks smelled blood in the water - they were immediately on him. Pens and paper and shirts and jerseys and hats and anything that could possibly be signed were all thrust at him from every direction. Dan is a star - a big one - but he’s not a Boonen or Cancellara or Contador or Cavendish - I can’t imagine what it must be like for them.

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