A super end to the season! We missed the first break of 19 riders. I didn't get in there because I had a puncture when they went. But all my team mates worked hard to chase them down. With the help of some other teams we managed to catch the leading group again. The course was very hilly, but at the end some 80 riders got into the final sprint. I had some power left and finished 7. A super result in the last race of the season. The teamwork has paid off.
Now I am looking forward to a holiday. Thank you for looking in to my website, see you soon, Dietzi.

There was an early break of 5 without anybody from our team in it. As the wind was the only difficulty today we expected to have a mass sprint at the end. Sebastian didn't race because he is sick, so we decided to ride for Daniel. I didn't feel well today. The drop in temperature during the past few days has given me a sore throat.
To my surprise the 5 escaped riders made all the way to the end. They got to the finish just slightly ahead of the peloton.

A class race in Belgium! Good roads, an undulating course and the finish on the Citadelle de Namur.
After about 150 of 200 km a big crash on a descent broke the peloton apart. I was lucky and got past the mayhem in a slalom and soon got back into the leading group.
When we got to the 3 km long final climb in Namur a few more riders had dropped out of our group. My only Vorarlberg-Corratec team mate left was Musiol. He got me in a good position for the climb, and I was able to ride with the front runners. But then in the sprint my legs were empty.
I like racing in Belgium and would like to ride the classics there in the spring. We will travel to France for the next race on friday.

This race was run without anybody from us playing a part in it. A group of about 40 riders escaped early. We had with Rene only one man in it. Later that leading group fell apart, and some of them, including Rene, got caught by the bunch. We tried hard to organize a chase but it didn't work out. One of the reasons might have been that only 6 riders per team were allowed today.

We wanted to get a mass sprint for Sebastian in this mostly flat race. After about 40 km a group of 12 escaped. We made the pace of the peloton together with the spanish teams. My left leg still hurts a bit and so I decided to some teamwork. The leading group had an advantage of up to 3 min at one stage, but the gap got smaller and smaller. At 150 km they only had about 30 sec left, so we had them under control. But it was hard work chasing them, we had an average speed of almost 50 km/h.
Towards the end lots of teams were making pace and I decided to pull out. Sebastian got a good 8th place.

My left thigh seems to be twice as thick as the right one. It hurts as soon as I stand on it. It's not possible to fully bend my knee. Under those circumstances I wasn't very optimistic about todays last stage. But I had a good position in the overall classification, so at least I wanted to try to defend it.
The race was pure agony from the first to the last kilometer. I made it to the finish only because I had the full support of the whole team. So in the end I finished the tour in 12th place. On sunday we will have another race here in France. I hope my leg will be better by then.

We got up at 5:45 and I didn't really feel like getting on the bike so early in the day. Doing a lap on the circuit of the timetrail was enough to warm up. I rode a good timetrail. I lost about a minute in 17th place and moved up in the general classification to 14th place.
The stage in the afternoon was pure stress. Everybody wanted to be at the front on the very narrow roads. Nobody gave an inch, because we expected to get into some strong crosswind. With about 20 km to go Saxo Bank and Cervelo increased the pace and ripped the bunch apart. I needed the help of Daniel Musiol to get back into the leading group of about 30 riders.
In the last kilometer I got involved in a crash together with the leader of the tour. I got some bruises on the left leg, nothing serious. As the crash happend in the final 3 km I should be classified with the same time as the winner.

Stage 2 was a hard days work. There was no time to relax on the undulating roads. Up to the feeding station, at about 100 km, I had only drunk 2 bottles and eaten 1 sandwich which is not enough really.
There were lots of attacks, but in the end we had a mass sprint. During the stage Team Vorarlberg-Corratec lost Matic and Hasi, who is the pacemaker for Sebastian in the sprints. Without Hasi, Sebastian never got into a good position.
There is going to be a long day tomorrow. A 22 km timetrail in the morning and a 100 km stage in the afternoon.

The start to the Poitou Charentes was more or less flat. But the very narrow roads with lots of corners made it a very nervous race. We wanted to get a mass sprint for Sebastian. So we had to chase an escape group of 7 riders together with some other teams.
There was some action at a railway crossing. The first part ot the peloton, in which I was riding, got across just before the train came. But the last third of the bunch had to stop. To be fair we reduced the pace until everybody got back on.
It looked like we were going to get our mass sprint for a while, but the escape group made it over the line with just a few seconds left in front of the bunch.
Hopefully we will get some better food today. They didn't want to give us more then a spoon full of overcooked pasta yesterday. Vive la France!

In the third and last race of the Trittico Lombarda I finished in the peloton.
I didn't have any problems with the hot weather today. My legs felt good. The race was decided early, we rode the first hour with over 50 km/h. None of the riders from Team Vorarlberg-Corratec had anything to do with the outcome of the race.
I felt better every day in those 3 hard races and I am looking forward to race in France now.

And another very hot day. I felt a bit better then yesterday. But about halfway I lost contact with the bunch and decided to pull out

A really hot day in northern Italy. 35 degrees was a bit too hot for me. I was sweating all day.
I had problems on the tough laps arround Luino at the beginning of the stage. That's where the deciding break with 12 riders went away.
On the way to Varese the rim of my backwheel broke. I soon got a new wheel but lost a lot of energy chasing, to get back into the peloton. Then I was mostly busy getting bottles from the teams car. I drank about 8 liters today.
I hope I will get used to this heat by tomorrow.

I rode amongst the worlds best at the Vattenfall Cyclassics.
The pace wasn't fast until we got to the 16% steep Waseberg. The road leading to the Waseberg was very narrow. That's where the peloton got ripped appart in the final kilometers.
Our sprinter Sebastian lost contact with the leading group and I got the green light to have a go in the final sprint.
At the 2 km mark a Katjuscha rider crashed into the barriers right in front of me. Not a pretty picture at all!
I made up a lot of ground on the last kilometer and got 14. place. My legs felt allright, but I didn't have anybody who got me in a good position for the sprint.
Now I am looking forward to the tough races in Italy from tuesday to thursday.

It all worked out well in the end.
I rode for about 30 km in a leading group with 12 riders. A team had 2 riders in it and one of them wasn't taking his turns at the front. The group wasn't working together at all. They kept attacking until just 4 riders were left at the front and the rest, including myself, got reeled back in by the peloton.
But as we rode into Copenhagen the whole bunch came together once more. We rode for Sebastian in the sprint. He rewarded us with a fine stage win! Now we can't wait for the next race.

A long day with 2 stages has ended. In the morning we chased a 4 man break with several other teams in the hope to get a mass sprint. But they had a tailwind and we couldn'd catch them.
Then in the evening a timetrail over 15 km. I found a good rythm, but still lost a lot of time. This year we just can't compete with the best in timetrails. I would like to watch over the sky and see all the fireworks back home tonight, as it is swiss national day today.

Soon after the start a group of 9 broke away. Our Team Vorarlberg-Corratec rider Sebastian was with them. A big chase started which was mainly organized by Team Lotto. Several times the peloton broke apart in the very strong sidewind, just like yesterday. I always rode at the front except once, when I had to change a wheel because of a puncture.
By the time we went into the final 3 laps on a circuit, with a 500 m climb with an incline of 21% , there were only about 40 riders left. My team mates got me right to the front and I was able to fight for the stage win with the best riders. After several attacks the group broke up completly. I got a top ten result. My form is OK.

As the stage got started we got into a heavy thunderstorm. Dark sky, pouring rain with thunder and lightning. But a strong wind soon blew the bad weatherfront away. Later I got hit by a stone in the face, just below the sunglasses. But besides a blue spot no other damages.
Because of the strong wind the stage had a very nervous character. Several times the peloton broke up into several groups in very strong sidewind. Once I was in a group of 16 which got away. But Team Saxo Bank soon chased us down again. Then I missed the deciding break in strong sidewind.

I am happy to be racing again after a long break. The first stage of the Tour of Denmark worked out OK for our Team Vorarlberg-Corratec. Rene Weissinger was up front in a 4 man break for most of the day.
When the group with Rene got caught on the 3 laps on a circuit we were present in several attacks. But nobody got away very far. The final kilometer was uphill and I didn't have the power yet to finish at the front.

It looked good for our team in the roadrace for a long time. 3 of us in the 13 man breakaway. Lots of friends cheered me on from the side of the road. When strongman Cancellara attacked in the 9th of 11 laps, only 2 riders from BMC were able to go with him. We tried to organize a chase but didn't get any support from other teams. The medals were gone.
I finished the race in a good 5. place. But I felt that we should have got more out of the race.
Next weekend I will be riding in the gigathlon. But only in the cycling leg ;-)
Then I will be taking a break.

I just wasn't fresh enough to get a top result today. The Tour de Suisse is still in my bones. Rubens deserves the title after getting second last year.
Now I will try to fully recover until sunday.

For the timetrail I didn't have any ambitions because I didn't get a good result in the prolog already. We had to do 2 laps on a circuit and there were lots of riders racing at the same time. At times I rode in a group of 4! That way one can even ride on somebodys backwheel ;-

The first attack of the day, and 4 riders went away. I wasn't fresh enough to react and go with them.
The kilometers flew past in the strong tailwind, until we got to the bottom of the final climb. But then the pace of the gruppetto was nice and easy.

We got wet for the first time in this years Tour de Suisse. On top of that a strong wind blew all day. Like many other riders, I wanted to get into a breakaway. So we raced through the countryside for over an hour. Attack after attack! Then 4 riders got away, without me.
I knew that I didn't have a chance to stay with the leaders in the final climb. So I had a go just after the peloton caught the breakaways. But I had no chance, alone in the strong headwind. At least I did some advertising on tv for my team, so it was worth it ;-)

The first attack of the day in my home stage came from myself. Just before we got to the first climb, five of us got away, but the bunch chased hard and we soon found ourselfs back in the peloton again. The escape cost me lots of energy and I had to take it easy for a while when we got caught.
When everybody was tired in the bunch Reto attacked and got away solo. He got more publicity for Team Vorarlberg-Corratec today.
My fan club was tops today! I saw some banners in Appenzell already. I rode through my hometown just off the front of the peloton and enjoyed the moment. The spectators were terrific. When you see so much support the legs suddenly didn't feel tired anymore;-)
I was going to have a go in the sprint, but lost my good position in the bunch with about 2 km to go. There was no chance to get back up front again. It was a day I will never forget!

Pascal did an impressive ride up front by himself through the austrian countryside. It was very good publicity for Team Vorarlberg-Corratec. Some of our sponsors come from that area.
Todays queens stage kept what it promised to be. From the Arlbergpass I took a ride in the gruppetto. Now I am really looking forward to ride through my hometown Aadorf tomorrow. If possible right up front...

There was a lot of tension amongst the riders at the sign in of the stage. The respect of the climb up to the Gotthard through Tremola was great. I tested a chinesio-tape for the first time. During the massage yesterday I noticed that some of the muscels in my left thigh had really thightend up. The colorful tape really gave me some relief during the stage. My leg felt much better after another massage today.
There was always pace during the race. Thank god it didn't rain today. I tried to hide in the peloton, for example when we rode up to the Sattel with 35 km/h.
We don't have a tv in our room at the evangelic center in Boldern. Instead of watching a replay of todays stage on tv we have the bible with 2400 pages as an alternativ entertainment.

Another day under the control of Team Saxo Bank. I didn't mind at all.
We had problems in one of the tunnels at the Lukmanier. Half of the peloton crashed on the wet and slippery road. I rode into the bike of a rider who fell in front of me and went down as well. But I didn't get hurt.
We lost the leaders jersey of the intermediate sprints to a rider who was in a long break today. I didn't have a go in the mass sprint in Lumino.

A strong performance of Team Vorarlberg-Corratec! Benetseder was in the first break and will be wearing the leaders jersey of the intermediate sprints competition tomorrow. When his group got caught, Silvere got points in the king of the mountain towards Davos.
I got a lot of support from my fanclub. Most of the sprinters lost contact with the peloton, so I thought I had a chance in the final sprint. Reto got me into a good position for the final 2 km. I had Cancellaras wheel, but he suddenly dropped his pace on the finishing straight. But I still managed to get 7. place. Very close to winning a stage in the Tour de Suisse.
The jury put my teammate Siedler (Nr. 197) on the 7th place first, instead of myself (Nr. 191). I missed out on some publicity.

Attacking right from the start, then using up all my reserves and finishing with a long sprint. That's how I rode the prolog to the Tour de Suisse. The spectators were great. I took all the corners with full risk and really pushed myself to the limit. But the result wasn't great.
The police of Lichtenstein didn't support the event very well. On the road from the finish back to the start, which the team mamagers had to take, they put up 3 speedtraps. One of them in a 30 km/h zone. It looks like they wanted to use the Tour de Suisse to make money ;-)

I pulled out of the tough GP Schwarzwald with a total of 3600 m of change in altitude, in the 5. of 6 laps. We rode the first 50 km in pouring rain in a pretty fast pace. Then 8 riders broke away and they were never seen again. The peloton was reduced to only about 30 riders. At times we had a bit of sunshine which made the 20% decent with a 180 degree corner at the bottom less treacherous. My topspeed was 98 km/h.
As it started to rain and even hail in lap 5 I called it a day. I wanted to conserve some energy for tomorrow.