Andrew Talansky Vuelta diary: Embracing the Pain

Editor’s note: Garmin-Cervélo’s Andrew Talansky is riding his first grand tour, the 2011 Vuelta a España. Talansky is sharing his diaries with VeloNews readers throughout the race.

As I sit here on my bed, mind and heart both beginning to race at the mere thought of what awaits me later in the day, I can feel a familiar feeling creeping into my body. The fatigue and pain I have felt in my legs and body the last few days is beginning to melt away. Expectation, excitement, nervousness; are all fair enough words to describe what I am feeling, but none can completely capture it. Perhaps to fully understand it you have to understand how I got here.

The last few days have been full of highs and lows for our team. We have lost two amazing teammates and both the bus and the dinner table are noticeably quieter without their presence. Tyler Farrar is one of the nicest, kindest, most humble people I have ever met. He is a rarity in the sport of cycling, especially in a professional peloton that is full of inflated egos and where cockiness can oftentimes be the norm. Put him on a bike with the finish line in sight and he transforms into a fierce competitor, one who expects nothing less than victory.

As I rolled towards the line a few days ago, having sat up with two kilometers remaining, my work for the day done, I waited anxiously, hoping to hear something on the radio about who had won the stage. I heard nothing. Approaching the finish the road was completely blocked, a massive crash had taken riders down across the entire finishing straight. I glanced around nervously, and then I saw it. The black and blue of our jerseys, laying on the ground. Then I saw Tyler, laying on his back, face clenched in pain, chest heaving up and down, adrenaline still racing through his body. It was only later I would realize there had been other riders injured on the road as well. I was on the verge of tears, it was an emotion I have never really felt before, seeing my teammate lying there, knowing the pain he was going through, and knowing there was nothing I could do to help.

The following day Murilo Fischer, our token Brazilian who is always respelndent in his green and yellow national champion kit, hit a bad patch of pavement descending in the grupetto, just four kilometers from the line, and crashed, breaking a bone in his hand. He got up and finished the stage not knowing the extent of the damage until he visited the hospital later that evening. He is always quick with a joke or a smile, a consummate professional who you can always count on to bring the team together at the most crucial moments of the race. He will be sorely missed in the days to come.

Which brings me to yesterday, and the topic of Dan Martin. I said before that Dan is a Ferrari on the bike and when he is really going, there are few who can stop him. He has an attacking spirit and is on a mission to silence the doubters and pundits who claimed that he could not hold up over three weeks of racing. Individuals who judge a rider after one grand tour really know little about cycling. It takes years of doing three-week races before you can show up at one ready to compete for a top result. Of course there are exceptions (Andy Schleck, Alberto Contador, etc.) but they are few and far between.

On the final climb Dan attacked repeatedly, drawing out the favorites of the race and causing many to crack unexpectedly under the pressure, creating a select group and then out-sprinting four others for the stage win. I think this was Dan’s greatest victory of his career, he has won countless races but winning a stage of a grand tour if a whole different level. What’s more impressive is that he won it on guts and determination and I think there will be more to come in the mountains that we will face in a few days time.

If there is one other name to mention, it has to be Bradley Wiggins. He and his team rode a very impressive race. Watching “Wiggo” pedal is a sight to behold. He is like a metronome, legs ticking over at high cadence, upper body like a statue. It is rare to see him truly suffer. Which is why yesterday, when he gave it his all to distance his rivals in the final few kilometers of the climb, he showed everyone a glimpse of what could have been at the Tour de France. Upper body swaying and a grimace on his face, he fought valiantly to the line never once asking for any help from the riders on his wheel. He is riding like a real champion, one who is concerned only with overall victory, and I believe today’s time trial will make his intentions of standing on the top step in Madrid very clear.

For me, today holds promise. It holds possibility and opportunity. I have never faced 47 kilometers in a race against the clock and I am looking forward to seeing how my body holds up. I feel like I am a child again, in the best possible sense. When you are young, anything is possible, limits are non-existent. It’s why we climb things that are too high, fall off, and get right back up again. Pain is an afterthought, not something we dwell upon. Today is not about fighting pain, or conquering it, rather it is about accepting it and, for those who wish to win, embracing it.

Pain is your friend, it lets you know you are pushing your body to its maximum, pushing yourself to the brink of collapse. Some riders say that when they feel their best, it is as if they are pedaling with no chain. When I have done my best time trials I felt every single pedal stroke, after ten minutes I was sure that I would have to stop, but somehow found the strength to continue. When you look at the results today, it will not be simply about the rider with the best legs. In the “race of truth,” especially one this long, the mind will play an equally important role. You have to keep yourself focused, and motivated and accept the dull pain that will build into a leg-searing, lung-bursting agony by the time that you cross the finish line. I can’t wait.

FILED UNDER: News / Rider Diaries / Road / Vuelta a España TAGS: Andrew Talansky