MY CHECHU MAGNET

When Nicky sent me the Asturias flag she called it a Chechu magnet and today it truly was.

As I learned at the Tour of Missouri, a time trial stage is not a good stage to get autographs or to have access to the riders. On these stages, the guys are really focused and not as approachable, but we were able to talk to them a little.

After a warm-up ride on the track, the guys came back to the bus and signed a few autographs. Chechu was standing a few feet from me when I pulled out the flag.

As soon as he saw the flag, he started towards me but then realized there were still people waiting for his autograph. He signed a couple more items, then walked over, took a hold of the flag and kissed it. He then leaned toward me and did the European double cheek kiss. I do think we need to adopt this custom here in the States. We talked for a minute, but I don’t remember what was said; then I had him sign my Tour de Georgia t-shirt before he went back into the bus.

Earlier in the morning, Amy and I were walking by some vendor booths, not paying much attention to who was around. As we walked by a group of three I heard a woman say “Johan”. I came to a stop and looked around and there was Johan Bruyneel!!

I started hitting Amy’s arm and she said “what, what”. Trying to be discreet I just gestured with my head. Finally she saw him and, well I will let Amy describe as much or as little of her encounter with JB as she would like. And I was able to get my picture taken with Johan, again.

I don’t know what the riders thought about the course, but it was great for the fans. During much of the stage we stood on a walkway between the course and the finish line. We could take pictures of the guys on the track and then walk across the walkway and take pictures of the teams after they crossed the finish line. Astana rode an incredible first couple of laps, but when they were down to five riders together, they were not able to keep up that pace. But they still finished only 2-3 seconds out of first place. Hopefully they can make that up on Brasstown Bald.

Annie, on location in Georgia