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Pssst! The latest insider news: In his diary Christian Knees gives a daily report of the Tour de France.
29/07/2024
28 July: The 19th stage
Dear Team MILRAM fans,
this morning I had a lot of time, my start was quite late at 14:26. Anyway, I got up early and had breakfast with the others. Then I had a quiet mornint, watched DVD, and at 11 we went to the start by bus. Yes, the bus’s back! At the start I still had a lot of time, had something to eat and then warmed up a bit. Finally I was the last one of our team on the course.
After the start I directly found my rhythm. At the first interim I was just one minute back, at the second 2:14. Then I knew that the time’s good, that I’ll stay within the time limit and that I can continue to Paris tomorrow. On the last five, six kilometers there was another wave, which couldn’t really be seen in the profile. But I’m satisfied with my time.
Three weeks are really a long time and I’m glad to see my family again finally. I really missed them, especially because I could see my daughter for two day only before I had to leave again. Tomorrow, we’re taken to the start by the TGV, because the transfer from the hotel’s very long. I hope it’ll be a relaxed stage. But maybe Evans goes for the sprints, who knows. He’s second in the overall classification and maybe he has another try. We’ll see. On the Champs Elysees, the real race starts then. It’s another hard course, with a climb and cobblestones. We’re motivated for tomorrow, we wanted to win one stage at this Tour – and tomorrow’s the last chance.
See you soon,
Christian
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26 July: The 17th stage
Dear Team MILRAM fans,
the stage was really exhausting today. After the day off on Tuesday I arrived in the gruppetto yesterday. It was ok, we arrived in time and rode quite relaxedly. So I thought it’d be better today, but my legs were pretty heavy and I was too far behind to get into a group. The field was very fast, somehow Caisse d’Epargne made the speed. I don’t really know why, probably because of the team classification. And then a constant up and down, that hurt. And when it got flat they weren’t that fast anymore.
Yesterday our bus broke down on our way home and we had to take the cars to get to the hotel. When we got on the motorway it suddenly couldn’t go faster than 20 km/h. So we got to the hotel pretty late. There, we took turns with massage and dinner so that it wouldn't take too long. Well, what can you do...
This morning we got to the race with the team cars, and they picked us up after the race as well. It’s not that nice to wash and change dress in the cars or on the streets. The bus is being repaired today, some part has to be changed. I hope it’s going to work again tomorrow.
Tomorrow’s stage is getting quite flat again. We’ll see what happens with the sprinter teams. It’d be a good course to go for another sprint. But many riders want to get into a break, and then it’ll be difficult to catch up with them. We’ll either try to have one of us in the group or to go for a sprint, we’ll see. And then Paris is already within sight. I’m really looking forward to seeing my family again.
See you soon,
Christian
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24 July: The second rest day
Dear Team MILRAM fans,
it was a quiet morning today. I got up quite early, about half past eight, because I just woke up. Then we had breakfast, and at eleven, training started. The weather was quite well after it rained a bit in the morning. We exercised well, 60 kilometers in two hours. After that we had lunch and I watched a DVD – „King of Queens“, just like last year. I borrowed a DVD with new episodes from Ralf. After that massage and dinner, and the rest day’s over again.
Despite yesterday’s efforts my legs are quite good. The stage was great for me. When I started the first climb my legs were still a bit heavy, but the longer I was on the bike, the better it became. On the mountain I was in a group with some favourites, and in the descent we caught up with the top group. Then, the attacks started and as my legs were quite good I said to myself I’ll have a try. Suddenly I saw Kim Kirchen at my back wheel, who is quite in the front of the overall classification. The group was good and we rode rather speedily. I got pretty well over the second and third mountian and only at the fourth mountain did I start to slow down and ride at my own speed. Five kilometers to the finish I got faster again, and finally arrived 10 minutes after the winner. I’m really satisfied with that.
I felt quite good this morning, we’ll see what it’s like tomorrow. The stage will be tough again, but meanwhile Paris is within sight and that’s motivation again. On the coming stages it’s all for Erik again. We want to try to get the green jersey from Boonen in any way.
This morning I got mail from at home. My wife sent me a DVD with pictures and a little film of our daughter. It was great to see her making grimaces on the film. So cute, I was absolutely happy. We just heard that Alessandro was cleared of the doping suspicion in Italy today. That’s good news for us of course. He’s such a nice guy and I’m really happy for him.
See you soon,
Christian
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22 July: The 14th stage
Dear Team MILRAM fans,
there was another mountain right after the start today. First my legs were a bit heavy, but I didn’t have problems to stay with the field. Then, 27 riders escaped, among them some favourites. But Evans missed the group and his team-mates increased the speed to get the group back. Probably there were some disagreements among the riders in the front, because the were caught up with pretty soon.
Then, a small group broke away, in which nobody seemed to be dangerous, because it got quite calm in the back. Until Rabobank and Saunier Duval started to make the speed so that the group couldn’t get further away. At the second to last mountain my legs were quite good, and I said to myself „try as long as you can“. But on the last five, six kilometers it got pretty steep and I had to let go. The next climb I did with Fothen and Wegmann, but Fothen wanted to get further to the front. I rode with him some time, until we got to the next group. Then I stayed there in order to save my powers. Tomorrow will be a hard stage again.
See you soon,
Christian
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20 July: The 12th stage
Dear Team MILRAM fans,
in the end it was a pity that Erik couldn’t pass Tom Boonen in the sprint anymore, but Boonen was just a bit faster. Well, the second rank’s really good as well, you can’t complain about that.
In the beginning the race was very hectic again. Ralf was in a group soon, and first it looked really good. But back in the field they didn’t want to let them go and closed the gap again. The race was quite fast, although we had such a headwind. I often tried to attack, but without a chance. Back in the field it was really fast, about 45, 50 kmh. But as soon you were in a group you could just ride 30 with all that wind. So it took really long until the two were gone. I tried really long, but it just didn’t work. I left my powers there for today, probably.
For some time the race was really quiet, until Liquigas started to close the gap again. We got well over the mountain, and in the end Sibi and me took Ete to Boonen’s wheel. It all worked out really well.
Right at the beginning Alberto Ongarato crashed and had to give up. Actually, none of us saw what happened. At the moment he’s still in hospital, but he doesn’t seem to have broken anything. It’ll be ok again. Of course it’s a pity, but there’s so much happening in these three weeks and it’s very seldom that all riders of a team get through.
Tomorrow’s the first long time trial. I’ll try to get through soon, I really like time trialy. I’ll just see what happens, but without giving 110 per cent. The day after the Pyrenees are before us. So I’ll just enjoy the day.
See you soon,
Christian
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18 July: The tenth stage
Dear Team MILRAM fans,
what a trouble today. We all want a clean Tour. And as annoying as it may be, the positive doping findings show that the controls work, that the controlling system works. But now it’s us who are punished. Sorry, but I don’t understand that.
About today’s stage: A lot of attacks. We tried to get into a group with four of us, because it was clear that it would get though today. And with Andrey we finally had one of us in the group. I was quite angry that I wasn’t there as well. But ok, I could save my powers today, and I’m going to try again anyway. There are still some days left, and my legs are quite good actually. Abandoning the injuries from the crash, the Giro was better than the year before as well. And with rank 34 on the mountain stage I showed that my condition’s alright. That was a great day, and I hope I can build on that.
See you soon,
Christian
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16 July: The first rest day
Dear Team MILRAM fans,
today was the first rest day, and we nearly slept in. Well, until somebody on the neighbouring balkony talked loudly on the phone... Then we had breakfast and went for a training ride. We did tomorrow’s first mountain, in order to have a look at what’s expecting us. That was quite nice. There were a lot of tourists riding up the mountain or standing at the roadside with their caravans, because they want to watch the race tomorrow. There were also some Germans, and we greeted everybody. That was fun. I calmly rode up the mountain with Marcel behind the others, and rolled down unhurriedly again.
After that we went to a café for a nice coffee. You’ve got to take your time for things like that as well. When we left the café, Marcel was really fortunate. He had forgotten his helmet, and some nice man brought it after him when we were leaving. He could have taken it as well, but fortunately there are still nice people.
In the afternoon I did an online live chat with the ZDF. I sat in the hotel restaurant with a journalist and answered the fans’ questions. It was a lot of fun. The people in the chat really were familiar with cycling and with the Tour. Most questions were personal ones, like „how are you?“ or „how are your legs doing?“. Some also asked about Brett, if he’s better and if it’s a great loss for the team that he broke up the Tour. After that I just relaxed. First massage, then a little nap in my bed. Now I’ll have dinner, and then the rest day is over again.
Tomorrow will be really tough. Right after the start there’s that steep mountain, that’s not really our business. But if we get over it, we’ll make the rest as well. We only have to see that we arrive within the time limit. And who knows, maybe I can do as well as on Sunday.
See you soon,
Christian
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14 July: The seventh stage
Dear Team MILRAM fans,
today was the first mountain stage, and it was a really fast ride. We went into the first mountain very quickly, and I felt quite good, so that I passed it with the first group. In the first mountain classification I was among the first 15. There were a lot of attacks and I tried to be in them as well. But then I realised that it doesn’t really work and that it doesn’t make sense as well. It was still early, and there was still a lot to come, so that I didn’t want to exaggerate.
After some time the first 15 were gone, and we slowed down a bit. Anyway, the race was still very fast, some teams made real pressure. On the first half of the 15 kilometers it worked quite well. The second half, however, was steeper, so that I slowed down and arrived in the finish 10 minutes after the winner. That’s ok, and I’m satisfied with my stage.
After the race there was just chaos. The finish was in a little town in the alps, and the traffic was absolutely chaotic. Finally, it took us an hour to get to the hotel. Some of us went by bike, but I remained in the bus. In the end it took them just as long as us, because there was a climb of five kilometers to the hotel. Our hotel was quite far away from the finish, all the others were closer. What’s a bit annoying is that we arrived in the finish quite early for the first time, and then we needed another two hours to the hotel, so that it was seven again when we got there. But well, what can we do...
See you soon,
Christian
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12 July: The fifth stage
Dear Team MILRAM fans,
Right at the beginning of the stage some of us tried to get into a goup. Not me, but Grabschi, Sibi and Grivko. Finally, a small group of three broke away and soon established a huge gap. First, nobody really wanted to take up the pursuit, and it took some time until the first teams found themselves. From kilometer 50, we rushed along in the field. It was like in a rollercoaster, always up, down, left, right. The roads were pretty bad sometimes, but the speed was high anyway. At the end, 10 kilometers to the finish, there was another mountain classification, and we tried to take Erik to the front. Finally, he did it more or less himself. I was right behind him, bu I had to let go because I was still missing power from yesterday. At the mountain, my legs weren’t that good anymore. So Erik unfortunately was alone without his helpers.
But Ete finished fifth anyway, and got himself the green jersey. That’s a nice success which he hadn’t bargained for, as he said himself. We’re all happy that he got it, of course. It’s still too early to celebrate, there are still a lot of tough stages to come, but it’s good for the motivation within the team.
The only downer today is that Brett dropped off the race. He wasn’t well on the first stage in England already. He was sick in the night after the prologue and rode the whole stage in the back. When I came back from getting bottles we rode next to each other for some time. He looked me and asked how long it still was to the finish, and right in this moment there was a crash before him and he fell over the riders. Since then he’s got problems with his back. Usually, it gets better every day, but in Brett’s case it was the other way round. He felt worse every day, and today he just couldn’t go on. A pity, because Brett’s a really nice guy, and there’s one of us missing in the team. He’s a really important man for the finale, but he couldn’t really help in the last days because of his injuries. So I hope he’ll be better soon.
See you soon,
Christian
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12 July: The fifth stage
Dear Team MILRAM fans,
Right at the beginning of the stage some of us tried to get into a goup. Not me, but Grabschi, Sibi and Grivko. Finally, a small group of three broke away and soon established a huge gap. First, nobody really wanted to take up the pursuit, and it took some time until the first teams found themselves. From kilometer 50, we rushed along in the field. It was like in a rollercoaster, always up, down, left, right. The roads were pretty bad sometimes, but the speed was high anyway. At the end, 10 kilometers to the finish, there was another mountain classification, and we tried to take Erik to the front. Finally, he did it more or less himself. I was right behind him, bu I had to let go because I was still missing power from yesterday. At the mountain, my legs weren’t that good anymore. So Erik unfortunately was alone without his helpers.
But Ete finished fifth anyway, and got himself the green jersey. That’s a nice success which he hadn’t bargained for, as he said himself. We’re all happy that he got it, of course. It’s still too early to celebrate, there are still a lot of tough stages to come, but it’s good for the motivation within the team.
The only downer today is that Brett dropped off the race. He wasn’t well on the first stage in England already. He was sick in the night after the prologue and rode the whole stage in the back. When I came back from getting bottles we rode next to each other for some time. He looked me and asked how long it still was to the finish, and right in this moment there was a crash before him and he fell over the riders. Since then he’s got problems with his back. Usually, it gets better every day, but in Brett’s case it was the other way round. He felt worse every day, and today he just couldn’t go on. A pity, because Brett’s a really nice guy, and there’s one of us missing in the team. He’s a really important man for the finale, but he couldn’t really help in the last days because of his injuries. So I hope he’ll be better soon.
See you soon,
Christian
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11 July: The fourth stage
Dear Team MILRAM fans,
for me, it was a pity that the others saved their power in the break and didn’t give everything from the beginning. The field behind played with us a bit and didn’t catch up at once. However, it has to be said that there was a strong headwind all day, which made everything even tougher. At such conditions it’s always easier for the field to control the escapees. I tried again in the end, because I thought I might be fast enough alone to get to the finish. But it was just too far. First, I hoped for the red number, because I was really motivated. But finally it was clear that another would get it with two Frenchmen in the group.
Anyway, I’m satisfied with today’s stage. There was the chance for some discord in the field. This morning I heard CSC complain about having to do too much work, and with a little bit of luck they might have refused to work. But as I always say, nothing ventured, nothing gained. So we’ll keep on trying.
Today, I heard that the french newspaper L’Equipe confused me and Marcel. They wrote about Marcel wearing the red number – and printed my photo. But actually, that’s nothing new for us. We rode together when we were amateurs already, and were confused as well. Well, we’re both tall, both blond, so I think it can happen.
Tomorrow, the stage will be a bit hillier and might be suitable for Ete. He gets over the mountains quite well, and when there’s a sprint finale, the other sprinters might already be quite exhausted. So we’ll see what happens and give our best.
See you tomorrow,
Christian
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10 July: The third stage
Dear Team MILRAM fans,
today, Siebi rode with the red number which I also wore for a day last year. Before the start, there was an extra photoshooting with Hennes Roth because of that. I had to help Siebi, who is also my room-mate during the Tour, to put on the jersey with the red number. From the sportive point of view, it was a quiet, or rather even boring, day today. The group in the front was pretty slow, so that nobody wanted to take up the pursuit, as they weren’t dangerous. They were so slow that we became that slow train. The only good thing about that was that you could calmly chat with the others.
Actually, I would have liked to be in the break as well today. Which, however, would have been quite tough with the headwind all day. But as the group was so slow, I didn’t really want to go for it anymore. That’s tactics then. Nobody wants to close the gap because everybody knows that the next attacks start then, and so you let it happen. Finally, the group nearly made it. It must be frustrating to be caught up so close to the finish. But that’s the way it is. You have to continue attacking, or you’ll never make it to the finish. We’ll see, I want to try to get into a good group once or twice in any way. The stage on Thursday for example could be good for me.
See you tomorrow,
Christian
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9 July: The second stage
Dear Team MILRAM fans,
when I looked out of the window this morning it looked like thunderstorms. This wasn’t the best beginning for the day. Then we saw a report about the Tour-village in French TV, where it rained a lot as well. But it was dry when we started, and it turned out to be a really good day for me and the team.
Right at the beginning of the stage Sibi attacked and escaped with a group of three. That was good for us of course, we had to do less work and the other teams controlled the lead group. So it was a really agreeable stage. Unfortunately, the group was caught up some kilometers before the finish. Sibi was absolutely the strongest rider in the front, but it wasn’t supposed to be – just like a year ago when I was in the same situation. But it’s great that he was on the podium and got the red number of the most active rider. I can still remember this feeling from last year when I was on the podium once, too.
We always tried to keep Ete in front, but there was a crash right before the finish, which blocked most of us. Fortunately, Ete got through and finished seventh. The rest of us was barred, but none of us was really involved in the crash.
After the race, we got to the hotel, had our massage, and then there was a wonderful surprise for me. My wife Nathalie came to Ghent with our little daughter Fenja without telling me anything. Now, we’re going to enjoy a few nice hours together. And tomorrow, the Tour can continue.
See you tomorrow,
Christian
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8 July: The first stage
Dear Team MILRAM fans,
today’s stage with the start on the Tower Bridge began absolutely impressingly. Then we rode out of London, along all the sights. That was just great.
The stage was quite good for me. With Andrey Grivko, one of our riders was in the top group. So, we had less to do. We didn’t have to work to catch up with the group. In the finale, everything was quite chaotic, the street was very narrow and the last 20 kilometers went downhill. I couldn’t really help a lot, the street was so stuffed that I just couldn’t get through. So I wasn’t able to help in the sprint. But I got to the finish quite well.
During the stage I had to stop twice because of crashes. Fortunately I wasn’t involved myself. So the Tour can continue tomorrow.
See you soon,
Christian
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7 July: Prologue
Dear Team MILRAM fans,
the prologue with the huge crowd everywhere was a fantastic experience. The course was blocked from 2 p.m. so we could warm up. There was an incredible number of people standing at the streets, a great atmosphere and scenery with all the famous buildings of London. A fantastic start of the Tour.
Personally, I’m not really satisfied with my race, I somehow didn’t have a feeling for my bike. The time of about 9:50 minutes was ok, but I didn’t get along with the handle bars the way I wanted to, and I couldn’t build up the right body tension. In so far I’m not really satisfied. I had resolved to be about 20 seconds faster.
This is my second Tour de France now. Of course there was some pre-race excitement, like at every race. But I can’t say that I was super nervous. The situation with the attacks, which nearly happened a few days ago in London, was a bit strange. But you shouldn’t think about that, or you can’t leave the house any more at all. It could happen at home as well, when I’m shopping in Cologne. Today is also the second centenary of the big attacks in London, but you shouldn’t think too much about that as well.
For tomorrow’s stage I’m really motivated. Today, that was the beginning, tomorrow, everything really starts. We’re no time trial specialists, but on stages like tomorrow’s we’re good and we’ll be really motivated at the start.
Today, my wife and daughter left the hospital. They’re both doing well, and I think they watched the broadcast as well. And of course I hope they keep doing well, and that my daughter can see her daddy on TV the one or other time.
See you tomorrow,
Christian
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5 July: 1st training day
Dear Team MILRAM fans,
the Tour can start now. We arrived late on Wednesday evening and had to wait for our sport director at the airport, as his plane from Italy was late. Then we went to the hotel by bus, where we arrived after midnight, however, we’re here now. This morning was the first blood control. After that we went for a training ride of about 120 kilometers. First, it was a bit strange with the left-hand traffic. You have to get used to it first that you can’t ride the way you’re used to. The afternoon was rather quiet then. Relaxing, massage, resting, so that we can start again tomorrow.
So far, we’re not too excited. I think this will come on Friday at the official team presentation, or before the start on Saturday. At the moment it feels a bit like at every other race. And the past days were pretty exhausting for me as well. My daughter was born and of course I wanted to spend as many days in the hospital as possible. But the Tour de France is a very special race, the excitement will be there soon enough.
See you tomorrow,
Christian
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