The race Thursday around a short race car circuit, which was actually really cool. The whole thing was set up for spectators to watch motor sport and all the facilities were there and it was a really good idea.

The race for Team Type 1 went really well. For a team hampered by illness and injury, we all rode really well together and managed not to lose too much time to the best teams in the race. Personally, my wrist again was good like it was the day before. I hope I’ve turned a corner as far as my injury goes.

Today will be the big test. It’s about 240 kilometers (133 miles) and the profile has three Category 3 climbs coming in the last half of the race. (Each climb is rated by difficulty, with a Category 1 climb being the toughest.) So it will definitely be the most testing day for the tour so far.

Today is certainly going to set up the overall classification for the climb up Brasstown Bald on Saturday, which is traditionally the most decisive stage of the race. A lot of teams will use their second and third-placed riders to get up the road and into a breakaway.

Last night, we had our team meeting. Our sport director, Ed Beamon, made the plan very clear: get a guy in the break. If a big group gets away, make sure we’re represented. If you miss the break, make sure you look after the guys who are your best hopes on the general classification. Keep them fed and watered, out of the wind, etc.

So the plan for today is to try and put a guy up the road. It probably won’t be me because I haven’t raced anywhere near this distance in months. The stage on Wednesday was really about my limit. We’ll see how it goes.