Hot summer sun, strong enough to crack the flagstones. A little breeze.

Green Piemontese fields. Mountains in every direction on the horizon.

Straight and flat, but with technical sections through smaller rural villages.

A frenetic team time trial, we were the tenth team scheduled off the ramp.^[1] With the Italian sun beating down, our riders hunkered in the shade^[2] as much as possible. Some riders devised innovative cooling techniques^[3]. Then it was time for the action. A downhill and technical start was followed by a short climb. After negotiating the first half of the stage as a tight formation of six^[4], the team lost one rider, followed by a second – but were able to finish the course strong with the required four.

  The squad are momentarily distracted from the day's goal when a cute pup barges into the breakfast room.

  A brutally-fast start saps some of the energy from the team's legs.

  Holly Breck puts in one final turn, before pulling off – job complete.

  Our four riders cross the line in a time of 37'34", good enough for 18th place.