"It wasn't a classic example of not having eaten enough," is how Team Vorarlberg's Gerrit Glomser explained his weak performance in Monday's mountainous stage of the Deutschland Tour. "I had that two days ago, when everything went black. But today I was pretty close to it again."
Glomser finished three minutes behind winner Jens Voigt, in 33th place.
The day started out well for the Austrian. "I quickly found my own rhythm and didn't lose too much time up to the mountain ranking. On the descent I joined the group again. But I forgot to eat and drink." And he paid for this mistake: "Directly at the start of the final ascent I had to let the others go."
Glomser found himself in that oblivious situation again when al that counts is the finish line. "I practically had to push my bike," he continued. "The ascent was more of a battle than anything else. I only looked to make it to the finish line."
He knew who to blame, too: "In the end it was my own fault. Half a litre of liquid in five and a half hours is rather too little than too much."
