It's rare to have a multi-week block between races once the season starts yet I’ve somehow found myself with a multi-month block off from racing. On the one hand, it's a pleasant luxury to step away after an intense winter/spring build-up and early race season. On the other hand, it is challenging to bridge such a big gap and keep the fire lit for the races to come.

The past three weeks have been all about building for the race season. Most of my teammates have raced at this point, but not me.

Arriving at my first 2019 Mitchelton-SCOTT training camp felt a bit like the first day of school or maybe even more like waking up in someone else’s house and trying to make breakfast in their kitchen.

Since 2011, BMC Racing Team has stayed at the same hotel in Denia, Spain for camp. It’s nice having a go-to spot that welcomes us. We are outside of the city and a little off the coast. It’s quiet and they let us take over.