Working for Brajk in an awesome stage race

It was Janez that had many thanks for Roman who was the only teammate to keep up with him on the hardest climbs. “I had said before the start that I would ride in Brajk´s service and would like to grab a stage victory. I only failed to accomplish the latter goal. I had picked one stage but eventually I was way too worn out to pull it off. I rode with Brajk in climbs, which cost me a lot of effort. I had Brajk almost all the week in my tow but I had no regrets whatsoever. He is a friendly guy and it was a real pleasure for me to have helped him. As a team we did a great job,” Roman said.Despite the strong competition Brajkovic finished fifth overall. “Everyone, including him, was hoping to make the podium  but he lost contact in the penultimate stage and it was impossible for him to make up for the lost time in the final time trial, even though he pulled off an excellent ride,” Roman admitted.Roman himself was quite pleased with his condition. “I felt better with each day, which is a promising sign in regard to the World Champinoships. After I come back home I would like to continue riding high intensities. I am going to practice in Pilsen and Italy, which will be a small training camp. I reckon I will do some work behind a motorbike or a car to stay up to speed,” he revealed.Roman was pleasantly surprised by the USA Pro Cycling Challenge organization. “It was organized by almost the same group that was in charge of  the Tour of Missouri that I rode in 2007 and that is no longer in existence due to financial problems. Everything was top-notch from the rider competition to the superb organization. We rode along nice roads through  beautiful sceneries and we didn’t have to make any long transfers. The accommodation was also comfortable, to put it simply: an awesome race,” he praised the organizers.He was thrilled by the Colorado landscape. “We went through the local ski resorts. We rode up to Aspen, for example, but I most liked Beaver Creek. That is a really nice place.” Roman says that an unexpected bear visit wouldn’t have caught them by surprise. “There were signs all over the place, warning us not to keep anything in car because of bears but I didn’t see one.” The riders had no time to admire the splendid landscape. “I flew in two days before the start and the very next day, after the end of the race, we left the US. My late arrival wasn’t quite optimal because I was not only jet-lagged but I also had to get used to high altitude very quickly. Right on the first day we lodged at the altitude  2500m above sea level,” Roman concluded.