Michael Barry has been a regular contributor to www.teamsky.com throughout this season and here he reflects on his own - and the team's - first appearance at the Tour de France:
Team Sky.com: Did your first Tour de France live up to expectations?
Michael Barry: The race exceeded my expectations as the media coverage simply doesn't capture the intensity of the crowds and their emotion. In the peloton, amidst it all, it is quite a unique experience and made me realise just how big the Tour is and how positive an impact it has on the spectators.
Team Sky.com: How do you feel afterwards?
MB: I am tired but content. I never recovered fully from the crash I had on the second stage so it is nice to be home with some time off to let my body heal.
Team Sky.com: How did it compare to the Giro d'Italia? Both looked incredibly hard renewals this year and it must have been a big ask riding them both.
MB: Physically, I think the Giro may have been a harder race as the stages were longer and the actual racing more intense and relentless. As the Tour is chaotic with fans and media and the stakes are higher there is more stress in the peloton, so, mentally it is more difficult and fatiguing. We had extreme weather in both events (lots of rain in the Giro and overwhelmingly hot days in the Tour) which, along with the numerous crashes, wore the pelotons out. Three weeks of racing is never easy and the right training prior and recovery afterwards are essential. This year both events pushed the riders to their limits.
Team Sky.com: Team Sky's debut Tour - what were the highlights?
MB: Despite it only being our first season, and first Tour, the team has a massive following of very fervent fans. There are few teams with as many fans at the roadside and few nations with as many flags. Seeing that kind of support was definitely a highlight. Within the race, there were dozens of great moments. The times I enjoy the most are when the team is working well together and the morale is high. There is nothing better than sitting on the bus after the stage, when the job has been done well, and enjoying that moment with my teammates.
Team Sky.com: And what were the hardest points of the race for you and the team?
MB: The crashes during the first week were difficult for the entire team. Simon's forced retirement from the race was difficult for us as we lost a good teammate.
Team Sky.com: What can the team learn from their first-ever Tour?
MB: The process of racing a Grand Tour and striving for the podium, for the team as a whole and as individuals, is a massive learning experience. I think Bradley, and the rest of the team, learned a lot about training for the race and peaking at the right moment. The Giro may have been too hard in the lead-up to the Tour this year as both races were wearing and far more difficult, and less predictable, than last year's editions. Overall, the team is working smoothly and we rode well, were committed to the goal and did the best we could but with the experience gained this year we will all be a lot better off next year. The second time around everything will be easier, as we will know each other better and we will better understand the race, the environment and just how it all flows.
Team Sky.com: How does the recovery schedule work over the next few weeks?
MB: I will take a week very easy with a good few days off the bike and then I will fall back into a routine where I am riding my bike daily but won't push too hard until the week before the Eneco Tour which begins on the 17th.
Team Sky.com: And the focus for you for the rest of this season - we're guessing the races in Montreal and Quebec must be high on the agenda...
MB: Yes, after the Eneco Tour I will travel to Canada for the Protour races and then hopefully to the Worlds in Australia and Commonwealth Games in India. Clearly, the Canadian races are an objective as it'll be fantastic to race in front of a home crowd in towns I know well.
