Well, here’s my first blog for VeloNation. It’s the end of the season now - my last race was 1.1 Chrono des Nations and that was also the last race of the Cervélo TestTeam.

I got a big opportunity in the second half of the season to make the switch from the Continental team Sprocket Pro Cycling to race as a Stagiaire for them.

I hoped to get a spot for 2011 and my first race was 1.HC Tour of Denmark, which I was very motivated to do well in. Everything was bigger and more structured in Cervélo and it was so much easier to just focus on racing, even if I was very nervous before. I did a lot to help the team out, and managed to get myself a seventh place in the TT stage and 25th overall.

 I then spent two weeks in Sweden after Denmark, and one day I got the phone call. I had previously been told that I would have a contract for the upcoming year, but when the call came through I was told the team might fold and the contract was not possible.

I was very disappointed, needless to say. But I did get a good chance anyway to show myself to other teams out there when I was searching, thanks to an expanded race schedule with Cervélo TestTeam.

 I did a lot of big races and managed to get a 26th at 1.HC Paris-Bourges and a 130km breakaway in 1.HC Tour de Vendée as my best performances. I then finished off my season with the 1.1 Chrono des Nations in Les Herbiers, France….it’s the town of the 1st stage finish of the Tour of 2011.

The TT was ok and I got the 12th-best time of the day. I was ten seconds away from top ten, and one minute 40 seconds off the podium. David Millar won in great style.
 
Now that the season is over, I can look back on a good year where I improved a lot from 2009. I had the overall victory in 2.2 FBD Insurance Rás, a stage win in 2.2 Ringerike GP, that seventh place in the TT in the 1.HC Tour of Denmark and the switch from Sprocket ProCycling to Cervélo TestTeam as my highlights.

I have got a good ride for next year but am still keeping my fingers crossed for a ProTour team to come back with an offer…more to come on that.

In the two weeks since the Chrono des Nations, I have been taking it very easy and been spending a lot of time with my six week old baby girl Nova, my fiancée Malin, my friends and my folks. In other words, having a great time off the bike…
 
Take care!

Alexander Wetterhall