So after the 2.2-rankedTour de Normandie, where Alexandre Blain clinched the win, I went home to Sweden again and spent ten days there. Every time I come home, our daughter Nova has taught herself something new. When I left for Normandie she couldn’t sit up right but ten days later, she was sitting steady and for a long period of time - amazing! We were at the baby-swim and it’s great to see the little ones floating around in the water enjoying their time, clapping the water with hands and feet.

I didn’t have long there, though, as I had to leave for the Cinturón Ciclista Internacional (2.2) in Majorca. I had been looking forward to this race. Even if I’ve never been there before (yes, I know it’s a shame) I had heard it had nice long climbs and it included a prologue in the four days of racing.

I did the 7.1km prologue but it felt like I missed out and couldn’t get it all out of my body, even though I finished eighth in the stage. On the night before stage two I got real bad…illness due to food-poisoning or something like it. Got real sick anyway, and you guys know how it’s like.

Anyway, in the morning I woke up feeling a bit better and decided to start. We had a hard day ahead of us with both the Coll de Soller and Coll de Puig Major but I wanted to try. But even though it was 26 degrees, I felt cold and I stopped at Coll de Soller with stomach cramps/problems, so my race was over. I didn’t get well until the Sunday, four days later and even then I felt weak and light.

Endura Racing rode very strongly during the week and Iker Camaño won the second stage from a break with David Clarke finishing fifth taking the bunch-kick. On the third stage Iker and Rob Partridge drove the break to the finish-line with the result that Iker sized the yellow jersey of the Cinturón Mallorca. During the forth stage Endura rode really well as a team and defended the jersey all the way to Palma de Mallorca. There, Iker won the Tour overall, with Rob Partridge in ninth. Endura Racing also won the overall teams classification!

I celebrated my 25th birthday by racing Paris-Camembert the 12th of April. It felt better than I expected but I ran out of steam to finish the race and climbed off after 160km. Iker was best-placed Endura Racing rider in seventh, another solid performance. Now I’m recovering and getting more energy in the system for the upcoming weekend in Scotland, Tour Doon Hame - I'mlooking forward to it!

The last time I raced in Scotland was 2007 and then it was in the MTB World Championships in Fort William. I had a good ride but it ended up in a snapped frame; I hope for better luck this time. It’s a great place if the weather stays ok, otherwise it could be a bit rough...

Thanks for reading,

Alexander