In the last couple of weeks, we have done quite some racing: Pays Basque, the Ardennes and now the Tour de Romandie. They form a beautiful stretch of races, in the heart of the spring, with some of the painfully hard courses that attract masses of spectators and all the best cyclists in the world.

Liège-Bastogne-Liège, the last and most prestigious of the Ardennes trio, is the longest, most historic and toughest of the classics. The race is an endurance test at 260 km with several tough climbs in the last 90km. The climbs are not incredibly hard but after six hours on the bike they hurt.

Liège starts out fairly easy without too many difficulties in the first few hours and then, as the kilometers build up, the course gets tougher. The feeling would be similar to someone sticking a dull knife in your side and then slowly pushing it until suddenly the skin is punctured. The moment the skin is punctured is the moment in the race that a rider’s legs are nearly empty and all that is left is courage to turn over the pedals.

Our goal in the race was to get Kim Kirchen to the final ascent as fresh as possible and in good position. As the race is all about saving as much energy as possible for as long as possible, it is key to keep the leader out of the wind, well fed, hydrated and up front for all the climbs. Every second he spends in the wind will cost him in the last meters as the race comes down to a battle between the strongest and freshest riders.

The weather continues to be unseasonably warm throughout northern Europe and we were again racing in short-sleeve jerseys and concerned about hydration in Liège. Amazingly, in the final 20km the peloton was still quite big — much bigger than normal — which was likely due to the mild conditions and a headwind blowing against the peloton on the way back into Liège.

Headwinds always give the peloton an advantage and stifle attacks. Ten men rolling on the front off the peloton into a wind have a big advantage over a couple punching away off the front. A headwind also allows riders to sit on more easily as the speed is slower on the climbs and, protected on the wheels, the feeling is more like drafting behind a car.

The races this year are becoming increasingly chaotic and dangerous, with large pelotons going into the finales. The overall strength of the peloton is growing greater, and perhaps the level is more equal, but the race radios that each rider wears have changed the dynamic of bike racing.

The directors sit back in the cars orchestrating the race so that the riders think little for themselves now. Rarely is any team caught off guard or a breakaway not caught by the charging peloton. In the team cars, many teams have a television to watch the race unfold and maps to relay any upcoming difficulties, taking most of the variables out of the race.

If the UCI were to ban the radios, the racing would be more interesting for the spectators, and for the cyclists. Racing would be less formulaic as riders would be required to relearn how to feel a race instead of simply waiting for instructions over the radio.

Overall, the race went well for the team and Kim finished a solid 10th after the team did a perfect job working together to set the race up. After the finish, we showered quickly and went our separate ways. Some riders went home, others to the airport and others to hotels. Michael Rogers, Sergei Honchar and I packed up and left for the Tour de Romandie, a weeklong race in Switzerland.

Last night we rode the short and technical opening prologue of the Tour de Romandie. After crossing the line, I was convinced one rider would win as the course suited his skills perfectly with a very technical descent and a steep punch of a climb: Paolo Savoldelli. And my old teammate Savo, the Falcon, did win by a significant margin in an event that took less than five minutes.

The coming stages are mountainous — through the Jura — and the race should be a good warm-up for the riders heading to the Giro in two weeks. The race finishes Sunday in Lausanne with a solid time trial.

Our teammate, Patrick Sinkewitz, won Henniger-Turm in his hometown of Frankfurt yesterday and it was a boost to the entire squad. Patrick struggled a little during the Ardennes classics but with the racing in his legs, his form improved and he was able to race a tactically astute race and power away to a solo victory.