Olav had to sneeze. Not just once, not twice, but five times. Somewhere nearby a few trees had just started to bloom. Their pollen were making his nose tingle uncomfortably and his eyes started to blur.

He blew his nose loudly, then turned his attention to the team meeting.

"I think it's actually unnecessary for me to explain the important things of a mountain stage to a team of professional cyclists, but listen anyway." The sky had been so bright and blue in the last days that the blond Norwegian giant had a slight sunburn on his nose. Due to the sun cream he had applied today thickly his face had a greasy shine.

"Without exception we will ride as a team today. First, Lars and Sven will take turns pulling. We want to get the peloton as far behind us as possible today so that Morten and Ebbe have a strategic advantage after Col des Croix to break out on the last 40 kilometers."

The four nodded in agreement. "You know the incline in the final section will be grueling. so please take great care to keep an even pace." The last part was especially directed to the sprinters Olav and Matti. "As always, the peloton will do its best to devour us on the last 70 kilometers. But we are a strong team. If we rotate and save energy until the last hour, we're sure to win the stage."

Olav blew his nose again. Thunder roared and dark clouds were gathering at the distant horizon.
The bones of his right elbow and forearm began to hurt. 

A bad omen?

The image of the eyes of the Irish twins crept back into his memory. He had already forgotten their names, but those creepy two-colored pupils and Punyaas words were crystal clear in his memory.

Matti looked at the sky and joked. "Hey, Haakon, if it pours down later, you won't at least get more sunburn!"

"And we don't have to shower today," Morten laughed.

Märtha slapped the back of his head. "If you don't shower, you can sleep in a barn tonight!"

Everyone bursted out laughing. Olav's bad feeling was wiped away by the infectious laughter. "Women are very dangerous. I'm so glad I'm single!"

***

The wind became stronger. For the first time in 75 kilometers Olav was happy that he had chosen the long green jersey today. He thought that yellow would have suited him much better, but the feeling of the prestigious green fabric on his skin filled him with pride.

The crosswind rattled in the spokes of his road bike and it wasn't the first time that Olav's index finger felt for the brake to calm him down. Lars and Sven did their best to pull the train of Team Viking Spades over the endlessly winding serpentines to the summit.

Let's face it, Olav did not enjoy such ascents. They were boring and you rode slowly, even though you pedalled and pedalled and pedalled with heavy legs. Riding in Haakon's slipstream made the ascent easier, but Olav felt underutilized. He wanted the climb to be over as soon as possible, so he could bend forward again and rush down the slope at breakneck speed.

But then he remembered Alvar's words from yesterday: "If you take it a little easier tomorrow, even the slight overstimulation in your knee will be gone by the next big sprint."

If the experienced physical therapist of the Viking Spades said so, it was better to listen. Olav pursed his lips and let his right hand slide into his back pocket to take out a sports gel.

There you go! 

This time he had paid attention and packed some lemon flavour. While he sucked on the tube, he felt the first raindrops on his skin. Not so long and a summer storm was about to come.

"Say, Mamo-chan, do I really have to follow you around all day? I'm bored!" Even though Olav did not speak a word of Japanese, the facial expressions and gestures of the 18 year old sprinter Yoshiki were clear.

He was also bored to death because he couldn't develop his full potential on a mountain stage. His only task in the breakaway group was to ride in rotation and keep up with the others.

"Matsuda-san, I'll let you ride at the front again tomorrow."

"For real now?" The eyes of the small sprint assistant began to shine.

Mamoru pointed forward. "Today Daisuke and Keisuke are the stars." 

The grumpy Daisuke switched positions with Keisuke as if on command, leaving it to Keisuke to pull the team.

"Aniki!" Yoshiki was switching next to Keisuke. "Say, do you have any of those chocolate banana bars left?"

Keisuke nodded amusedly. "Wait... Here!" He handed the energy bar to the younger one.

"That's my Aniki! Super mega top class!" He let himself fall back and joined Mamoru and Jun again.

Daisuke watched the whole action with gritted teeth. "Tse, Aniki..."

If there was one thing he absolutely could not stand about working for Team Startory Jokers, it was Yoshiki. The boy was not only hyperactive, but dumb as a bucket of shrimp.

Why did Keisuke let himself lull by this idiot?

If he hadn't had another two-year contract with the Jokers, Daisuke would have left the team long time ago. But the team switch had been cancelled after the Korean South Leaves were smashed due to a doping scandal.

A raindrop hit his forearm. Daisuke closed the zipper of his team jersey completely. If conditions got worse, today's mountain stage would become a sliding adventure.

Shit!

"Daihatsu-san, Kawasaki-san!" Mamoru's voice became firm and serious. He took a quick glance backwards and nodded. "It's time. Initiate Kaguya maneuver."

Keisuke shifted up two gears and started dancing. He and Daisuke broke away from the rest of the Startory Jokers and dashed up the winding road.

Morten and Ebbe reacted immediately. They didn't hesitate and picked up the pace.

Olav tried to catch a glimpse of the following cyclists in the next corner. And what he saw made the blood in his veins freeze: the Irish twins had broken away from the peloton and were chasing up the mountain at insane speed. It looked so naturally and not even a tiny bit exhausting.

A broad grin adorned Andy's face, while Frank's eyes were half-closed in silent satisfaction. Frank switched to the front. Andy got so close to him that their back wheels almost touched.

"Who would have thought they were trying to terminate the match already?" Haakon scratched over his red nose.

Olav's fingers started to itch. Whenever a group of cyclists made efforts to dash off, he felt obliged to take up pursuit. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Nobuhiko, who, like him, had to pull himself together.

Mountains were no place for sprinters. They were merciless and if you didn't pay close attention to your heart rate, they would break your neck before you even reached the summit.

Soon Andy and Frank had caught up with the Viking duo Morten and Ebbe and switched positition once more. Morten slurped down a protein bar and then pedalled even harder.

"They want to overtake us? As if!" He roared heroically and lay deep down into the next curve, only to increase his cadence again afterwards. Ebbe followed him at every turn, trying as hard as he could to keep the Irish at bay.

Andy and Frank tried to break inside, but Ebbe was faster. Andy accelerated and attacked on the outside, but Morten increased the pace and put a few crucial centimeters between them. Sweat dripped from Morten's beard and he breathed heavily.

The first raindrops had coloured the asphalt to deep black. It started to smell like wet earth. They drove past a parking lot that was overcrowded with caravans.

Cheering of the fans, whistles and drums. The Vikings, who had already beaten the drum in Dusseldorf before the start of the Tour, cheered on their team as loud as possible.

But then Andy changed positions with Frank. The friendly face of the younger twin brother suddenly turned into a demonic grimace. Frank tipped on the gear shift several times, then rose from the saddle and accelerated strongly.

Now Morten and Ebbe were no longer the hunted, but the hunters.

One meter.

Two meters.

Five.

Morten cried out in frustration and hit the handlebars with his fist. The Irish twins sprinted away at ridiculously high speed. Morten panted and gasped, but it was already over. Ebbe and he had lost the duel of climbers.