I've always admired the Grand Tour contenders who inevitably end up in the third week of the race sporting a stylish cold sore and looking emaciated. I don't know why, but this sort of scene is totally indicative of the madness of the sport, and a key reason I love it. Like tanlines, the cold sore is an indicator of someone operating at the peak of their fitness if not just a tad on the downslope of form.
The PROs, who are so thin they move like insects on spindly legs when off the bike, have immune systems that are so devastated that cold sores and acne breakouts become a regular occurance in week three. It's rare to see a final GC podium of a Grand Tour with someone on it not rocking a cold sore- even LA had a few during his 7 year reign.
You hardly see the classics guys promoting the look, except maybe during Roubaix and only if the weather has been shitty in the two weeks proceeding the Hell of the North.
So I was shocked and a little proud after I raced the last brutal road race of the summer last Sunday in 100 degree heat with declining form and a few days later, low and behold, I woke up with a little present from my efforts all season.
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