Fiona Mangan has not been enjoying her best form on the Tour de France but the Winspace Orange Seal rider said she was determined to learn as much as she could from the race and soak up what is a lifetime experience.
She told stickybottle the battle for position was so fierce that respect had been abandoned inside the race, adding the strength in depth of the field was also something she had not experienced before.
"Personally, I haven't been in the best form in this race," she told stickybottle. "With cycling, it's hard to peak perfectly. And while I tried for this week, it doesn't seem to be there. So, for me, this week is all about surviving and just soaking in the atmosphere.
"And I'm also just looking at it from an experience point of view because I think I'm finding my feet a bit better in the peloton. When there aren't any crashes, I think my positioning has improved. So I can't feel too down about the lack of form when I'm still getting to race here at the biggest race in the world."
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Mangan said she tried to go in the early attacks on yesterday's stage, which saw the race split to pieces on late climbs and a seven-rider general classification group form at the front. But even before the general classification fight commenced, the Limerick woman said it was a very demanding stage.
"It's just been a huge battle for position, it's like nothing I've ever done before, even at the Vuelta two years ago," she said. "You're using every tiny opportunity to move up, whether that's on corners, descents… We're a slightly smaller team as well, so maybe there's not as much respect.
"But, at the same time, I think that respect has been thrown out the window anyway," she laughed. "But it's the Tour de France so everybody wants to be at the front, everybody's hungrier than usual.
"I tried at the start (yesterday) to get into the break but it was a real battle; really, really hard, for about 30 minutes. And eventually the break was formed and that was that. But it was a really good experience to be at the front and see how the brake went.
"I'm still very motivated for the upcoming days. I'm just trying to soak it in as much as possible and forget about the previous days and move on."
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Mangan added the direction of the race across France had conspired with the wind direction to ensure the riders had had a tailwind for most of the racing so far. That had ramped up the speed, heightening the battle for position.
"Today, I was really trying to get into the break but I got unlucky. There was a massive crash after 30km and myself Mia (Griffin) and Lara (Gillespie) all got caught in it. And it was very, very hard to chase back. It was on a big road, with a tailwind, and up the front they were all attacking. So I used up a lot of energy there trying to get back into the main bunch.
"You could also see today everyone was a lot more tired than the other days so there was a lot more crashes than usual. Once I lost that positioning after the crash I found it hard to get back to the front."
Mangan said as the hillier phase of the race had now arrived, and with her form perhaps not what she'd hoped for, her race will "be about surviving and helping my team leaders".
"We have two girls that are, honestly, world class when it comes to their power. So we'll be trying to get them into a good position before those climbs, that will be key," she said.
Mangan added she has also been stunned by the sheer size of the crowds packing the roadside each day, saying some of the race officials had told her it was on a par with the men's race.
"It's absolutely mental. And if you're having a down day, seeing all those supporters on the roadside lifts you up again, especially in the morning when you have the team presentation.
"It seems to be this big new era in women's cycling, the sport is definitely growing and changing. We can really feel it from the side of the road, it's honestly incredible.
"And I think I'll probably realise that in a few weeks when it's all over, just how cool the support is. With something like the Olympics even, it can be one day. But we're getting this support day after day."
