The players were driven out towards the National Mall –a park area surrounding Capitol and the Washington Monument – but although their intention was to have a longer walk in the area, for security reasons they cut short their stroll in the rather close and humid conditions.

Working in the gym

The squad then returned to their hotel to work out in the gym, with the players who had been involved in the Audi Cup final doing a little less than the rest of the players. Some of the other players enjoyed a casual game of basketball in the hotel’s sports hall, whilst Xavi and Puyol continued with their own specific fitness programmes.

Tried and tested diet

The biggest challenge facing the players on a trip like this –Washington is six hours behind Barcelona –is jet lag, but with the Club having had plenty of experience in tours to the States, the procedures for helping the players minimise the effects are tried and tested. On Wednesday night before the flight for instance, the players ate a meal rich in carbohydrates to encourage sleep and indeed the Club doctors were prepared with medication to help any player who needed it to sleep and encouraged them to drink plenty of non-caffeine based liquids.

The arrival of the players at 5 in the morning local time allowed them to get some further rest, after which they had a protein rich breakfast to help them prepare for the first training session ahead of what is bound to be the longest day of the Tour.