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Etape Cymru - Sunday 14th Sept 2014
Entries have just opened for Etape Cymru
Billed as the toughest (UK) sportif on closed roads, it's 90-ish miles of wonderful scenery in North Wales, including the legendary Horseshoe Pass climb - 6.1km long, 317m ascent, with a maximum gradient of 20%
In 2013, there were still places available in the spring (and possibly later), so you don't have to commit right away. However, it costs less if you enter before 25th December. More info here Etape Cymru
Billed as the toughest (UK) sportif on closed roads, it's 90-ish miles of wonderful scenery in North Wales, including the legendary Horseshoe Pass climb - 6.1km long, 317m ascent, with a maximum gradient of 20%
In 2013, there were still places available in the spring (and possibly later), so you don't have to commit right away. However, it costs less if you enter before 25th December. More info here Etape Cymru
Comments
Serious amounts of climbing to be had ... in a mountainous part of UK ... that I haven't yet cycled. What's not to like?
Any thoughts on accommodation?
Bring it ON
Scenery was wonderful, spectators were unbelievably cheery, superb marshals and signage, beautifully organised food-stops, unusually tidy riders and the weather was pretty much perfect. The gradient was surprisingly manageable through Horseshoe Pass and the rest of the first 50 miles or so and then came the town of Minera, another neon-clad marshal, a tight right turn and suddenly the tarmac rose up in front of me like a wall
In front of me, riders were inching slowly on ... and up ahead, bodies and bikes littered the left hand verge. I wondered if 28 teeth really was going to be enough and I entered my own slow battle with the unexpected monster of a 'hill'. As it turned out, 28 was (just) enough. I skipped the last feed station and was really enjoying myself on the front (gel had kicked in) - taking long smooth lines through twisting lanes and cruising over an undulating bit of the course that a lot of riders didn't seem to like. And then came the last 10 miles and I was on my own
So into TT mode I went, which was fine for a bit and I did find a few lone riders, but they didn't help and they didn't chat. Just as it was starting to get very boring indeed, there was the sound of fast riders approaching from behind. 2 v strong guys steamed by and I somehow managed to catch their tail. Garmin crept up to 30mph. These guys were beautiful - poetry in motion. A big grin spread across my face and just when I thought things couldn't get any better, a faster group steamed by. So on we jumped. OMG is all I can say to what came next. It wasn't tidy, but it was a blisteringly fast finish to an 85 miler and I'm still not quite sure how it was possible after all those hills, but who cares :)
Results are out: 2000 riders. 150 ladies entered. 110 ladies finished and of those, I came 7th. Can't quite believe that either! Big thanks to Martin and Tania for getting me there in the first place and for all the laughs we had along the way.
Martin would have knocked even more off last year's time if he hadn't waited for me at 2 of the feed stops
Think we both did CCA proud ... and it's a beautifully organised event just begging for another CCA outing next year