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Ride Report: L'Etape du Tour 6 July 2008
On Sunday morning I lined up with approximately 8,000 other riders to take part in the Etape du Tour from Pau to Hautacam in the French Pyrenees. The long-range weather forecast sadly turned out to be accurate and we started at 7:00 in light rain and a temperature of around 14 degrees.
The start was a well-organised affair, with the field being released in pens of 1000 riders at a time. We all got away surprisingly quickly and my three fellow competitors and myself were soon buzzing through the wet streets of Pau at over 40kmh. The pace continued to be high until we hit the first small climb out of the village of Rebenacq at the 25km mark. The profile then alternated between rolling hills (over the second climb at Loucrup) and then dead flat. As we passed through the numerous small towns the support from the locals was tremendous (and much appreciated) with shouts of Allez Allez! from the sizable crowds on route.
I skipped the main feed point at Lourdes (67km) and, having been reunited with one of my mates, continued to keep the pace high through the scenic town of Bagneres-de-Bigorre (huge crowds there) and onto the feed stop provided by our travel company at Beaudean (93km). After a quick top-up of the bidons and a couple of hastily-scoffed bananas, we headed off again and immediately hit the foothills of the Tourmalet. The climb started pleasantly enough you are gently eased in with 5 km of 3% or so, until the ascent proper starts at Saint-Marie-de-Campan. Here the gradient shoots up to 7% and continues in the 7-8.5% range for the remaining 16km to the summit.
By this point I was definitely starting to suffer from the early high pace and a lack of decent hill training, and I pretty much crawled up the Tourmalet at between 8-11kmh. Its not an especially difficult climb but its sheer length makes it utterly soul-destroying and tedious. Added to that we were in clouds for the entire ascent, so we were not even treated to the spectacular Pyrenean views normally on offer. 3.5km from the top I arrived at La Mongie, an ugly ski resort and the second feed point. Here I lost a lot of time battling with thousands of other riders squabbling over water and a few bits of fruit, getting thoroughly cold, wet and miserable in the process. Undeterred I continued to grind on until quite suddenly, appearing out of the cloud was the famous giant metal statue of a cyclist marking the summit (120km).
It was only around 4 degrees at the summit, so I quickly put on my jacket (and amusingly, my friend donned a pair of pink marigold rubber gloves) and started the most thrilling descent of my life down the western slopes of the Tourmalet. The sight of thousands of riders strung out along the switchback roads into the valley below me, whilst hurtling down at 70kmh moved me to tears for the first of several times that day. The Enigma was an absolute dream to descend on stable and predictable, and I hardly pedalled for over 25kms, only occasionally feathering the brakes. The gradient then levelled out into a valley and we then continued into an annoying headwind all the way to Ayros-Arbouix (153km) at the foot of Hautacam.
Since this was the place where friends and families would later meet the finishing riders, the crowds here were massive and especially vocal, and I was grinning like a madman as I started the final climb. Although shorter, the profile of Hautacam is much more interesting than Tourmalet, varying wildly between 6 and 10%, with some short sections going up to 13%. Now confident of finishing (Id made it past the second elimination point) I took my time on the climb and tried to enjoy it as much as I could despite being cold, wet and tired. The most challenging aspect of Hautacam was the narrow road, and the demoralising sight of riders who had already finished bombing down the other side. Added to that a lot of people were getting off and walking meant you had to keep your eyes open to avoid collisions.
After what seemed to be an age (actually nearly 2 hours) the Flame Rouge appeared, the road levelled slightly, and I dug deep for the final km to the finish. My final time of 8:40 wasnt particularly impressive, but still well within the cut-off and with a lack of any real training, I was pleased just to have finished.
After a very long and cold wait to be let back down again, by which time my thighs had completely frozen solid, I finally made it back to Ayros, met up with my buddies and at last had a chance to relax. Definitely an amazing experience I hope to repeat next year (hopefully a little better prepared).
Lows:
Overcrowded feed point at La Mongie
Riders keeling over with cramp right in front of me on Tourmalet
Having to wait 40 minutes to descend Hautacam after finishing and getting utterly cold.
Highs:
Amazing decent off Tourmalet
Fantastic crowd support.
Steak, chips and champagne back in Pau in front of the mens singles final.
Cheers,
Craig.
The start was a well-organised affair, with the field being released in pens of 1000 riders at a time. We all got away surprisingly quickly and my three fellow competitors and myself were soon buzzing through the wet streets of Pau at over 40kmh. The pace continued to be high until we hit the first small climb out of the village of Rebenacq at the 25km mark. The profile then alternated between rolling hills (over the second climb at Loucrup) and then dead flat. As we passed through the numerous small towns the support from the locals was tremendous (and much appreciated) with shouts of Allez Allez! from the sizable crowds on route.
I skipped the main feed point at Lourdes (67km) and, having been reunited with one of my mates, continued to keep the pace high through the scenic town of Bagneres-de-Bigorre (huge crowds there) and onto the feed stop provided by our travel company at Beaudean (93km). After a quick top-up of the bidons and a couple of hastily-scoffed bananas, we headed off again and immediately hit the foothills of the Tourmalet. The climb started pleasantly enough you are gently eased in with 5 km of 3% or so, until the ascent proper starts at Saint-Marie-de-Campan. Here the gradient shoots up to 7% and continues in the 7-8.5% range for the remaining 16km to the summit.
By this point I was definitely starting to suffer from the early high pace and a lack of decent hill training, and I pretty much crawled up the Tourmalet at between 8-11kmh. Its not an especially difficult climb but its sheer length makes it utterly soul-destroying and tedious. Added to that we were in clouds for the entire ascent, so we were not even treated to the spectacular Pyrenean views normally on offer. 3.5km from the top I arrived at La Mongie, an ugly ski resort and the second feed point. Here I lost a lot of time battling with thousands of other riders squabbling over water and a few bits of fruit, getting thoroughly cold, wet and miserable in the process. Undeterred I continued to grind on until quite suddenly, appearing out of the cloud was the famous giant metal statue of a cyclist marking the summit (120km).
It was only around 4 degrees at the summit, so I quickly put on my jacket (and amusingly, my friend donned a pair of pink marigold rubber gloves) and started the most thrilling descent of my life down the western slopes of the Tourmalet. The sight of thousands of riders strung out along the switchback roads into the valley below me, whilst hurtling down at 70kmh moved me to tears for the first of several times that day. The Enigma was an absolute dream to descend on stable and predictable, and I hardly pedalled for over 25kms, only occasionally feathering the brakes. The gradient then levelled out into a valley and we then continued into an annoying headwind all the way to Ayros-Arbouix (153km) at the foot of Hautacam.
Since this was the place where friends and families would later meet the finishing riders, the crowds here were massive and especially vocal, and I was grinning like a madman as I started the final climb. Although shorter, the profile of Hautacam is much more interesting than Tourmalet, varying wildly between 6 and 10%, with some short sections going up to 13%. Now confident of finishing (Id made it past the second elimination point) I took my time on the climb and tried to enjoy it as much as I could despite being cold, wet and tired. The most challenging aspect of Hautacam was the narrow road, and the demoralising sight of riders who had already finished bombing down the other side. Added to that a lot of people were getting off and walking meant you had to keep your eyes open to avoid collisions.
After what seemed to be an age (actually nearly 2 hours) the Flame Rouge appeared, the road levelled slightly, and I dug deep for the final km to the finish. My final time of 8:40 wasnt particularly impressive, but still well within the cut-off and with a lack of any real training, I was pleased just to have finished.
After a very long and cold wait to be let back down again, by which time my thighs had completely frozen solid, I finally made it back to Ayros, met up with my buddies and at last had a chance to relax. Definitely an amazing experience I hope to repeat next year (hopefully a little better prepared).
Lows:
Overcrowded feed point at La Mongie
Riders keeling over with cramp right in front of me on Tourmalet
Having to wait 40 minutes to descend Hautacam after finishing and getting utterly cold.
Highs:
Amazing decent off Tourmalet
Fantastic crowd support.
Steak, chips and champagne back in Pau in front of the mens singles final.
Cheers,
Craig.
Comments
James Davis, Robbie Laughton and I hope to join you next year :)
If you want to re-live it, without the crowds and the pain, the entire route of the Tour is on google maps....
http://www.google.com/landing/tourdefrance2008/
It would be great to have a group of CCA riders doing it next year, I'm up for it!