2011 Etape du Tour Act 2

I may have been moved to tears in climbing the mythical Mt Ventoux and the Alpe d’Huez during previous Etapes. But if there were tears this year they would have been for different reasons and surely washed away into the highland streams and lakes of the Massif Centrale. A day like that deserves some poetic words in response. Well, anyway I think the ‘heavens’ did enough crying for all of us. What a day!

I’m sorry I can’t offer any of my own ‘snaps’ or video for this ride. Within the first 20km it quickly became a game of survival rather than the intended fun day out on the bike. I was determined to get to the finish and never allowed any thoughts of abandon. However there were many times when I wondered just how things could have gotten any worse – and yet they did.

This Etape promised to be a beauty with a bucket load of climbs along the 200km route of the Massif Central region.

Click image to zoom then BACK to return to the blog

Mountain passes & Hills

Issoire Saint-Flour – 208 km

• Km 43.5 – Côte de Massiac – 3.4 km climb to 6.2 % – Category 3
• Km 99.5 – Col du Pas de Peyrol (Le Puy Mary) (1589 m) – 7.7 km climb to 6.2 % – Category 2
• Km 116.0 – Col du Perthus (1309m) – 4.4 km climb to 7.9 % – Category 2
• Km 127.5 – Col de Cère (1294 m) – 2.9 km climb to 6.3 % – Category 3
• Km 139.5 – Côte de la Chevade – 3.0 km climb to 7.9 % – Category 3
• Km 154.0 – Col de Prat de Bouc (Plomb du Cantal) (1392 m) – 8.0 km climb to 6.1 % – Category 2
• Km 193.0 – Côte du Château d’Alleuze – 2.0 km climb to 4.9 % – Category 4
• Km 208.0 – SAINT-FLOUR Montée des Orgues – 1.6 km climb to 6.1 % – Category 4

When the weather forecasts were indicating a wet race I figured that should be okay for, unlike the 3Peaks ride back home in the mountains of Victoria, the temperature should be warm enough so long as the wind was light. Completely wrong! While we are supposed to be experiencing the French Summer there was the small factor called altitude. Most of the many peaks on the route climbed to over 1,200 metres with the highest, the Col du Pas de Peyrol (Le Puy Mary) topping out at 1589m. That’s not far short of the Alpe d’Huez. However, beyond the first 50km the route rarely dropped under 1,000 metres. And, of course, there WAS wind – plenty of it!

A recipe for disaster, a word much used in the blogs and news reports of the day. Well to be more accurate, the words often used were “catastrophe”, “apocalypse” ….. In fact it was disaster that was averted by the incredible effort achieved by the organisers who were surely stretched to the limit with only 25% of those registered to ride actually finishing the event.

After a 300km drive across from the Alps Pete (my riding buddy) and I went down to the sign on and then settled in to our nearby hotel to pack and prepare. Deciding on clothing was the hardest thing to judge as the forecasts, while predicting rain, were somewhat at odds with the clearing skies above. This illusion was quickly dampened the next morning as the windscreen wipers got a working over as we drove to Issoire for the start where rain jackets were everywhere.

At the start in Issoire (photo Velo101)

My bib number of 2257 got me into a fairly early start but already I was shivering. Once moving the body quickly warmed but I don’t think the hands ever did. As the stream of riders climbed out of Issoire the rain began to fall harder and as soon as we got in to the hills and on the highlands beyond the Côte de Massiac the wind picked up as well. On these lower slopes the fields were open with no shelter whatsoever. Here’s a pic I found on a website (http://www.velo101.com/photos/galerie/letape-du-tour-mondovelo-acte-2/108) that gives a bit of an indication of the conditions out there.

Miserable conditions

Pete was up ahead having started in the second wave and I was wondering how he was faring – already worried about all the climbing to be done on this tough course the weather was surely compounding his concerns. When I finally arrived at the first feedzone in Allanche I was stunned by the sight of thousands (literally) of bicycles leaning up against a wall and riders wandering around with dazed looks on their faces. As I rolled to a stop and tried to click out nothing worked and I crashed to the ground. I was so cold that I couldn’t reach into my back pocket to get my phone out to call Peter. I decided to get some food and hot coffee and try to thaw out.

It took 10 minutes before I finally fumbled with the phone only to hear that Pete was abandoning. Thousands of others did the same and some were in pretty bad condition. This is where the organisers and locals came into the picture. Locals were sheltering people in their shops and supplying hot drinks, heat and blankets. The organisers herded people into a local pavilion with medical teams assessing their condition on entry. Some were immediately wrapped in space blankets and treated for hypothermia. These pictures from Peter give an idea of the scene.

Out in the street I was getting cold and decided I’d be warmer if I kept riding. Standing there for an hour waiting for a bus was unimaginable. So off I went into the gloom and mist, out through the village and immediately onto a stiff climb. As I tried to shift into a higher gearing I found my shifter stuck and all but came to a standstill. The fall I’d taken earlier had bent the derailleur cable back on itself breaking the plastic grommet where it slots in. I carefully bent it back into something resembling its correct position and got the gears working of a fashion. However it was jumping off the 28 and clicking and carrying on. Some small adjustments settled it down but suddenly, with the next big climbs and more wilderness approaching, I had a new concern to add to the weather conditions.

Frankly from here on the next 150km were a blur. I do recall the sky clearing at one point and exposing an incredible sight of the beautiful mountain peaks of this region; a fellow wandering on the verge with a seriously scared look on his face at the predicament he was in – in the wilderness and yet unable to ride on and no shelter or support for miles around; ambulances passing constantly; a very cloudy summit of the Col du Pas de Peyrol; a scary descent where I couldn’t tell how many fingers I had on the brake levers; a phone call with Peter saying he’d made it back to the hotel and would meet me at the finish; a very muddy feedzone next to a stream with hot but unpalatable coffee; running along the grassy slopes with barbed wire where Fletcha and Hoogerland had come to grief; and a wonderful and fast section sitting in a small bunch of big Dutch dudes (wearing orange) smashing it along a ridge on the approach to Saint-Flour.

The final 30km seemed to take an eternity, probably due to the anticipation and expectation that seems to make time stand still some times. Finally, eventually I reached Saint-Flour and dragged my sorry butt up the final insult, a 1km climb to the top of the village and the finish. Pete was there to greet me and I think I was too exhausted and dazed to even shed a tear. My eyes were red raw from the grit, hail and beating rain already – I’ll never forget to wear a peak cap in the wet again!

As always there were hordes of volunteers assisting riders and handing out medals and food. And in spite of those awful conditions there were local people out all along the route, on the roads both in villages and even in the remote fields, cheering and encouraging the riders along with “chapeau”, “bon courage” and applause. As if riding these special areas of the world on closed roads isn’t enough the French people’s love of cycling and bonne volonté towards those who take on such challenges is quite amazing.

One day I want to return to this route and ride it in conditions where it can be enjoyed.

Results for what it’s worth:

Total time: 10:25:42  :  Ride time: 9:23:10

Classement réel: 1630 of 2094 finishers  :  Classement D (50 – 59yrs): 372 of 500

Madone challenge (both Etapes): 211 of 314 finishers

The ride is on the Garmin site:   http://connect.garmin.com/player/106083523

Official results, photos and videos:   http://www.asochallenge.com/

And here’s some stats:

While my story goes some way towards describing the event I was also quite taken by the words, photos and videos of others who have posted on various sites. Here are some of them:

http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest/529414/weather-wreaks-havoc-at-etape-du-tour.html

http://physicaledgeuk.wordpress.com/2011/07/19/etape-du-tour-2011-the-real-story/

http://auvergne.france3.fr/info/la-mondovelo-dans-la-tourmente-69703726.html?onglet=videos&