|
 I
started off from Foix at around 7am. It was still dark and very cold.
It read -2ºC on the minibus display and from the frosty
sparkles on the ground I believed it. So on with tights over the knee
warmers, fleece jacket, full finger gloves and beanie hat under the helmet.
I even installed some flashy lights into the ends of my handlebars.
From the central area of Foix I headed out
towards Tarascon on the road to the right of the river (signposted) but actually
it is left of the river if you head south. There are a couple of
roundabouts to negotiate and these will be packed on race day, no doubt both
sides will be traveled and alot of shouting will occur when riders merge back
together. Once on the road to Tarascon it is a steady pace on a reasonably
flat road - but a little bumpy as it is chip sealed. There is no place for
the masses to break up just yet. Through Tarascon, a little winding around
the one way system and then another couple of roundabouts before heading on the
road to the Col de Port.
 There
soon comes a climb which is quite long and this should effect the masses but not
too much. The road then goes down and flattens out before the actual climb
starts. The Col De Port is quite a narrow climb with a couple of tight
switch backs before mellowing out in the middle. Then the final few
kilometers the switchbacks come back but at a steadier gradient. For the
majority of riders this will be no problem at all and there will still be large
groups, I think, at this stage.
At the top of the climb I had a clothing
change and stripped off the fleece jacket and changed my jersey and thermal
layer for dry ones - I had several changes of kit in the van and this is purely
because of the temperature. In July the sun will dry out all the sweat of
climbing and the coolness of the descent will be welcome. This time of
year it was freezing and the long sweeping roads coming down from the Col De
Port meant alot of wind-chill. I reached Massat in around 2 hours which
was to plan.
 There
is about a 20km stretch now between Massat and St Girons. This is where
you need to get in a pack and take advantage of the draft. The road
descends most of the way along the gorge and it is here that alot of time can be
made up. I took advantage of a little motor pacing but not too much as the
road bends and weaves quite alot so slowing even the motor vehicles down to a
pedestrian speed. After the gorge you hit St Girons, marked by going
through a smelly cigarette paper factory. A couple of traffic lights and
then left on the N618 towards the Col de Portet d'Aspet. This is where the
wind hit me and the road steadily goes upwards. Again, you need a drafting
pack here to make it a little more comfortable and I would have thought there
would be plenty to choose from as even after 70km there is nothing significant
to break up the masses.
 When
you reach Audressein you turn right and head up the valley. The road is a
steady climb through small villages. A couple of downhill rests but then
you hit the village of Portet d'Aspet which I clocked at 100km. This is
the 3km to go for the summit. The Col de Portet d'Aspet is not too bad
from this side. There are plenty of switchbacks that make the gradient
easy enough to ride in the saddle. Although, as I have not ridden it from
this side before I was in the dark so mentally I was having a tough time.
At the top there is a café (closed when I did it) that will no doubt be selling
everything it can, so maybe take a coke or two, there is also a great water stop
but may have alot of people cueing up on race day. I had another change of
kit and a quick cup of tea before taking on the ferocious descent. This
descent drops down at 17% and is quite winding with large concrete barriers on
the edge. With alot of people this needs to be taken with caution.
Just before the final bend and coming off the steepest section is the memorial
to
Fabio Casartelli.
I can see this being an area of carnage as riders slow down and stop to take
photographs. It may be worth just riding past and concentrating on the
final bend before hitting the start of the Col de Menté.
 The
Col De Menté starts off nice and gentle. I was getting a little tired now
and thought that I had not eaten much although I had drank quite a bit, probably
3 bottles of Powerbar sports drink. I should have eaten more!! The
route then drops down quite a descent, but don't get carried away and change
into the big ring because as you round the corner the real climbing of the Menté
starts and really doesn't ease off until you reach the top. It had been
quite cold up to now but the road of the Menté is cut into the side of the hill
and the sun reflects off the rock. This is going (and was) to be a very
hot climb.
I have ridden
it many times and when
 the
sun is out the torture increases 100%.
I started to
struggle big time and with 3km to go I seriously bonked. I plodded up to
the summit and just so I kept moving I went over the top without stopping.
I recovered my mental state coming down. It is a very fast technical
descent and more memorials to dead cyclists on the side of the road does focus
the concentration a little. I reach the bottom at St Beat and got off my
bike and waited for the support vehicle (Julie). I had another swap into
dry kit and stripped off the tights as the sun was now blazing. I also sat
down for a while and had a sandwich and stuffed my pockets with Powerbar Gels.
For me this was the hardest part of the whole ride.
 I
set off through the back of St Beat at about 1:30pm staying on this side of the
river and headed to Chaum where you turn left across the river (a couple of
roundabouts) and then head down a nice flat rode for about 10km before
heading up to Mauléon Barousse, again a nice drafting bunch would have been
welcome here. The road to Mauléon is not exactly flat and there is a
section of about 2km of 6% which does take it out of you if you are not prepared
i.e. pace yourself. You then drop down a steep hill past the cemetery into
Mauléon. There are plenty of water fountains here and a couple of cafés -
I could have really done with a plate of chips covered in salt here but I knew
if I stopped that would be it. I cycled through and up the hill towards
the Port de Balés. There are new kilometer markers on the climb and the
first is 19km. Don't panic here as the initial climbing only lasts for a
couple of kilometers and then the road flattens out for a while and then
steadily climbs through the valley next to a beautiful rocky river.
 The
real climb starts when you turn right over the river and then left UPWARDS.
It gets very steep very quickly so be prepared. but after a couple of
kilometers it eases off and rotates between 10% hell to 6% rest until you pass
the 4km to go mark. At this point it is just hellishly steep for 1.5
kilometers. Until you see a cutout though the rocks just keep pedaling as
best you can. Once you round the rocks you get to see the rest of the
climb. I felt OK at this point and had been taking a Gel every 30
minutes and had also started on the Coke. I also know the climb very well
and know where the rest points are so mentally I was on top. After the 2km
mark the gradient eases off but you get to see switch back after switchback
going off into the distance and on race day there will be a long line of riders
disappearing around every corner. But it is now above the tree line so the
heat will be harsh at this point. Round the final bend and the 300, 200
and 100m markers and the top is in sight. I quickly had another cup of tea
and put my wind jacket on, changed my cap (soaked in sweat) and headed down.
It was quite windy up there and the sun was starting to set as it was around 4pm
 The
descent is brand new, only paved this past June. It is single track and no
barriers. I have only ridden it once before and I still clung to the
inside. If there are many riders at this point going two, three abreast it
will be very scary. This carries on until you reach the first village
where there is a sharp left. Then it becomes fun and you fly through the
lanes and villages. Some of the villages are very thin and the road bends
quite tight, so caution needs to be taken. The scariest part is how quick
the main road comes up where you need to turn right to start the climb up the
Col de Peyresourde. On race day it will be fine but when you miss the Give
Way sign and have to brake from 70km/hr to 10km/hr in a matter of meters, it is
a bit of a wake up call. The 10km/hr then sort of stays with you as you
climb through the first village up to the Peyresourde. I stopped just
after the village to take off the wind jacket and stuff it in my back pocket -
the support vehicle must have got stuck coming down the Balés. Again, this
is going to be a very HOT section. There are large stone walls on the side
of the road and I have done several Cyclosportives in the past that use this col
and it is always stinking hot. With the road closed on race day, it would
be prudent to stay to the left and get as much shade from the trees as possible.
The climb to the Peyresourde is a long slog, specially at this time of day (or
was it night). Once you get around the final bend and see the final 4
switch backs it becomes "job done" It is still about a kilometer before
you reach them but at least you can start counting down to the final ascent.
Up the switchbacks and the top is there. I very quickly had another cup of
tea, put on my tights, new cap and off I went.
 What
a fast final descent - hardly any bends at all and super fast road.
Maybe with a few hundred tired cyclists all thinking the same thing it may be a
bit scary but you think it is all down hill from here. It is a sudden
sharp left towards Loudenvielle which took me by surprise. I scooted
around and carried on the descent. I thought I had finished when I reached
the first village but I was not seeing clearly and quickly put my arms down.
A few more villages pass and then the most cruelest thing to happen, another
climb with 2 small switchbacks. I just thought " you gits". Over
this out of the saddle sprinting and then it is truly downhill to the finish in
Loudenvielle. What a fantastic little town, very touristy but I can see
this being a great finish location with a lovely lake that may have just a few
tired legs being dipped into it post ride.
Final time was around 10 1/2 hours finishing
at 5:30 with a ride time of about 9 hours. This was very very tough.
My last long ride of 160km was at the beginning of September and since then a
couple of Cross races under my belt so this 196km ride with 5570m of ascent (I
used my Polar HRM to gauge this) was quite a challenge.
So I am up for doing this again, it is
already apart of one of our Tri Camps in May but if anyone wants to try it out
or parts of it just give me a shout. Off to get a massage. |
