September 2001 Diary
2nd September - The Megeve Mt Blanc for the second time
I left Grenoble in the dark and the sunrise didn't start to show itself until Albertville. The silhouettes of the jagged peaks looked spectacular, like a giant saw on the horizon, and not a cloud in the sky. It was a crisp morning in Megeve with the temperature reading six degrees, and many of the cyclists were pedaling to start the event with their legs covered in tights. To add to the feeling of cold, the mountains above the ski resort were dusted with a light covering of snow that had fallen the day before.
A year before, I'd ridden to the start of the 133 kilometre Megeve Mont Blanc sportif with about 30 minutes until the depart and I'd been relatively near the front. This year, I rolled up with 25 minutes till the off and found myself the wrong side of 800 cyclists with the rest behind me making up the 1,200 starters.
Following the official start, it took a few minutes for me to cross the line after a one-legged cycling amble. I kept doing this till I crossed the line, making sure I wouldn't fall over if I had to stop quickly. Everybody was keen as the riders started the first seven brisk kilometres of gradual descending towards the village of Flumet. Last year, I remembered the constant braking and accelerating in the group but there was none of this time.
We were then onto the climb of the 1,600 metre Route des Saisies. This first climb had the biggest vertical of the day, and like all of the climbs I'd ride over the route, it averaged about seven percent. We were climbing the middle route to les Saisies taking us through Crest Voland, and would then turn left a kilometre before the Col des Saisies and then descend back on the main road towards Megeve.
The road climbed through trees and then took us through a small village before descending for kilometre, and then we were again climbing under the cover of trees. I took off my race cape and rode the climb as hard as I felt I could. There were riders in front and behind as far as I could see, and on some sections, I could see riders climbing above me on hairpins that I would reach a few minutes later. It was only in the last kilometres that the number of riders around me decreased and small groups were starting to form. There were sections of the climb without trees, on which there were spectacular views of the grey peaks towards the Aravis massif. These were the peaks that I would cycle under while climbing the next Col.
;) |
| Nearing
the top of the Route des Saisies |
I took a warm drink that was handed to me as I crested over the summit, and then quickly donned my race cape. I checked the temperature on the cycle computer, a chilly nine degrees for the next 15 kilometres of descending.
Soon after starting the descent, I had to stop briefly to check my front wheel, finding that my cycle computer magnet had been knocked and it was the last time I saw my speed in the event. I clambered back on the bike and joined on the back of the next riders who passed me. The road was dry so the descent was fast and I found myself having to cycle hard to stay with the riders just in front of me.
The Col des Aravis starts by climbing through a narrow gorge outside Flumet, where the gradient is never too steep before a couple of kilometres of flat. I was in a group of about ten riders and was quite happy to sit and shelter behind the others until the gradient steepened. The climb really starts as you pass through the village of La Giettaz, with a kilometre of eight percent and numerous hairpins taking you up the mountainside and past houses. There were regular groups of spectators here who were shouting encouragement, including one particular group of excited ladies in pink wigs. It certainly helped the climb go quicker.
I knew I had to play catch up after starting at the back and I could see the next group climbing the hairpins above. I accelerated away from my group and spent a the next few kilometres working with a chap in Mercury team kit, until we caught the next group a few hundred metres before the summit.
;) |
| Descending
the Col des Aravis towards La Clusaz. |
Two friends, Vincent and Serge were in the group, and we said our 'hello' as we dropped down the hairpins from the Col on the way to the ski resort of La Clusaz. At one point, I found myself on the front of the group after the resort, riding behind two motorbikes with flashing lights. It was a great feeling to be leading a small group with a motorbike escort and we soon passed through St Jean de Sixt and continued descending towards the third climb of the day.
On the first few hundred metres of the Col de la Colombiere, I could again see the next group on the road in the distance. as the group cycled through the village of Le Grand Bornand, I raised my pace and rode away from the group and began a few lone kilometres trying to catch the cyclists ahead. I did catch the dozen riders ahead but then spent the next six kilometres feeling absolutely terrible and wishing I hadn't. The Tour riders make it look so effortless! Another friend, Jean-Pierre was in this group but I couldn't ride with him for more than a couple of kilometres. I kept dropping off the back of the group till I eventually seemed to find a rhythm that kept me about 20 metres behind the group. I was never able to ride in the group but just those few metres behind.
I may have been suffering but I was able to admire the climb. The Col de la Colombiere is a beautiful climb, with its picture postcard meadows full of cows and sheep, grey cliff faces that tower over the road that rise to jagged peaks, and today, all under a perfect blue sky.
At the Col I dived in the feed station to try and get something down me to help me feel better. I ate as many orange and sugar chews as one can shovel in a mouth in 30 seconds, before starting the treacherous descent down to the next climb. The top of the Colombiere is steep and has a huge drop off to the right, which seems to get horribly close to a cyclist's wheel on some of the left hand bends. Last year I had done this in cloud and hadn't seen the drop, but this year I descended tentatively to the next village, La Reposoir.
Race marshals warned us to slow down as we passed through the village, and it was then a sharp right turn to start the 300 metres of vertical climbing to the Cote du Romme-sur-Cluses. There were cyclists all around at this point and we came around a corner to find a big dog patrolling the middle of the road. The brute was taking a fancy to all the passing cyclists and I was no exception as he ran towards me. He barked loudly and I shouted back, waving my left hand towards his snout and thankfully he didn't stop but quickly took a fancy to the cyclist behind.
The hound was soon forgotten as I passed the 50 kilometres to the finish sign. I knew from previous experience that most of that was either flat or downhill, just the Cote du Domancy to worry about. At five kilometres in length, the Cote du Romme sur Cluses is not a long climb but it does have a few steeper sections that sap the tiring legs. After the suffering of the Colombiere, I rode on my own and felt better the longer the climb went on.
The descent from the fourth climb was the biggest of the day, dropping down to the town of Cluses to start 20 kilometres of flat riding to Sallanches. I found renewed confidence in my descending and leaned into the hairpins as much as I dared. The most spectacular section is near the bottom where the steep road hugs the cliff face, with what looked like a substantial drop off to the left.
I was in a group of 15 cyclists that formed at the start of the 20 kilometres of valley riding till the bottom of the last climb. Most group started working together, each of us taking their turn at the front. This fizzled out until with 10 kilometres to the Cote du Domancy, there were only four of us working. The rest of the riders were sat behind taking a free ride. When it was my turn to come back through, I let a gap open which nobody behind wanted to work to close. When it was large enough, I then jumped across to the three riders and we all took our turn at the front and didn't see the other riders again till the finish.
The road followed the valley and turned in the direction of Sallanches, and we were greeted by a stunning mountain vista. There were clear views on to the Mont Blanc and the surrounding peaks. The mountains looked stunning with fresh snow covering the lower slopes leading to glaciers and then the 4,800 metre peak. This view is one of the main reasons to come and ride this event. The Tour de France rider waits for the Eiffel Tower, and the Megeve Mont Blanc rider waits for the view of the Mont Blanc. It makes all the suffering of the four previous climbs seem worth it, and once you see the mountain then you know you can make it up the final climb and home.
The four of us continued to work together, and we caught the next group on the road with a kilometre to the bottom of the last climb. The kilometres had been steadily coming down from the regular signs that had been placed along the road, and we then passed through the final feeding station and began the final climb up to Megeve on the Cote du Domancy.
The Cote du Domancy is about three kilometres in length and has some nasty steep sections which peak at a stretch of 15 percent. Our group soon splintered and I found myself around ten metres behind our groups leading rider. I rode most of the Cote du Domancy in the 39-26, struggling up the steepest ramps, and taking relief that the biggest crowds of the day were here. I encouraged one group of children to shout louder as I felt they could do better. They did, and soon afterwards I turned left onto the main road to Megeve from Sallanches.
I made an effort and caught the rider who had hovered in front of me on the climb. I was happy to sit on his wheel for a kilometre before coming around to do my share of the work. He didn't let me stay on the front for long, but quickly came to the front again. The gradient is a lot shallower after the Cote du Domancy and it is possible to go down a few gears and ride at a faster speed. I could see three riders behind and was determined that I was going to catch other riders and not be caught myself.
Passing through Colomboux, I caught Jean-Pierre again, and he shouted encouragement to me as we passed. The rider I was with opened a gap on me but then sat up and waited for me. We talked briefly and I found out that he was a local and out training on his own. He seemed happy to tow me up towards Megeve so I took advantage of a wheel to sit on till the top of the climb.
As I crested the final climb, I nipped past a rider and began the last 400 metres to the finish but suddenly realised that I was lost. The Marshall had been talking to friend and preoccupied, and in my quest to gain a place, I missed the turn and found myself following a cyclist into Megeve. I realised what had happened when I saw the finish line behind me so I spent a frantic few minutes finding the turn again and the finish.
I did find it and must have given Jean-Pierre a surprise as he saw me heading straight towards him. I turned onto the correct road a few metres before Jean-Pierre, and we crossed the line together.
I finished in 95th place, in a time of 4:39:44 (28.5kph), 40 minutes behind the first placed rider Gregory Vollet. I'd had a bad time on the Col de la Colombiere, but felt fine on the other climbs and rode well in the valley and then ridden off course with 400 metres to go. Still, worse things happen at sea and I know it won't happen next year.
The Megeve Mont Blanc is an excellent event, which is well organised with motorbikes and marshals at junctions. The route takes in some of the prettiest roads in the Alps over some of the most famous Cols. After the atrocious weather of last year, the day had been perfect and I went home with tired legs.
9th September - The Grenobloise
The 153 kilometre Grenobloise event starts in Grenoble, and the main route takes a rider into the three massifs around the city. The starting climb is to Pinay, on the road to Chamrousse, and climbs to around 800 metres in altitude. The route then undulates along the Balcon de Belledonne with high alpine peaks towering above the road to the right. It's a ten kilometre descent down to the Gresivaudan valley and then a 12 kilometre climb into the Chartreuse over the Col du Coq. The next climb is the Col du Porte before descending to St Egreve and then straight up into the Vercors from Sassenage. After Lans-en-Vercors, its then on to St Nizier and finally a frantic 17 kilometres of downhill to finish in the velodrome in Seyssins. There is the option to miss the final climb into the Vercors and ride a 120 kilometre event.
Sunday morning didn't start well. I was awake even before the six 'o'clock alarm went off, as the wind was howling over the balcony and rattling the shutters. When the alarm did go off, I looked out into a dark and rainy Grenoble. The rain wasn't so bad but the wind worried me.
The start of the event was in the suburb of Seyssins, with everybody congregating under grey skies in the outdoor velodrome. The 350 riders that had signed up were given the off at half past eight, and I made sure that I was near the front for the ten kilometres of neutralised riding. The peleton was given a police escort through a wet and deserted Grenoble until the southern suburb of Echirolles.
The lead car quickly moved away and we were off and onto the first three kilometre climb of Champagnier. The pace started fast and I stayed within the first twenty riders, making sure I was sheltered from the strong wind as we turned onto the tiny road that climbed the steep gradients past the Scotch Club and then on to Brie.
Before Uriage, the route followed a few kilometres of the Tour de France time-trial route and I saw that the first climb had already thinned the first group to fifty riders. In Uriage, we were passed by a small 4X4 vehicle, which two kilometres later, I saw had driven off the road and down a hillside. The vehicle had whacked into a tree and had steam pouring from under a crumpled bonnet. I'm not sure what had happened but the police that had been following the riders were quickly on hand to help the driver from the wreck.
The first climb to Pinay is the steepest at the bottom, with regular ten percent ramps as you climb to St-Martin d'Uriage and I soon found myself going backwards and not able to sustain the pace set by the front riders. We climbed into low cloud and after five kilometres, I was riding in a group of six that eventually was about thirty seconds back from the front riders at the top of the climb.
;) |
| Climbing
in the cloud towards the first climb of Pinay. |
We didn't close the gap but rolled along the Balcon de Belledonne in a group that steadily grew as riders caught us up. For the next 15 kilometres, the road either climbed or descended at about 750 metres in altitude. It was never flat and it felt like hard work. I could see the Col du Coq nestled under the Dent de Crolles on the mountainside opposite. The sky was blue over there and the weather looked optimistic, but on my side of the valley, the Belledonne mountains were still shrouded in cloud with green mountainside and patches of snow showing through in places.
After the third small climb on the Balcon, we descended down to the valley on wet roads and then through a checkpoint before a welcome five kilometres of flat taking us to the start of the 1000 metre climb to the Col du Coq. All the riders in the group took turns on the flat roads to come to the front and take their share of the pace, but this ceased as soon as we hit the first kilometre of the climb. The riders immediately splintered on the 12 percent gradient with a group of five making the pace and I steadily dropped away. From then, I knew I would be on my own for most of the next two climbs.
By the time I reached the two tunnels, halfway up the climb, I could see that there were a couple of individual riders ahead of me and two or three behind me. All the groups had disappeared. Across the valley, the Belledonne range were starting to clear although there were still no signs of the high peaks. With two kilometres to the Col, I was joined by a friend from work, Jean-Pierre, who'd been waiting for me on the climb. He informed me that I was in 24th place and he rode next to me giving encouragement to the Col.
The descent from the Col du Coq was fast. It's a steep, narrow road and a descent I don't really like. The road is often under the cover of trees so it was still wet in places. I passed a rider with a red Cannondale bike, both lying in the ditch, with him was receiving medical attention from one of the event medics. A few metres later, the bumpy road surface knocked my full bottle out of a loose bottle cage. I turned to watch it roll into the bushes and I made the decision to carry on and stay with the four riders around me.
I was shouted at for not holding my line as the group swung onto the eight kilometre Col du Porte. I hadn't been watching the road as I could see my friend Serge riding just up the road. I felt relatively good so I raised the pace and left the three other riders with me and over the next three kilometres, made my way up to Serge's wheel. I paid for my efforts as I couldn't hold his wheel over the last three kilometres to the Col and at the 1340 metre Col du Porte, I was a hundred metres behind him. I felt tired and knew that I needed to eat something and recuperate on the descent. Jean-Pierre was with me and gave me some of his bottle and then helped me get across to Serge and his riding companion.
The good thing about the event was that I knew all the roads and was able to descend comfortably as I knew what was coming. With my mind preoccupied with recuperation, I had already eaten an energy bar and then was drinking from my bottle when I realised that I wouldn't make a fast approaching right-hand bend. It was sharper than I had expected and I hadn't been concentrating, so I had to ride up a well placed driveway, quickly turn around in a gear that was too large, and then rejoin the road to chase the guys I'd been riding with. A bit of excitement and I was extremely thankful somebody had built a house on the corner.
We had a kilometre of climbing halfway down the descent, taking us through Quaix-en-Chartreuse and then onto the last few kilometres of descent to St Egreve and the valley - or so I thought. Just after Quaix, we were diverted up a small road for another unexpected three kilometres of climbing. My head wasn't ready for this extra climbing and I expected to be dropped, but thankfully the five of us climbed at a similar speed and I could shelter behind other riders on some of the headwind sections.
The descent, when it finally arrived, was fast an furious as we had a strong tailwind pushing us down to the valley on a dry road. This was the bottom half of the Col de Charmette, with a clear view to the Vercors massif and the next valley I had to climb up.
When we hit the valley again, the gendarmes had stopped all traffic so that we were able to keep rolling through red lights. At St Egreve, the route took us onto the barrage and over the Isere river. We were then on the bike path for a few kilometres on the flat with a great tailwind. The four of us took turns to come to the front and do our share of the work as we rolled back towards Grenoble, and were soon faced with the choice to turn right and ride the 153km event, or carry straight on along the Isere and back to the finish to ride the 120km event. Both myself and Serge turned right and the other two cyclists carried on towards the finish.
Serge and myself worked together for first three kilometres of the last climb, taking turns to shelter the other on the headwind sections. We were given a time check of two minutes to the next riders in front. After that, my legs felt tired and I told Serge to leave me and ride onto the finish without me. He waited and rode in front, sheltering me a number of times before I pleaded with him to leave me and catch the next group. He did ride ahead and I cycled the next 15 kilometres through Engins and Lans-en-Vercors alone. The tailwind was blowing me up the climb, and on the long straights I could see Serge ahead and I was looking behind to see if I had any riders catching me. There was never anybody in sight.
After Lans-en-Vercors, the route turned into the wind for the final nine kilometres of gradual climb to St Nizier - never a full climb but a nagging gradient. The energy bar that I'd eaten a few kilometres before Lans-en-Vercors kicked in and I started to feel better, good enough to raise my pace and catch Serge. He told me he felt bad so we steadily worked together, and then when he was tired, I returned his earlier favour and rode hard enough that we were catching the rider in front and so that Serge could shelter behind me.
The 16 kilometre descent of St Nizier was windy and we caught the rider ahead in the first few kilometres. I tried to ride hard and open a gap on the others, but the effort into the headwind was too tiring to sustain. We all stayed together and before I knew it, we had passed the five kilometres to the finish sign. We were still together as we passed the kilometre flag, and with 300 metres to the finish, the route turned a sharp left and joined the bike path. There was a small ramp here, and I jumped away in a big gear, trying to surprise Serge and the other rider. My legs were hurting and after a few seconds, I looked around to see I had a 50 metre gap on the two other riders.
In the style of Paris-Roubaix, the finish was in the velodrome in Seyssins with half a lap of the track. I swung off the bike path and down into the velodrome for the final metres to the finish. I looked across to see Serge and the other rider on the other side of the track winding up their sprints, and I knew that my place was safe.
The first placed rider, Geoffrey Gras, finished in 5:55:35, so an average
speed of 25.82kph. I finished in 8th place in 6:12:18, an average speed of
24.66kph and 6th in my age group category. The advert for the Grenobloise
had said the event was 153 kilometres, but my cycle computer was reading 162
kilometres with 4050 metres of climbing. They had obviously missed off the
ten neutralised kilometres through Grenoble at the start.
The splits of riders were quite large with the second place rider coming over the line six minutes after the winner. Riders 5,6 and 7 were 11 minutes 40 down, and we were in 8, 9 and 10, 16 minutes 45 after Geoffrey Gras. Rider 11 came in on his own 19 minutes back and riders 12, 13 and 14 were 25 minutes back.
The event was incredibly well run with every road being watched and marshals shouting encouragement at the cyclists. The locals, especially the children, were very happy to hang out of cars and stand on street corners and shout at us.
