Stage Distance: 171km
Total Distance: 2886km
Stage 18 was the first of three stages which Phil dubbed the “Big Lumpy Triple”. It was also the second of three stages which I think the tour organisers had made to pay homage to the classic stages in the Alps (the first of these being Ventoux at the end of the longest stage).
Today’s challenge was to be the classic l’Alpe d’Huez, not once but twice. Once is normally enough in any amateurs itinerary. We also had to deal with a couple of other categorised climbs before we tackled l’Alpe.
The first of these came shortly after leaving Gap, the Col de Manse. This would be our second time at this Col, we had come down the same route we would now ascend on our road into Gap two days previously. As always, the climb up here was slow but I was grateful for a small push from Neil Kemp who had decided to ride with me until the first feed stop. It is always a pleasure to ride with Neil, he’s such a nice guy and such a strong rider. It amazed me how he could push me, making it noticeably easier for me, while still being well within his limits. The views we were greeted with at the top of the climb were spectacular.
Following the feed stop I rode much of the stage on my own. I was used to this and in some ways enjoyed it, no pressure to keep other peoples pace, although it did expend more energy. Soon enough I was at the final stop before l’Alpe and after topping up water bottles I was off. The start of the climb took me a bit by surprise and all of a sudden I was climbing.
The nice thing about the climb up l’Alpe d’Huez is that each of the hairpin corners are numbered, starting at 21 at the bottom and descending as you chalk each one off. This actually made it easier in my mind as each corner became an individual target for me. Eventually I reached the town and lunch. I was exhausted and ready to call it a day at that point and go to the hotel, after all I’d done the climb and had a horrible descent to deal with also. Still, after eating lunch I set off, still feeling fairly exhausted but determined to go on and complete both climbs.
First challenge was to first climb the Col de Sarenne. This was no easy climb, made no easier also by the terrible condition of the road. Part way up the climb I was joined by Johnny Wates, an incredibly nice guy as are all the Wates family, and a good bike rider also. We chatted for a while and from the look on his face I knew he could see how exhausted I was, to be honest I was sure I was finished. He offered to ride with me but I told him I was OK, not wanting to slow his ride too much. He wished me luck and cycled off. I knew the long descent we had coming up and that with my current descending still being affected by my crash, that I would take a long time to complete it.
I crested the Col and started my descent. It was just as I has expected, horrible; very technical and the road was in terrible condition. A fair bit down the descent I came across Steve and Peggy. Peggy had crashed on the same stage as myself and was being similarly affected in feeling very uncomfortable getting any speed up on the downhill sections. We rode together a while to the next feed stop and think we both took a little more confidence afterwards. Sometimes it helps when you know that the other person understands how you are feeling.
With the descent over and a short flat section complete it was time to start the second ascent of l’Alpe. What I hadn’t realised until I started climbing again is that I was again feeling stronger and had been since part way through the descent. I was actually looking forward to the climb, not to finishing as I had been on Ventoux but to the climb itself. I set myself the initial target of a small water fountain over half way up as a rest stop and climbed, not quick but steady, keeping my legs spinning at a nice cadence. I didn’t even have to be in bottom gear the whole time, for the first time I was feeling an identifiable improvement, not enough to make me a good climber but improvement non-the-less.
All too soon (how things change) I had reached my water fountain, filled my water bottles, set off again and reached the end of today’s route. I took almost 15 minutes of my time for my first ascent. A quick photo call at l’Alpe winners podium and I headed off for the hotel.
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