Stage Distance: 143km
Total Distance: 3147km
Today was one of those strange days that are hard to put into words. A couple of days ago I had wanted the tour to be over, I was having such a hard time and didn’t want to go through the pain anymore nor spend hours each day riding on my own. This morning however I awoke feeling down that it was all almost over, now not wanting it to end. I even was looking forward to the final climb, placed intentionally right at the end of the day by the organisers so that the race could swing and the last minute. Being 11km at an average gradient of 10% it was no easy finale.
The day started with an group roll out through Annecy. I love Annecy and riding through it when quiet first thing in the morning was amazing. All too soon though we started up the first of several climbs that day and my legs felt like lead. Neil Kemp was riding close by and he gave me a gentle push through the hills to the first feed stop. At one point Neil was pushing me and Phil arrived and pushed Neil. Fortunately someone photographed this moment and the picture has become one of the defining shots of the tour for me, showing the camaraderie and help that everyone gave each other throughout the tour.
We eventually arrived at the first feed stop and everyone seemed in high spirits, taking longer than usual having coffee and Coke in a nearby cafe. Everyone then set off again and for a while I was again riding on my own. Soon however David (a rider from Glasgow) came up and told me he was going to ride along with me today. I was grateful of the company but didn’t want to hold him up, however he told me he wanted to ride slower today, wanting to just enjoy the day. I hope he did, as I did. We joked and laughed our way through the remaining stage. It was a great day despite the never ending up and down of the route, the ‘flat’ sections were particularly rolling.
Eventually we came to the final climb of the day, the road suddenly steepening. Phil had told us the first 4km were the hardest but to be honest we didn’t really see much difference all the way up, the km markers never indicating less than 8% gradient. However I was back in my zone that I had on the second l’Alpe d’Huez climb. I just kept a constant cadence, turning nice circles, going at a nice constant pace. In what seemed like no time at all (though I am sure it was still much longer than the other lifers) we approached the last ramp up where I could see the tour vans opposite a large cafe. Everyone was sitting outside the cafe having a celebratory drink and as I rode past there was a huge cheer and round of applause. I was told later that it was particularly big for me, the last lifer in. The climb wasn’t finished for me though, there was still another short climb to the actual finish and I pushed on to the top, where I stopped my front wheel exactly on the finish line.
After a few photos beside the finish marker and with David we set off downhill to the cafe for a well earned drink and some lunch. After a fair time, a beer, sandwich, ice cream and many cokes it was time to go. I still had a fairly long downhill to do before reaching the hotel, so I set off cautiously, not wanting to have another incident at this late stage. Towards the bottom of the downhill I noticed I was starting to pick up some speed again, starting to flow through the corners better. Not by any means the speed and flow I had managed in the first week, but certainly much better than I’d managed since my crash. It felt good, though I always had thoughts of a late crash running through my mind. It wasn’t long though and I made it down to the side of Lac Annecy and it was a quick ride around it back to our hotel.
That evening we had a lovely dinner of several courses (too small portions), a fair bit of beer (that had become more normal the later we got through the tour) and several bottles of nice wine. Everyone stayed up late to watch the pre-‘Bastille Day’ fireworks held in Annecy and celebrate our achievement.
[gcmap act="342171677" class="aligncenter"]