Sunday, July 15, 2007
Le Tour 2007 - Stage 15
Stage 15 - Foix - Loudenvielle - 124 miles
Pictures at http://letour2007live.blogspot.com
Stage 15 is the queen stage of the 2007 Tour de France. This is the stage the tour organizers have chosen for the Etape du Tour, a hugely popular amateur event where riders get to ride generally the toughest stage of the tour. This event would be two days after we ride the stage, but our campsite was crawling with cyclists working on their bikes and generally getting nervous. Stage 15 is daunting indeed. It includes five major passes, two Cat 2, two Cat 1, and one HC. While climbs are categorized on many factors including grade, height gain, and placement within stage, as a general rule of thumb I've learned that Cat 2 climbs tend to gain between 2000 and 2600 feet, Cat 1 climbs, between 2600 and 4000 feet, and HC climbs more than 4000 feet. And while we had 5 serious climbs on this day I also noticed on the profile that 4 of them occured in the second half of the ride. So, I knew this day was going to be a killer. And it was! My legs were tired from the start and the first Cat 2 climb, the Col de Port, was a struggle. I took it as easy as I could but clearly did not have any power as I had to resort to my 34-27 gearing on a climb that was only 5-7% grade. Luckily the next 40 or so miles were mostly downhill and flat so I was hopeful my legs would come around. A quick descent past the memorial for Fabio Casartelli who fatally crashed here in the 2005 Tour de France and it's on to the second climb, the Cat 2 Col de Portet d'Aspet. This climb was steeper and entirely exposed to the very hot sun, but I found an easy pace and just spun up and over it. Two climbs down, half the distance covered, and confidence increased that I would make it. Problem is, the remaining climbs are all Cat 1 and HC. The next climb, the Cat 1 Col de Menthe, was long and steep and the sun becoming overwhelmingly hot, but again I found a slow tempo and took a bit over an hour to slog over the climb. Next up after a nice descent is the monster, the Port de Bales. This climb is brand new to the Tour de France as the backside has only just been paved for the first time. This climb is a beast and is going to wreak havoc in the race. The specs on the climb are nothing special, 19km at 6.2%, but these are completely deceiving. The first 8km are hardly a climb at all, but the final 10km rise 900 meters, so a 9% average grade over the last 6 miles. But, even that is deceiving as there are significant flat stretches in that last 10K, so the climbing seemed to be always at 11,12,13 and even higher grade. For one stretch my altimeter was pegged at 16% and 17%. Now maybe it was pegged there because I was hardly actually moving! I went slowly but was making steady progress until about 5km left to go when whatever was left in my legs deserted me. The final 5km were absolute agony. I was completely shot and 5km at >10% is an absolute struggle when you have no power to put in the pedals. Finally, I crested the summit, struggled to get off the bike (collar bone and back still make mounting/dismounting a bit of a challenge) and about passed out on the ground next to Amy, who then rubbed salt in my wounds with the comment, "That wasn't too bad, huh?". I don't know, Amy. Ask the stranger who has come over to check on me, offer me water, and make sure I'm alright. Luckily Matt and Mike (a friend of Amy's who races bikes in Ireland and joined for day) were struggling as well and I had a good 20-30 minutes to recover at the top while we waited. I was completely shot, how was I going to get up the final climb of the day, the Cat 1 Col de Peyresourde? Slowly, that's how. This final 2600 foot climb was a steady 7.5% and I just pressed on, finally getting over the top and coasted down the other side to the finish. 124 miles and 16,000 feet of climbing. Nearly 9:30 of riding time for a double century, but I completed the queen stage of the tour, although I clearly went beyond my limits. Without a doubt it was the toughest day I have ever had on a bike. Now how much of this is because of the crushing heat and the fact that my legs started the day exhausted I will never know. But at the end I was completely spent and desperate for a rest day, which luckily we now get. Without it I would not attempt Stage 16. Stage 16 is another monster, the final mountain stage, and another 10/10 difficulty rating with two HC climbs and two Cat 1 climbs, plus a steep Cat 3 thrown in for good measure, and a summit finish atop the famous Col d'Aubisque. And at 136 miles the length just makes it that much more difficult. I need a miracle on my rest day!
Pictures at http://letour2007live.blogspot.com
Stage 15 is the queen stage of the 2007 Tour de France. This is the stage the tour organizers have chosen for the Etape du Tour, a hugely popular amateur event where riders get to ride generally the toughest stage of the tour. This event would be two days after we ride the stage, but our campsite was crawling with cyclists working on their bikes and generally getting nervous. Stage 15 is daunting indeed. It includes five major passes, two Cat 2, two Cat 1, and one HC. While climbs are categorized on many factors including grade, height gain, and placement within stage, as a general rule of thumb I've learned that Cat 2 climbs tend to gain between 2000 and 2600 feet, Cat 1 climbs, between 2600 and 4000 feet, and HC climbs more than 4000 feet. And while we had 5 serious climbs on this day I also noticed on the profile that 4 of them occured in the second half of the ride. So, I knew this day was going to be a killer. And it was! My legs were tired from the start and the first Cat 2 climb, the Col de Port, was a struggle. I took it as easy as I could but clearly did not have any power as I had to resort to my 34-27 gearing on a climb that was only 5-7% grade. Luckily the next 40 or so miles were mostly downhill and flat so I was hopeful my legs would come around. A quick descent past the memorial for Fabio Casartelli who fatally crashed here in the 2005 Tour de France and it's on to the second climb, the Cat 2 Col de Portet d'Aspet. This climb was steeper and entirely exposed to the very hot sun, but I found an easy pace and just spun up and over it. Two climbs down, half the distance covered, and confidence increased that I would make it. Problem is, the remaining climbs are all Cat 1 and HC. The next climb, the Cat 1 Col de Menthe, was long and steep and the sun becoming overwhelmingly hot, but again I found a slow tempo and took a bit over an hour to slog over the climb. Next up after a nice descent is the monster, the Port de Bales. This climb is brand new to the Tour de France as the backside has only just been paved for the first time. This climb is a beast and is going to wreak havoc in the race. The specs on the climb are nothing special, 19km at 6.2%, but these are completely deceiving. The first 8km are hardly a climb at all, but the final 10km rise 900 meters, so a 9% average grade over the last 6 miles. But, even that is deceiving as there are significant flat stretches in that last 10K, so the climbing seemed to be always at 11,12,13 and even higher grade. For one stretch my altimeter was pegged at 16% and 17%. Now maybe it was pegged there because I was hardly actually moving! I went slowly but was making steady progress until about 5km left to go when whatever was left in my legs deserted me. The final 5km were absolute agony. I was completely shot and 5km at >10% is an absolute struggle when you have no power to put in the pedals. Finally, I crested the summit, struggled to get off the bike (collar bone and back still make mounting/dismounting a bit of a challenge) and about passed out on the ground next to Amy, who then rubbed salt in my wounds with the comment, "That wasn't too bad, huh?". I don't know, Amy. Ask the stranger who has come over to check on me, offer me water, and make sure I'm alright. Luckily Matt and Mike (a friend of Amy's who races bikes in Ireland and joined for day) were struggling as well and I had a good 20-30 minutes to recover at the top while we waited. I was completely shot, how was I going to get up the final climb of the day, the Cat 1 Col de Peyresourde? Slowly, that's how. This final 2600 foot climb was a steady 7.5% and I just pressed on, finally getting over the top and coasted down the other side to the finish. 124 miles and 16,000 feet of climbing. Nearly 9:30 of riding time for a double century, but I completed the queen stage of the tour, although I clearly went beyond my limits. Without a doubt it was the toughest day I have ever had on a bike. Now how much of this is because of the crushing heat and the fact that my legs started the day exhausted I will never know. But at the end I was completely spent and desperate for a rest day, which luckily we now get. Without it I would not attempt Stage 16. Stage 16 is another monster, the final mountain stage, and another 10/10 difficulty rating with two HC climbs and two Cat 1 climbs, plus a steep Cat 3 thrown in for good measure, and a summit finish atop the famous Col d'Aubisque. And at 136 miles the length just makes it that much more difficult. I need a miracle on my rest day!
