Kyle Yost

The final Alps stage and this is one I really, really wanted complete. The climb over the Telegraphe and the Galibier is an epic in cycling, and indeed, the 35km haul is rated as the #7 toughest climb in all of cycling. I was hopeful the three days of rest would cure my quad ailment.

To my ignorant eye I was hopeful the stage would not be overly brutal. It was rated only 8/10 on difficulty scale, and of 100 miles nearly 70 of that were descending. However the other 30 miles were 2 HC (hors-category or above categorization) and 1 Cat 1. So, even with 70 miles of descending in this 100 mile ride, there still were over 10,000 feet of climbing. Yikes!

The day started off straight up the HC Col d'Iseran, a 15km climb at just under 7% average grade, rising 3300 feet and peaking out at 9100 feet. This is very similar in profile to the already completed Col de Columbriere in stage 7, however the col d'Iseran about killed me. Laura, Amy, Mark, and I summitted it together in just over an hour, and then enjoyed nearly 50 miles of downhill riding. The headwind didn't even bother us as we were going down, down, down. Then it was time for the col d'Telegraphe and the Galibier. The Telegraphe is "only" a Cat 1 climb that climbs 800 meters in 12km, another climb just under 7% avg grade. Then a very short 3km respite and the 20km Galibier awaits. Oh that was brutal, as it gets steeper and steeper towards the top. I thought my 34-27 granny gear was for the steep stuff in the Pyrenees, but the final 6km of the Galibier are nearly 10% and I kept it in that 34-27 and wished I had more. Finally we went over the top and enjoyed a 25 mile descent to Briancon - in a downpour of course.

All told, it was an exhilarating day and extremely challenging. The profiles of the Pyrenean stages are very daunting. I was quite pleased that my quad held up; at a few points on both the Iseran and Telegraphe I was concerned as I could feel some pain, but it never escalated as in previous rides.

We're out of the Alps! And we're rewarded with a long haul south to the Mediterranean coast at Marseilles. We've been faced with constant headwinds (usually accompanied by rain) as we've ridden south through France, so the concept of a 143 mile day straight south was concerning. But, after a long 50 or so mile transfer to Tallard we arrived at our campground to a beautiful, warm (though windy) weather. Perhaps the weather god thoughts we tried to deceive him by driving south as he punished us overnight with a massive storm and we awoke to familiar rainy weather. However, the rain only lasted for the first 30 or so minutes of the ride and then we had glorious cool weather and not a touch of breeze. For the first time this tour we made good time, averaging over 18 miles per hour and the rolling terrain was beautiful. The run-in to Marseilles includes two Cat 3 climbs, which is simply rude after nearly 140 miles. The first was nice and scenic and almost enjoyable, but the 2nd occured after we reached the Med, took a right (west) and had the pleasure of climbing the seaside cliffs straight into the prevailing winds. Ugh! A final descent into Marseilles completed a very long, but very nice stage. And, unfortunately, this was the final day for Laura, who capped an excellent week of riding with her longest ride ever.

Stage 11 - Marseille - Montpellier - 115 miles

This stage should be one of the easiest of the entire tour. At 115 miles it is relatively short and is nearly entirely flat with only one Cat 4 climb. Unfortunately our bad luck with the weather continues, and today it was the wind that turned one of the easiest days into one of the toughest. The prevailing winds along the coast are west-to-east, so we knew there was a strong possibility of a day of headwinds. But, we were not expecting constant 30+mph winds straight in our faces for 115 miles. That, however, is what we received. Well, no, that's not entirely true. The stage ended up being only about 111 miles. And for some stretches the wind was only partially in our faces and partially hitting us from the right. The gusts were bending trees, shredding flags, and shaking our bikes. After a long day of 11-13 mph riding we were happy to overshoot our exit for the campsite and were rewarded with about 1/4 mile of tailwind as we returned for the finish! This 110 mile day took as long as yesterday's 143 miler! A tough day on too heavily trafficked roads, very close to the sea, but not so close that you could enjoy it. Surely there are nice back roads to cycle on around here, but this tour stage does not use them.

Tomorrow is Stage 12. We continue west, but a little further inland so we hope the winds die down. It is a deceptively difficult stage, although short at 111 miles, and I am concerned as my quad started to act up again towards the end of Stage 11. The Pyrenees await. Stages 14-16 are monsters. I am scared.