Tour du b Sportive

Beyond

The sportive is notimits just tough – it’s insane. Cyclist heads to the to grapple with 338km of riding and 8,400m of ascent in threel different countries Words STU BOWERS Photography PATRIK LUNDIN

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any regard the 1980 Road Race World Championships, held in Sallanches in the , as the hardest ever. The 268km course took riders over the Côte de Domancy – a 2.5km climb at an average of 8.6% M– a soul-crushing 20 times. That meant the race amassed a huge 6,000m of climbing. Fittingly it was won by notorious hardman Bernard Hinault. Well, Monsieur Hinault, I’ll see your 6,000m of climbing, and I’ll raise you an extra 2,400m. And as for that paltry 268km, let’s add another 70km, shall we? Because that’s what I’m facing The mood is on a damp, dark morning in July. almost sombre as Bigger and badder Few would argue the Tour du Mont Blanc is the we file onto the most gruelling single-day sportive of them all. The course is loosely based on the two most road. I still feel testing mountain stages of the 2009 Tour de , run as a single event. It’s 338km long half asleep with over 8,400m of vertical ascent, made up of nine climbs, five of which are hors categorie. Or to put that another way, it’s roughly the The details equivalent of doing the Marmotte twice. It’s a monster! It’s 3.45am in a hotel in in the What: Tour du Mont Blanc French Alps (coincidentally only about 35km Where: Les Saisies, from Sallanches) and I’m trying to shovel Mont Blanc F cornflakes into my mouth at the breakfast R How far: 338km with A D N N buffet. I haven’t had much sleep, partly because A 8,400m ascent Col du CE L , IT ER of the noise of the rain hammering against the ALY, SWITZ Next one: 20th July 2019 windows all night. At least the storm seems to Price: €145 (£127) have abated, although the forecast isn’t filling More information: Switzerland France me with confidence any more than these soggy letourdumontblanc.fr flakes are filling me with calories. Unlike most sportives, there’s no throng of Col de Vaudagne thousands at the start. This year’s entry list totals Megève Col du Grand Saint-Bernard 650, a reflection possibly of the fact there is no Top left: The Col de short option. In other words, you’ve got to be la Forclaz comes after pretty committed to be here in the first place. about 85km, just after the route crosses into Les Saisles There is no Europop being blasted through Switzerland. It’s an 8km massive speakers, no compère to whip up the climb at an average of crowd. The mood is almost sombre as we file 8%, but on this route it feels like little more out of the car park and onto the road. I still feel than a molehill half asleep, but not for long. The first 15km is all Previous pages: downhill, and the sun won’t be up for another Rising from the valley Col du Petit Distance: hour, so the cold wakes me up as we descend at around 650m, the Cormet de Roselend Saint-Bernard 338km an Alpine road in near-total darkness. Col du Grand Bernard is a monstrous 30km Total ascent: I corner tentatively. Looking back up the 8,400m climb with 1,800m mountain, the road’s curves are illuminated P of vertical ascent

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The rider’s ride Cannondale SuperSix Evo Hi-Mod Disc, approx £8,500, cannondale.com When I sat down to consider what bike to use for the Tour du Mont Blanc I narrowed it down to three key attributes. It had to have disc brakes, it had to be as light as possible for the climbing and it had to be comfortable enough for 12 hours or more in the saddle. I decided to call on an old friend, a bike I’ve ridden a lot before. The SuperSix Hi-Mod Evo proved to be perfect. With Sram Red eTap and Zipp finishing kit (including Zipp’s superb 202 NSW wheels with 28mm Schwalbe Pro One tubeless tyres), it tipped the scales at less than 7kg, extremely light for a disc brake bike. The solidity of the build shone through both climbing and descending. Uphill I was never left wanting (from the bike at least) and on the several occasions I hit speeds of over 80kmh on descents I never felt nervous thanks to its superbly balanced feel and assured handling. Small groups form relatively early in the day, but even these The snow capped peaks that were a will be blown apart when the serious picturesque backdrop in the distance climbing begins - now tower ominously above me

P by a millipede of bright dots snaking down By the top our group has dwindled to five. through the blackness. After 20 minutes of One of our number is a woman who seems descending, I’m relieved to arrive at the main to be pedalling effortlessly, so I stick close by road that will take us through the valley to her wheel for the next two climbs: the Col des Praz-sur-Arly and Megève. Montets, which is followed by a superb descent over the border into Switzerland, and Col de la Buddy up Forclaz. On any other day these climbs would be Groups begin to form as the road flattens out. the main course, but today they are merely the I take shelter in a group of 12 and we forge a good hors d’oeuvres. pace, the kilometres ticking past relatively easily. ‘Well, that’s a few down,’ says an English It’s daylight by the time we reach the foot of the rider as he rolls up alongside me. ‘I’m sticking first big climb, the Col de Vaudagne, although to this today,’ he adds, pointing at his bike early morning mist still hangs in the air. Some computer. ‘Never more than 200 watts or I’ll riders are eager to test themselves and scamper never make it round.’ away up its hairpins, but I resist the urge to chase His strategy is actually fairly sound, but I have after them. There is a long day to come. no such regimented plan. Besides, I’m hoping P

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P there will be better things to look at than my Garmin screen today. The Col du Champex is where things start French ex pro to get tougher. It’s the first HC climb, coming at around 110km, and the point at which this Nicolas Roux route begins to unleash its fury. Champex rises - from around 650m to just over 1,500m in 12km will go on to with ramps up to 10-12%. My leg-saving tactic of staying seated and trying to pedal a smooth, win in a time high cadence becomes almost impossible and I struggle just to keep going. The effect of the of 11h 17min steep ramps is to fracture the groups and now the riders are mostly in ones and twos. When I reach the at the top I’m greeted by a shimmering blue lake and clean mountain air. The sun is trying hard to peek through the cloud and bring some welcome warmth, but the descent that follows is treacherous. Countless freeze-thaw cycles have left the road surface cracked and rutted, and the hairpins are tight. I proceed with caution.

The hard yards Things are getting serious. I’ve been riding for just under five hours as I hit the Col du Grand Saint-Bernard, a monstrous 30km long climb

with an average gradient of 5.7%, leading to the high point of the day at just under 2,500m. It begins fairly low in the valley too, with a total height gain of nearly 1,800 vertical metres. The snow-capped peaks that until this point have been a picturesque backdrop in the distance now tower ominously above me. I’m riding alone, but that’s OK. Up ahead I can see a string of riders dotted on the hillside, and I figure I’ll ride at my own pace and see how many I can pick off. The lower section is a busy road, but beyond Bourg Saint-Pierre the traffic disappears into a tunnel towards Italy, leaving us to continue upwards in peace. The road winds through an amphitheatre of rock, with snow lying in patches on the verges. It’s beautiful, but not quite enough to take my mind off the constant 7% gradient. The 150km in my legs is starting to tell. The Col du Petit It’s midday when I arrive at the summit after Saint-Bernard takes you back into France two hours of climbing. I’m handed a coffee, and via its 2,188m summit, the man serving me says the leader passed here with the steepest just after 10am. That was French ex-pro Nicolas slopes of the climb coming near the top Roux, who will win in a time of 11h 17min.P

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The best thing about now over 270km in, and I’ve been riding for 12 the Col du Grand hours. There’s still 60km to go, and 35km of that Saint-Bernard is that is climbing. If I’m lucky I might make it back to after 30km of climbing you have a 40km descent Les Saisies before nightfall. to look forward to In Bourg-Saint-Maurice I stuff down a bowl of pasta and pray for some kind of rejuvenation, not so much of body as of mind. I’m exhausted but I feel in surprisingly good shape physically. What’s become wearing is the psychological impact of measuring out my performance, not daring to press too hard on the pedals for fear of blowing up. It’s this that I’m running out of patience with. As soon as I start churning up the Cormet de Roselend, the penultimate climb, my inner monologue switches from saying, ‘You can do this,’ to, ‘Please let this be be over.’ My mental demons are constant companions for the 19km of struggle to the summit, and no number of P My demons are constant companions for the 19km to the summit

P With the altitude comes a strengthening wind and a drop in temperature, so I add some layers and get back on the road. I’m still glad to be riding, and ahead of me is the chance for some respite: 40km of non-stop descending to Aosta in Italy. In truth I need it. I’m still less than halfway around the course.

Big little brother Beyond Aosta is a relentless energy-sapping drag up through a valley, so my legs are already feeling heavy by the time I make the turn onto the Col du Petit Saint-Bernard that guards the border crossing back into France. Immediately I’m faced with a flurry of tightly packed hairpins. It might be smaller than its sibling, but this climb is in no way petit. It’s still 27km uphill, rising 1,200m to its summit at 2,188m. It’s starting to spit with rain, so I get my head down and focus on keeping a decent tempo to the top. Just like its big brother, the Petit Bernard saves its steepest slopes for the upper reaches. As I claw my way upwards, I look back to see a decidedly elderly rider gaining on me rapidly. She soon overtakes me and I realise she’s riding an e-bike. She actually apologises as she cruises effortlessly past while I continue at what is now walking pace. After the summit I’m grateful for the descent, but the wet conditions mean I have to concentrate hard, and I feel like I have recovered very little by the time I make it into Bourg-Saint-Maurice. I’m

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Approaching the top of the Col du Grand Saint-Bernard, after which you’ll cross into Italy, your third country of the day I know it seems Do it yourself TRAVEL madness not to Geneva is one of the best-served airports in Europe so you should have no trouble see it through, finding flights from anywhere in the UK. Les Saisies is a 1h 45min drive from the but I don’t care. airport and a rental car is the easiest way to arrive there, as there’s limited public My race is done transport to the ski resort in summer. ACCOMMODATION P majestic peaks or azure lakes can ease the We drive to the finish. I’ve no intention of Cyclist stayed at Chalet Cosy (chaletcosy. burden. Even the 10km descent that follows trying to cheat and ride across the line to submit com) in the heart of Les Saisies, only a few feels like a battle instead of a relief. a finish time. I’ve accepted my DNF, but I need to minutes’ ride to the start line. Comfortable, And so comes the final climb back up to Les let the race organisation know my whereabouts. spacious rooms come with superb views Saisies. I’ve been riding for well over 13 hours I watch a British rider cross the line to the over the surrounding mountain peaks, and now and it’s getting close to dusk. It’s a 16km cheers of his family waiting patiently at the the hotel allows bikes in the rooms, too. Its location means there’s no shortage climb to the finish; I know that because I rode barriers. He rolls over and says bluntly, ‘Well, of excellent restaurants and bars within it yesterday as a way to give my legs a little run- that was f***ing miserable.’ a short walking distance. The owner even out. I also know it took me more than 50 minutes I understand his sentiment. The Tour du opened the breakfast buffet at 3:30am on fresh. I try to calculate how long it will take now Mont Blanc is not an event that you enjoy – the day of the event to facilitate a decent and what time it will be when I finish, but my it’s simply too long and too hard to ever be breakfast for the riders staying there. brain can’t do the maths. Mentally, I am broken. described as fun. I’ve never done a ride as tough Cyclist’s photographer pulls up in his car as this, and I’m fairly certain I never will again. THANKS and starts taking pictures. I don’t even hesitate. Of all the sportives I’ve experienced, nothing A big thank you to Nadine Carle-Edgar and Céline Guillermin of Savoie Mont Blanc I open the boot of the car and put my bike in. comes close to testing both physical and mental Tourism (savoie-mont-blanc.com), who So close to the finish, I know it seems resilience like this event. But then, for most of orchestrated the trip and made it such a ] madness not to see it through, but I don’t care. the entrants, I guess that’s the point. pleasant experience – at least, the bits My race is done. My head can’t take another Stu Bowers is deputy editor at Cyclist and when I wasn’t riding uphill. Thanks also to minute of slogging uphill. doesn’t regret a thing event manager Laura Dufour for our entry.

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