Etape 2009 – race report

Results

top of Mont Ventoux: 02:26:23

place (M/W): 2982
place (brutto): 2982
place (net): 2506
place (ag): 218
time total (netto): 07:41:17
time total (brutto): 08:14:25

Who’d have thought that twelve months on I’d be back in the throngs of cyclists, willingly about to set forth on a stage of the Tour De France.

No matter what else the stage offered I knew every rider, including James Cracknell, would be thinking of Mount Ventoux – The Giant of Provence.

At 7 the race began. At 7.40 our pen set off. Around 8 we made it to the start line after working our way through the boulevard of previously occupied pens. I felt nervous about the early stages as the roads I’d seen into town were narrow. I used the space on the bridge leaving town to cut past some slower riders. This was the last time I saw Mark or Alex until the finish.

Putting my head down and music on I started working my way through the packs. Based on last year’s performance I’d decided to go out harder and use the pack. You’d think it’d be easy finding a pack to ride with with all those competitors in front of you but it’s not. More often than not you start creeping you way forward and end up popping out the front and having to bridge the gap to the next group. This year I was much more effective at finding cover and minimised the amount of exposed riding whenever I could.

The Col d’Ey was the first of the noteworthy climbs. Its gentle gradient suited me and I settled into a rhythm. Breaking out into the sun the roads narrowed and I found myself getting caught behind groups. This got to me in the end and I used a little extra energy to spin past them. The descent turned into chaos as riders crashed on the narrow roads. It appeared to be arround the time that the fast riders from one starting pen caught the slower ones from the previous pen. There were several manic waves to slow down and I saw several people in the ditches. The organisers did a superb job and ambulances or motorcycles were never far behind.

Reaching the Salut water stop I felt pretty good and even debated riding straight through but the crowds got in the way.

Col de Notre-Dame des Abeilles was a lovely climb. Using the hairpins I accelerated then span the legs until the next one. Best of all was the wide, loose descent where I picked up some serious speed. However every second of fun was over shadowed by the knowledge that I was decending to the bottom of the Ventoux climb.

At the final food stop in Bedoin I psyched myself up for the task ahead. Crossing the start of the climb the summit looked a long way away. The first couple of kilometers were gentle but on a bend I felt the first tinges of cramp. This sent my mind racing and it took some time to settle down again. Once I hit the wooded area the real climb began. It pitched up quickly and as I slowed I noticed the increase in temperature. For a heavily wooded mountain side there was little place to hide from the sun. I later heard that temperatures reached 40C.

At the 10k mark, half way, I gave myself a psychological and physical break by stopping and taking off my helmet. By now cramps had started to set in and as I got underway once more I varied my climbing style to alleviate whichever muscle was cramping. Steadily the number of people breaking and stopping in front of me increased. The sight of people resting in the shade bolstered my resolve not to stop. The Chatlet Reynard water stop came just as both my hamstrings and quads cramped simultaneously. I hobbled off the bike and doused myself in water.

With the famous moonscape of the last 6k now in full view I felt determined to give it my all. Feeling slightly refreshed I set off round the hairpin and up the slope. The legs were still strong and I soon caught and overtook people who’d previously passed my. Unfortunately cramps were now completely set in and I rode as far as I could before the pain became to much. I managed to make it to the last kilometer stopping only two or three times but each took time for the cramp to subside. I gave the final stretch my all. Rounding the final hairpin the kick to the line almost finished me off. It was an amazing feeling to cross the line but moments later the adrenaline and thoughts that kept me going drained away. I found a space to collapse and sat in wonder at the landscape in front of me. I was about to text Mark and let him know that I’d finished when he appeared in front of me.

I found the descent from the summit to the finish village hard as I was completely drained. After eating we rested and waited for Alex before heading down the rest of the mountain. By now the legs had recovered and this turned into a great warm down ride; not to mention the thirll of another long descent.

Back at the coach we bumped into James Cracknell again and also Chris Boardman. Alex recounted a story of him walking past Boardman on the slope of Ventoux.

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