Watching the 2016 Tour de France - Stage 7

We were on holiday in the Pyrenees when the TdF 2016 was passing through - this was a complete coincidence and not planned but we decided to take advantage and go and watch part of Stage 7 - L'Isle-Jourdain / Lac de Payolle:

Given we needed to drive 500+ miles the next day the preferred location of watching somewhere on the climb of Col d'Aspin was ruled out. This was given how many people would be in the same area and the fact that the most direct route was over the Tourmalet. Instead we went the top of the other climb - a paltry Cat 4 at Côte de Capvern. This was about an hours drive away on normal roads - i.e. not over a high mountain pass.

We checked the time tabled route and planned to get to the route about 60-90 minutes before the Caravan. We duly arrive in the village but it was not actually clear where the route was and there was no signage. However all along the side of a road were French families with the picnics, barbeques, verre de vin so we guessed we were OK. We went for a short walk and a few minutes down the road it was clear that we were in the right place - signage, even more people and a general party atmosphere.

We had to wait a couple of hours for the Caravan to arrive. There were quite frequent isntances where "official" cats came through but as it got closer the atmosphere did get quite tense and people were standing up and waiting. There were messages about staying to the side of the road and we were not quite sure why - but once the caravan came through we could see why - it really races past - 20-25mph as a guess and a constant throwing out of the "souvenirs". The Caravan was fantastic - about 15-20 minutes of really creative floats

The Caravan

Heres the souvenirs we managed to grab:

We also got a bottle of Vittel water, but missed out on a Polka Dot T Shirt

About an hour later the race itself came round. We were about 250m from the top of a Cat 4 climb so Iwas hoping that the riders would be a little slower - they were but not a lot!. There was a break away group of about 20 or 30 riders followed by some team cars. I didn't recognise any big names in this group

The Race - The Breakaway Group

Then the Peleton came through in a fairly team order, at least at the front.

The Race - The Peleton

Team Sky were really the lead team with a few Movistar riders at the front

Froome was the 2nd to last Sky Rider in the picture above

Team BMC -Porte 2nd here I think

Trek Segrefrado

Most of the Tinkoff Team

You can see how close the riders get

And at the end of the Course the Broom Wagon!

Within 5 minutes most of the people had dispersed, the official banners and railings at the top were being removed and within 30 minutes there would have been no trace that the race had been through!

It was a great experience - the worlds greatest cycle race and you can watch for free and be close enough to touch the riders.

France 2016 Day 9 - The Pyrenees - Tourmalet

There are signature climbs in all areas. In the Alps its Alpe d'Huez and the Pyrenees its the Tourmalet. Whether these are the best climbs is debatable for somehow they have build the image or mystique that makes people want to do those climbs. In the Pyrenees the climb I wanted to do was the Tourmalet - its the highest if nothing else.

The climb starts in the village Luz-Saint Sauveur and although this was only 9-10 miles from where we were staying I decided to drive over. The road up to Luz-Saint Sauveu runs through a very dramatic river valley, with a few tunnels and sheer cliffs.

I parked up for free (as always seems to be the case in France), got ready and started the climb. Its signed right in the town square and goes up hill straight away, so I needed to take it very easy at the start to avoid blowing up immediately. This was made worse by the high temperature, so it was a challenging start. Its about a 12 mile climb with an average gradient of 8%.

Apart from a few small sections of flat (a few 100m or so) the gradient was pretty well constant all the way. The flattest part was near a car park and cafe complex about 8km from the summit.  The hot weather meant pacing was very important - there were some shaded sections which gave a bit of respite but the rest was full on sunshine, particularly after the cafe.

There were quite a few riders (compared to other climbs in the Pyrenees) and whilst I was passed by a number of riders I also reeled in and passed about the same number myself. About 2-3 km from the summit I saw a rider with a Devizes Cycling Club kit. He really was from the club and we cycled together to just below the summit. He had cycled further than me already and was due to meet some club mates at the summit to ride further. Cycling and talking to someone else passed the time very pleasantly and before I knew it we were about 1 corner away from the summit. I did squeeze out an unsociable spurt of speed and pulled away to the summit.


Having been climbing for 2 hours it was great to reach the top. Given its iconic nature it was full of other cyclist, tourists and general sight see-ers.

A tough climb, but a real sense of achievement. Sitting back afterwards I felt a couple of minutes might have been gained by not chatting to the Devizes rider, but it was a more pleasant experience and segment time is not everything!

Here's some required photos of the top:

Here's my Scott at the top

This was the climb up

This was the climb up - another view

Here's a video of the latter part of the ascent:

Here is my Strava Ride data: Tourmalet

Here's my stats for the (whole) ride, including the descent:

On the longest segment I placed 5098 out of 12560 - so in the top 50% so I was please with that. However my time of 1:10:00 was just under twice the KOM holder - Thibaut Pinot so it puts into perspective the difference between a fit amateur and a full out

100 Greatest Climbs #21 - Steyning Bostal

I was in Worthing over the 2016 August Bank Holiday weekend with friends and was able to take my bike. The logistic were such that I was able to sneak a ride in on the Monday and planned this to include the #21 - Steyning Bostal.

It was a bit further from Worthing to the foot of the climb than I expected and I was getting pressed for time as I was going to be late to meet my wife as arranged. The delay was partially down to the Bank Holiday traffic along the seafronts of Worthing and Lancing.

I turned onto the climbed and there was immediately a short steep section that was, to be honest, a bit of a nothing climb. As I crested it I could see ahead what looked like 1/2 a mile or so of pretty flat road. I knew I was on the right road but I still had some doubts given what the road was like. However at the end of the flat section it kicked up quite sharply. There was a junction to the right and at that point it really did change to a "proper" climb. It was a good 15% at least and I was starting to regret having swapped out my 11-32 "pyrenean" cassette for the more UK suitable 11-28. My heart rate was up at around 175bpm but I actually felt OK  and it was not too long the gradient eased off and I was at the top.

It was a tough but manageable climb, and another one ticked off the list.

Here's the full route for the day (25miles average 16.2mph - included the slow sea front and the climb)

Here is the climb details:

My stats were 7:10 climb time, 407ft of ascent, average speed of 8.2mph and average heart rate of 171bpm. I placed 946 of 3109 - I was pretty happy to be in the top 1/3rd. I think if I did it again I could take some time out of this relatively easily on the flat stretch

I had my Garmin Virb with me but forgot to have it running before the climb, so it starts part way up the first small climb: