Anyone that has been to the French Alps will know what a special place it is. It’s beauty is hard to describe and it’s vastness too big to put into words (I’ll try anyway!). So when I get the chance to visit this area and do a little cycling, I grab it with both hands.Now add to this magnificent place the hysteria of the Tour de France cycling race and you can maybe start to understand how excited I am about going there.
There is a particular spot that I always head to and that is a place called Bourg D’Oisans. This tiny little village is about 50 minutes from Grenoble and is at the gateway to the group of gargantuan peaks called the Alps. The most famous in the vicinity is the 21 hairpin turns of the Alpe D’Huez. It is a climb of 13.8kms, elevation of 1266 meters and an average gradient of 8%. To put this majestic climb into perspective I can climb it on my road bike in 1 hour and 11 minutes, a good, fit (and young!) amature will do it in an hour straight, which takes some effort.
Marco Pantani the late Italian cycling superstar holds the record at an amazing 37 minutes and 35 seconds.
The 2018 Tour de France was due to cross our path for two days in a row. On Thursday 19th July the stage finished on top of Alpe D’Huez and on Friday 20th July we had the roll-out from Bourg D’Oisans where they set off on the next stage of the race.
It’s now a bit of a tradition of mine to climb Alpe D’Huez on the day of the stage but I’ll cover that in my cycling blog. Once this was complete we set off up the climb with our picnic ready to find a good spot to view the riders. We found a good spot about half a kilometer up from the base of the mountain and prepared for the coming excitement.
Geraint Thomas is now technically the first rider to ever win the stage of the Alpe D’Huez in the leaders yellow jersey.
The first thing you notice is how many people are there. After climbing earlier and then just sat down watching the droves of fans happily drifting up the mountain eager to find their own vantage point to view their heroes. It is said that up to a million people could view the Alpe D’Huez stage alone. There are different corners or hairpins that have been infiltrated by certain groups; the most famous being Dutch corner where everything has turned orange, Belgian, Irish and Welsh corners too. A real festival of colour.
Before the cyclists arrived we were treated to the caravan. This is the stream of cars and all sorts of strange vehicles that go past advertising different companies. There are companies like Vittel giving out water bottles and spraying everyone if it’s hot, Cochonou throwing out mini saucisson, Carrefour giving out polka-dot hats and many many more. This turns into a bit of a frenzy with grown men beating little children to key rings and other ‘free tat’ as we affectionately call it. It is 40 minutes of pandemonium, but also a really good laugh.
It is worth mentioning that we are here with a great group of people that we met while working at a school in Thailand. Some have been before but some are experiencing this for the first time. We have now, mostly, moved to different parts of the world but all wanted to meet up at this wonderful event and place. The list of countries we have come from are Malaysia, England, Kazakhstan, Thailand and Romania. Some of these friends we have not seen in two years, so it’s a great reunion too.
Previous winners include Marco Pantani, Fausto Coppi, Bernard Hinault, Gianni Bugno and the latest was Thibaut Pinot in 2015.
Now everyone is hyper excited and stuffed with saucisson and madelines we are all ready and anticipating the the fast approaching road warriors. After a quick check of the watch; and receiving live updates from my father back in England, we are ready. The riders are expected in 15 minutes and are travelling at an average speed of 45 kilometers an hour. Suddenly the helicopters are dominating the sky and the atmosphere goes all tense. There is a call from someone that the lead rider is in the village and will be here any second. The Gendarmerie on their high powered bikes scream past and a few official cars do the same. Then he arrives!
Only a few hours previously I was crawling up this 10% gradient at 8 or 9 kilometers an hour. This guy is doing around 20 kilometers per hour. The noise changes from the nervous hum to the roar of passion and pent up energy. Then, five minutes later, the persuing group of about 20 riders hits the climb including the yellow jersey, Geraint Thomas. Shouts of Allez! Allez! Go! Go! The riders are absolutely flying up the hill and everyone is desperate to grab that fleeting glimpse of their chosen star. The next group arrive and I spot one of my other favourite riders, Peter Sagan coming towards me and I turn into an excitable lunatic! ‘Come on Peter! Keep pushing!’ All this and taking photos too!
The Yellow Jersey is the overall leader that has taken the least time across all completed stages combined. The Polka-dot Jersey is for the king of the mountains obtained by points at the top of each mountain climbed. The Green Jersey is for the speed guys and is a points system over several intermediate sprints and flat stage wins. The White Jersey is for the leading riders that are aged under 26.
Image from Roadbike Review.Com
Finally the Grupetto or trailing group full of non climbers, roll past at a slower rate. Well, I say slower but they are still doing about 8 kms per hour quicker than I did. They pass and we all start to flow down the mountain back towards our campsite. Thousands of people all heading back down the mountain, all mentally and physically exhausted with too much sun and beer, but happy.
We stay in a little campsite called La Rencontre du Soleil that is beautiful and right at the base of the mountain, in a perfect spot. The website link is here. We have been coming here since 2005 and I totally recommend it. The TV is on and we are able to watch the end of the stage and have a beer at the same time with all the other multinational people on the site. We get there to see our favourite rider Geraint Thomas in a lead group and ready to sprint to the finish. They go under the red kite or Flame Rouge and the race is on. Thomas surprises everyone and jumps them all at the final turn. Our whole group are bouncing up and down as our man crosses the line first.
The party will go on throughout the evening and late into the night and it will be some party. The great news is the stage start for tomorrow will leave at 13:45 from the village of Bourg D’Oisans and will give everyone time to get over their hangover. Not for me though, as I face the daunting task of the Col du Galibier in the morning before getting back for the start.
Tomorrow, Part 2 Meeting the riders.
More info on The Tour de France
Thanks for reading.
Gaz
