L'Etape Du Tour 2012

Pau to Laruns

I was awakened as dawn broke by the sound of the car pulling away up the track. Two of our party were heading into Pau to the start of the ride. The rest of us slowly got ourselves together and made our preparations for the day ahead.

At 7.15 we made our way down the hill to wait at the junction where the riders would come past. Our two early risers had taken our timing chips with them to the start and were planning on handing them over at the place we were now standing at.

With the rendezvous complete we joined the next fast moving peloton to come around the bend and set off towards Laruns.

A lot of riders got carried away with the adrenalin of the start and set a frantic pace on the smooth and mainly flat run in to Laruns. Some of our group decided to join the race while the rest of us settled into a comfortable spin, the omniscient climbs ahead acting as a brake on our ambitions.

Col D'Aubisque

On hitting the first big climb of the day everyone went their own way at the pace they were comfortable with. Having the experience of this climb from earlier in the week to draw upon I deliberately held back and stayed at a very comfortable clip.

I reached the summit 16 kilometres later feeling very comfortable and ready for more climbing.

The weather deteriorated the higher we went and rain was falling heavily at the summit. After donning my jacket I plummeted down the other side. The weather on the descent was atrocious, with a bone chilling wind and lashing rain. My only concern was to get below the cloud as fast as possible. As I descended at as near to break neck speed as I could manage I ate up dozens of more cautious riders.

The long run continued up over the Col Du Soulor and down into the town of Argeles Gazost to the food station there. I was met by the sight of wet and bedraggled riders many of whom were shivering uncontrollably. Some of the worst cases, who presumably had not carried jackets with them, had been given foil blankets.

I filled my face with biscuits, sweets and sponge cakes and headed off again anxious to get warmed up by the long slow climb up to Luz-Saint-Sauveur and the base of the Tourmalet.

Col Du Tourmalet

This was the big one and, back when I was contemplating the ride back in England, the one I was most apprehensive about getting up. The rides earlier in the week had given me plenty of confidence that I could handle this one.

I set off at a similar cadence to the previous climb and started counting off the kilometres. There were plenty of other riders to chat to on the way up to relieve the monotony of the relentless slow movement uphill.

I was still feeling comfortable when I reached the food station 9 kilometres from the top. I could have bypassed it, but I decided to remain cautious and stopped to stretch and eat a little.

As with the previous climb, once above the clouds the weather closed in. The gradient increased and I could start to feel the effects of the accumulated climbing. The very last section became very steep and it was a relief to finally go over the top.

This descent turned out to be even colder than going down the Aubisque.
As with that descent, it just made me more anxious to get down as quickly as possible. There were some slick sections that required heavy application of the brakes.

At the bottom in Sainte-Marie-de-Campan there was another food station. I had decided by this point to stop at every food and drink station along the way. This would give me the opportunity to stretch out cramping muscles in my shoulders and neck and to ensure I had adequate nutrition.

From here the road climbed upwards immediately towards the Col D'Aspin.

Col d'Aspin

I was thankful to be climbing again as it meant that I would soon stop shivering and warm up. The Aspin is a relatively easy climb. It was only 13 kilometres from the bottom of the Tourmalet to the summit of Aspin. Most of the gradient was less than 6 percent and I could mix in some fast spinning in between the steeper grades.

The weather, though still closed in at the top, was starting to improve and the descent was much more enjoyable than the previous two.

Col d'Peyresourde

Although I was starting to feel tired I knew I would have plenty of reserves to get up the final climb of the day.

By this point in the ride there were lots of riders pulled off to the side of the road, either cramping up or just in need of a breather.

I set off up the Peyresourde with the same pace that I had used for all the climbs. I put my head down and just focused on moving my legs at an even rate. The kilometres melted away and even the final steep 4 kilometres were vanquished without pushing myself to the limit.

The final descent was the best of the day with a fabulous 5 kilometre run in to the town of Bagneres-de-Luchon.

The last kilometre ran through the centre of town and the streets were packed on either side with cheering crowds. Everyone, no matter how tired by this stage, put on a big sprint finish for the enthusiastic supporters.

It was a relief to go over the finish line and then go seek out my friends to see how they had got on.

I finished in 10 and a half hours which was well under the cut off of 12 hours. I rode conservatively as I wanted to ensure that I finished but I left plenty in the tank. I would love to ride it again and have the attitude of going for a time like some of the guys in my group. The training I did proved to be good enough despite my apprehensions.


Arriving earlier in the week and getting adjusted by riding some big climbs helped a lot. We were also used to, and prepared for, the conditions.

Now back to the short but steep hills of the Severn escarpment. Maybe next year the Marmotte.

Riders coming through Rebenecq

At the top of Col d'Aubisque

Joining the ride

Pre race meal

Col d'Peyresourde

Feed station on the Tourmalet

Col du Tourmalet

Col d'Aspin

Going up Col d'Aspin

Final effort up Peyresourde

Day five: Logistics

The problem with doing a ride like the Etape is that the finish is a long way from the start. This means organizing some means of getting back to your lodgings from the finish line. The complications are increased in proportion to the number of people in your party.

We now number nine riders so that meant driving two cars and the van 200 kilometres to the finish and then driving one of those vehicles back.

The unlucky drivers were designated and set off on their journey. The rest of us rode our bikes into Pau to the Expo and to give our legs a final easy spin before Saturday.

The weather forecast could not have been kinder. Today brought the one and only day of hot weather. The forecast for tomorrow is overcast with rain showers and temperatures in the high teens. This means there will be no spectacular views but also no relentless heat while grinding up the passes.

One decision still to be made is whether to get up really early in the morning and cycle 14k back up the road to Pau before the road is closed at 6.30 am. Then wait around for 90 minutes or so before setting off.
The alternative is to get up at a reasonable hour and make our way leisurely down from the house to the road on which the rest of the riders will be coming down. This means that we won't get an official start time and will be cutting off 14k from the route. Some are in two minds about not doing the official route but weight of opinion is leaning towards the saner option.

Day four: Registration

With just two days to go before the big ride I decided to rest my legs for a day.Instead I headed down to the Expo centre in Pau with Gary and Tim, newly arrived overnight via Heathrow and Toulouse.After signing in, receiving a grab bag of goodies and perusing the many commercial exhibits, the day was getting late. We headed back to the house and Gary and Tim decided to head out for a short spin up to Eaux Bonnes and back. I declined the invitation and stayed at the house to receive the rest of the crew arriving by car from England.

Day three: Col Du Pourtalet

In the morning we drove into Pau and went swimming in an outdoor pool ostensibly to relax and soothe our aching muscles before the afternoon ride.

After two heavy days in the mountains we decided to stay away from the big climbs and tackle the Col Du Pourtalet. The main motivation was to give the legs a workout but not over stress ourselves before Saturday.

To make things even easier on ourselves we drove closer to our destination and parked up in Louvie-Juzon.

Once on the bikes we set a steady pace on the, now familiar, road to Laruns. The weather was slightly worse than the previous two days with low cloud cover and a persistent drizzle.

At Laruns the road forks. The left bend goes up to the Aubisque and the right heads up the Pourtalet. The total distance of the climb is 29K but a lot of the sections are between 4 and 6 percent with only a few stretches of steeper ascent.

I had been feeling nauseous most of the day and after about 10k was beset with stomach cramps which got more severe as the grade steepened. Gary zoomed off leaving me to my fate.

At about 15k into the climb I had to get off the bike and lie on the grass by the side of the road. After a few minutes I started to feel better so decided to continue on with the ride.

Once I got back into a regular rhythm the cramps ebbed away and I was able to get back into a high tempo, especially on the easier sections.

As I neared the summit the temperature started to really drop and the clouds closed in leaving very low visibility. Then just 500 metres from the top the clouds gave way to the first blue sky of the trip.

I reached the summit and crossed the line into Spain, where a shivering Gary was waiting for me.

After a brief pause to take photos I put on a wind breaker and we set off back down into France for an exhilarating descent.

By the time we got back to the car park darkness was looming and we had banked another 85k of mountain riding.

Back into France

Blue sky at the top of Col du Pourtalet

Summit of Col du Pourtalet

Dam half way up Col du Pourtalet

Day two: Luz Ardiden and Hautacam

We decided to do a couple of less well known climbs.

We drove down to Argeles Gazost via Lourdes.

From there it was a 12K ride up to Luz Saint Saveur which is where the ascent of the Tourmalet begins. We made a short foray 2K up the Tormalet route and then returned to the village and onwards to Luz Ardiden.

Just like the previous day's climb up the Aubisque the start was fairly moderate. The gradient started steepening after 3K as we again ascended into thick cloud.

The total distance was 13K with 1100M of ascent. The last 3 kilometres were tough going and, with the thick mist, there was only the immediate 15 meters of road in view.

The conditions at the top were cold so we immediately turned around and headed back down.

After a lunch in Luz Saint Saveur we decided to add another climb to the day and headed back down the gorge towards Hautacam.

This is another ski destination in the valley and equal in length and height to our first climb.

After another tough climb the same inclement conditions prevailed so we did not linger at the summit.
The descent was particularly tricky as the road was quite wet and narrow.

We reached the van after a total of 95 kilometres distance and 2500 meters of climbing.

Quite a draining day in the saddle but still plenty of time to recover before Saturday.

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Summit of Hautacam

The valley below Luz Ardiden

2K up the Tourmalet

Top of the Hautacam

Day one: Col d'Aubisque

We packed up all seven bikes belonging to our peleton in the van and set off for the chunnel on Sunday evening.

After a 12 hour drive through the night we arrived at our lodgings for the week. Gary, in charge of logistics, had managed to procure a fabulous farmhouse high in the hills above Rebenacq just south of Pau.

After grabbing a couple of hours sleep we unpacked our bikes and headed out to climb the Col d'Aubisque.

The route starts by dropping sharply for a couple miles down from the farmhouse to the road to Laruns.

After 25k of mostly flat terrain we arrived in Laruns which is where the ascent begins.

A large group of Spanish riders had just set off when we reached the start of the climb. After a quick photo shot we started the ascent.

The first 5k was very moderate and we quickly overtook reams of riders. It was hard to hold back and I found myself pushing the pace. As the average gradient was between 5 and 6 percent I had no trouble keeping up a high tempo.

This proved to be a mistake because after 7k the gradient increased to 8 percent and 10 percent in parts. That in itself was not difficult but as the kilometres dragged on I could feel the energy sapping from my legs.

The last 3k became a crawl up through the dense mist to the summit.

Visibility at the top was down to 5 feet and we quickly became chilled. We turned around and hit the descent, all 17 glorious kilometres of it back down to Laruns.

After a quick coffee we got back on the road home. Cursing Gary for renting a farmhouse at the top of an extremely steep hill, I arrived back quite spent.

Total distance was 85k with a 1700m climb. When I tackle this climb again on Saturday I shall be sure to take it easy on the lower section and save something for the top.

The bikes packed in the van

Gourette Ski Station - 4K to the summit

Summit of Col d'Aubisque

Our lodgings in the hills of Rebenecq

At the base of Col d'Aubisque

Out of Time

There is now just eight days to go before the Ride. Time to assess if I am ready for it.

The stats from my Strava profile:

YEAR-TO-DATE
Distance	3,238.4km
Time	135hr 7m
Elev Gain	44,484m
Rides	65

In retrospect I could probably have gone a bit harder at the training. I started focusing on hills about a month later than I should have. Ideally I would like another two months.

On the positive side I can feel the acute difference in my fitness level. There were many days when I would not have gone out for a ride but for the fact that I felt the pressure to do so. Looking back at the earlier days when I dreaded riding up hills such as Selsley, I now feel very comfortable handling those climbs.

I should be able to complete the Etape, the bigger question is how much pain I will have to endure to do so.

I leave for France on Sunday. My friend Gary and I plan to ride around in the Pyrenees for five days before the rest of the crew join us. That should give me the opportunity to try out the Aubisque and Tourmalet before Saturday.

That might not be a good idea if I find them to be extremely tough.