Etape 2008 race report

Distance: 169km
Event Details: http://www.letapedutour.com
Time: 7 hours 26 Minutes
Overall Position: 1652
Category Position: 163

After all the training, spending and big talk the day finally arrived – and it wasn’t quite what we expected.

Picture the scene – you’ve spent the evening running around in a blind panic trying to finalise transport and equipment and then you wake at 3am to the sound of thunder. We left the house at 4am, driving through a 360 degree lightning show and torrential rain. All of us were debating giving it a miss as memories of wet sportives in England came back to haunt. Arriving in Pau around 5am we managed to park in a side street not far from the start, at the Racecourse, before the police closed off the roads.

The Start

We cycled to where the holding pens were and I was staggered by the site. There were 6 or 7 huge fenced off areas filling the car park. At the time they were only a handful of people there and I couldn’t imagine them filling up completely. After standing a round for a while in gillets Mark and I opted to go band get our rain jackets from the car. It was only fine rain but definitely the type that soaks you through. Even riding back to the car I could feel the cold.

Returning to the start we bumped into the rest of the group who’d just been dropped off. We all rode to the start and joined the masses in our pen. The start itself went smoother than I had anticipated and I managed to get through the start without having to put a foot down.

Video: The start of the Etape

From the start Tim and I paced ourselves against sporadic groups. It wasn’t until several miles in that people started grouping together. I was keen to stay with groups as it lessened the effort and kept the heart rate down. My plan was to get to Lourdes feeling fresh.

After about 10 miles the pre race nerves finally disappeared, leaving us in need of a pit stop. Being stopped at the side of the road was an experience; from the start I was part of a mass of riders moving relative to each other but at the side of the road it was just a blur of riders whirring past. We rejoined the field just as Mark and Phil were going past.

Pau to Lourdes

Taking a sharp left corner we were funnelled into the base of the first climb. A couple of things surprised me on this climb; first the number of rider’s finding it hard work; second the amount of equipment failure. There were riders lining the side of the road with punctures, snapped derailleurs and one was even asking for a spare chain.

Cresting the hill IU was ahead of the others so slowed to wait for Tim. Shortly after I pulled ahead on another hill so opted to ride the race at my own pace. Picking up the pace I warmed up and felt more comfortable. On the flats I worked to keep within a group as being on your own exposed you to the wind and slowed you significantly.

Pictured: Riding out the flats

One incident of note came when I hit a speed bump; this launched one of my watter bottles into the air and never to be seen again. This worried me as I consume a fair amount of water on rides and my remaining bottle was low.

The first categorised ascent came in the form of Loucrup. I hit the low gears and spun my way up. Again there were plenty of riders struggling on this early climb. Rounding one corner I was next to a guy when his tire blew. The loud bang made several riders, myself included, jump and wobble a bit.

Pictured: Descending Loucrup

After Loucrup the roads flattened out towards Lourdes. By this stage I had hoped to be with a group cruising on the flats but it didn’t quite work out that way. I’d find myself at the back of a group, then it appear to slow and I’d be ejected into the wind at the front. I’d then have to put some power down to catch the next group of riders. Additionally some of the riders didn’t want you in their group and I found myself being worked to the outside. Eventually a fast group of riders appeared on my left so I switched to ride with them. I was working harder than I wanted but at least I managed to settle into a rhythm for the remaining miles to Lourdes.

Arriving at the Lourdes food stop I was totally out of water. I was hopping to pick up a spare but there was only bottled water available. I fought my way through the masses and grabbed a load of bottles, refilled my remaining bottle and put the rest in my pocket. I quickly got back on the bike, opting to ride slower and eat on the move rather than standing around in the crowds.

The Tourmalet

Arriving at the village of Campan I knew the Tourmalet was not far away. This was the place where we’d started our . I pulled over and ditched my rain jacket. Rejoining I dropped into my low gears and started spinning. Although the start of the climb was some way off I knew that it was all up hill from here. There were people racing ahead of me but I stuck to spinning and when it got steeper I soon caught them.

I had experienced some slight craps on the lower sloped so switched to heel down riding. This stretched out the back of my knees revitalised my legs. I hit the start of the climb feeling good and as I progressed it just felt better. I was surprised how people had bogged down and were climbing in a long chain. I pulled to the outside and glided past them. Knowing what lay ahead helped me conserve my efforts for where they were needed. On one of the lower switch backs I was the only person to cut the inside line. I felt like I was flying and overtaking people just spurred me on.

Pictured: Climbing the Tourmalet

I hit La Mongie feeling like my race plan was working. I’d put in some effort to get here but knew that once here I could refuel and then it was just a short hop to the summit. Well 5k isn’t exactly short but in my head I could have already been at the top. I took on food and water at the stop and was back on the bike in not time.

The cloud by this time was thick, meaning you could only see 30-40 foot ahead of you. Knowing the route really helped in this situation because I was ticking the corners off in my mind. I later heard from others that not being able to see the route made it hard to judge their effort.

Cresting the Tourmalet I donned my gillet for the descent. Looking down into a bowl of cloud with the vauge hit of a road in front gave me butterflies. Luckily a guy with a high visibility jacket over took me at the top. I opted to keep him just in sight to help me judge the route ahead. It was a truly terrify experience, it was wet, cold, hard to see and my brakes seemed next to useless. Once the clouds finally lifted it didn’t get any easier. The roads straightened out and the speeds got faster but the brakes didn’t feel much better. I was constantly nervous about punctures and only dabbed my brakes so as not to overheat my rims (apparently if you jam your brakes on the air in your tyres heats up, expandes and can blow the tyre).

Leaving the main slopes of the mountain we continued to descent into the valley. The roads were smooth, sweeping and fast. I joined up with a group of 30 or so and we flew. We’d catch individual riders and go past them as if they weren’t moving yet my heart rate was low and I was able to eat. At one point we had a motor bike and camera crew filming us for a few miles.

Hautacam

Riding with the pack all the way to Hautacam really helped me recover from climbing the Tourmalet. I only broke away to refill my water bottle.

Hitting the village at the base of Hautacam I was happy to see the large number of supporters cheering us on. I wasn’t happy to see the road split in two and riders coming the over way. As there’s only one road to the summit it was split into half for climbing and half for descending. The riders I was seeing coming in the opposite direction had already finished.

I readied myself for the climb and got my head into gear for the last big effort. Again I knew this climb from the week before and had a plan; easy up the steep first 6k then floor it. The undulating nature of the climb suited me by providing rest bites after periods of effort.

Passing the 6k marker I was elated. The 10% sections were done and I knew all that remained was one steep hairpin. I started changing down the gears and putting in bursts of speed. Hitting 2k I went for it. I spotted a guy 500m ahead of me and made him my target. I passed him as I sprinted round the last corner and on to the finish line.

I’d done it! Even better was how I felt physically; I’d had some minor issues with cramp but nothing really significant, I felt good. Certainly no mind games that can make a ride so hard.

The finish area wasn’t very pleasant. It was in the clouds, cold and wet. To get back down you had to queue before being let down in pairs, keeping 50m apart. Whilst queueing I really felt the cold and began to shiver. Luckily I was able to see the finish line as Mark crossed it. I backed out of the queue and went to congratulate him. We then both queued up and started the descent together.

Video: The descent from Hautacam

It was a horrible descent as I was freezing, the addrenalin had worn off and my brakes were useless. Along the way we saw the others limbing; first Alex, then Phil and finally Jon. I later learnt that Paul had been caught by the broom wagon.

Update: There’s a good review of the Etape from the BBC.