Tour de France 2008

Well that’s it over for another year. Normally after the Tour has finished I’m usually trying to fill a vacuum left by TV coverage of cycling, but this year it feels a bit different, well come on to that later.

Congratulations go to Carlos Sastre, he has finished high in the ratings previously. He did the miles and the best time on the bike, but I think like many the better cyclist finished second. Poor old Cadel, as a French friend of mine put it ’Il est complet’ referring to him being a complete cyclist. He has ability to do well in all cycling disciplines particularly where it matters e.g. time trial and climbing. There were factors against him winning despite being the general favourite before the Tour left Brest just over 3 weeks ago.

Firstly he was in an ambitious team with di-polar goals, McEwen, albeit toward the end of his career, was still hungry for stage wins. For McEwen do this he requires some key team players to get him into a position to deliver. Ultimately this means less resource to support Cadel in the mountains, sprinters don’t do mountains!  

The tour passing our campsite

The Tour outcome was decided ultimately in stage 17 and on one mountain the Alpe-d’Huez. But Evans was beat before he even started climbing the Alpe. Whether it was pre-planned or it just unfolded that way CSC had options on the Alpe. At the foot Frank Schleck in yellow he was the key threat for Cadel to manage. Sastre attacks and any counter attack is managed by Schleck junior.  Sastre gets some distance and settles into a good steady rhythm. The chasing group collectively accelerate, regroup, recuperate and repeat each time there gradually reducing the contenders, but tiring themselves too. Sastre continues to make hay. Schleck senior attacks but does not have the legs or is he fooling Evans? For Evans the penny finally drops the threat is now almost 2 minutes up the road and not the guy wearing yellow riding by his side. No choice but to attack, who helps him? No one, why should they? Evans has no team support – contrasting the CSC teams 3 riders in the top 5 at the end of the stage with that of Evans his next two supporting riders finishing 21st and 35th positions!

Alas tired from the mountains Cadel has too much time to make up on the final time trial. The result is confirmed in Paris a few days later.

I managed to get to see stage 6. We found a campsite literally on the route the tour would follow that day. After spending a few hours in a superb spot we got our fair share of caravan freebies before the cyclists rode by us in a matter of seconds. The stage was won by Riccardo Ricco who had showed a remarkable climbing ability, not unlike his fellow countryman the late Marco Pantani, as it would unfold a few days later he had more in common with the Pirate than we thought. 

Another of my cycling colleagues claims that there 3rd and 4th generation EPO compounds used nowadays he pointed the finger at one high profile team, not that of Evans team I may add. The new compounds not yet detectable. I feel deflated like recent years, I just want a clean tour! I feel no sorrow that its over, no vacuum. But drugs and doping are not the real reason there is no void the real reason is because…………. its time to get back to the bike, theres a race to prepare for next weekend!

Chalus race

After some ups and downs in performance this season and following some commitment back on the bike it was time to try and get another race under my belt.  I say ‘try’ as I wasn’t quite sure if I had the legs for 60k at race pace, but I believed it would be good end of week training at the very least. The race was in the small town of Chalus. This is where Richard the Lionheart died and is not to far from home so it seemed a good a course as any to do.

They announced that the race was 10 laps not 9 as programmed, but it was still the same distance. The circuit was clockwise with a couple of short hills. There were attacks from the start which made the going hard, but each attack was quickly closed down.

Apart from doing one long pull at the front I practised doing as little work at the front as possible. The laps quickly ticked by and despite being hard I felt confident that I would finish. On the last lap there was the inevitable increased pace. I held in there with the group, tired but pleased I was going to finish. I did not like the final bend and lacked confidence riding through it and sprinted the last few hundred meters from then on. I quickly gained places and realised crossing the line in 6 or 7th I probably could have done a bit better if I had played it different at the corner. Reflecting on the finish it reminded me of the first race of the season at Bantard where a found I finished strongly but started to far back to get a possible placing.

So my fitness is back I must focus on the tactics and positioning now!

I should add that Patrick a fellow team mate finished in 3 place, just to prove it….

Le Grand Puyconnieux – Premier ride on the new bike!

I collected the new bike (ok so only the frame is new) and was keen to test it out. For the new bike it required a new route, so I thought I would try and find a hill not to far from me called Le Grand Puyconnieux. It comes with a bit of a reputation, I’ve heard it has gradients of 15-20% in places and is one of the highest hills around here. With this in mind I find it hard to believe I haven’t ridden up it before? But it is tucked away and does not stand alone and with all the forest cover it’s maybe not that surprising!

I set off from home, the weather is overcast and damp, but otherwise OK. I don’t have a great deal of time but reckon I can get there and back in about 2 hours - an hour each way. The bike seems good put under abit of pressure, a few minor tweaks when I get home would make it improve it some more.

This ride goes through a huge forest which makes up much of an area known as the Pays des Feuillardiers. There are numerous quite roads and bridal paths throughout with plenty of hills of varoius gradients and is a cycling paradise both on and off road.

I’m making good time passing Saint Mathieu as I turn right and enter the forest area. A long gentle gradient that seems to go on forever get me close to where I’m heading. I switch roads and expect the road to rise up, it does but not to steeply. Before I know it I come to a cross roads and see a sign ‘Puyconnieux 2km’. I get up on the pedals pushing a big gear. There is an increase in power transfered from me and through the bike compared with the old model. The road is not as steep as I thought I must have come up the hill the easy way, suddenly I’m there!

Le Grand Puyconnieux et mon nouveau velo

Just to prove it I take a photo and manage to drop the phone at the same time. It took an hour and a minute to get there so as the route home is slightly shorter. I’ll be home in good time. I descend a different route. long fast, with gentle bends and steep in places, I realise this would be the tough way up. OK next time, now I’m on a mission to get home.

A few ks down the road I’m standing and pushing hard on the pedals. A sharp noise and sudden loss of power brings me to an abrupt stop. I look round the chain has snapped – b………s! I spend a few minutes trying to put it back together but its proving difficult. Ok, I’ll call Helen and get her to pick me up – no I won’t, the phone is not working after I dropped it earlier. Wearing my cycling shoes and walking like a duck I make my way toward the next town…. quack quack, waddle waddle, quack quack….. All I need now is for it to rain, my wish was soon granted!

I reach the town, the payphone is not working, well these things come in threes, or is it fours! So I go into the local bar call Helen and sit down and wait, oh and consume a beer or three! 

Well the bike was otherwise good, responsive and an easier ride than the last, but both the bike and Le Grand Puyconnieux must battle once more.

ROCC Demi Journee

The weekend arrived but not the new bike. I’m loaned a bike from Dave Nelson, you can tell its his bike as its has his name all over it! It feels a bit big for me, Dave is a tall guy.  I’m not sure it will be that good a ride but its better than no ride. The bars are noticebaly wider the crank longer and theres more stiffness in the frame.

This will be the fourth year I have riden the ROCC demi journee. The first year I just made it, as it was my first 100 k ride since arriving in France. The second went well. The third year, whilst watching the womens Tour de France pass my house, I met Arthur Needham the co founder of Argos cycles in Bristol I invited him along. But in his seventies, although fit, he did not have the miles in his legs so we cut a short route home.

This year a new route, and on a new bike (new to me). The regulated 25km/h was enforced which is generally OK but can  be tedious at times. However towards the end the speed police let us have our sprint home. I’m not to sure which route were taking back into Rochechouart but I’m poised for an attack. Were down in Salliat and Pierre goes ahead, this is along way off to make a break. The route turns right and we head uphill I work hard to catch Pierre then we sit up and wait for the others. The cat and mouse game continues as we take the longest possible route back into town. Pierre knows the exact route and eventually attacks, I chase after him but make the mistake with Davids campags to change gear in the wrong direction and find I’m spinning at 120 rpm. I’ve lost it! A last desperate attampt gets me closer but he sits up, he wins once more. I’ll have my day!

How did the bike perform? – Having ridden on someone elses bike for 100k, it feels pretty good. Maybe I should try a larger frame, certainly the wider bars felt more comfortable. If anything it challenges what I’m currently using and will be some food for thought.

Training on the Terrase – Episode 2 (the crash)

Ok so if it wasnt completely clear and you could not quite work the photos out – I was on the turbo trainer and up on the roof of, yes youv’e guessed it, the new terrace! See the trainer on the bottom right hand side. 

This was the last time I rode this bike on the turbo trainer!

The next day was due to be 30 plus degrees in the afternoon so I kind of ruled out the Saturday club ride. Graham was planning a ride in the morning so I asked if I could tag along. We met at Marval, a small town and midway point between our houses. We both had to travel some distance to get there. Graham mentioned he’d had a couple of serious climbs to get to the Marval, one of these was called the Puyconnieux. I’d heard of this before, but I could not remember it from previous rides. Graham went on to talk about its gradient and the distance, it kind had me interested. But that’s a ride for another day today were long going down into the Dordogne.

Most of this route was new to me, we headed across some beautiful countryside and the towns of Miallet and St Jory before arriving in Thiviers on market day. After dodging lots of French housewives hurrying between stalls, which just happen to be on either-side of the road were travelling along, we head away from the hustle and bustle toward St Jean de Cole. A nice long downhill run, which normally means there is going to be some penalty later on. Through St Jean and on to Saint-Pardoux-la-Rivière, after this its payback time! A beautiful long steady climb on a quite road, trees shade us from the hot sun as we head toward Champs-Romain. 

The climbing over for a while we make good time and cover distance quickly. Its close to lunch time and we still have some distance to get home so were on tghe look out for a shop for refueling. A cyclist ahead of us is spurring us on we aim to catch him before the nxt town. We close the gap but he beats us there, we start looking round for a shop. I look to my left and spot something I start decelerate and take a second look. Graham does the same, I dont notice, bang!

I have hit is back wheel. I try to recover but I’m going over the handle bars. I land hard but try to spread the moment of impact by rolling, but its difficult with feet clipped on to the bike. I sit in the road dazed, Graham says take your time dontrush, my brain is searching out the painful bits, thankfully I’m in one piece, so is Graham. Unfortunately my bike is not, the dropout twisted and beyond road-side repair. Grahams back wheel has a damaged spoke but is just rideable. I then make the first home call for assistance in four years, it had to come sooner or later. I ponder if theres a market for an AA/RAC service for cyclists? 

Graham buys some chilled water and we shade under a tree and wait for the pickup. Graham bravely soldiers on having another 30km to cover.

A couple of days later we head to Culture Velo carrying our damaged goods, Graham has built a some rapour with the multilingual dutch assistant there called Flo. However despite best efforts the long and the short of it I need a new frame, should be ready by the weekend. Ok not the verdict I wanted, but as pointed out by Flo it will be almost a new bike.

Roll on the weekend!