I’m currently riding the Tour de France route 8 days ahead of the big boys and today am on the 2nd rest day. Thank God, I need it! Yesterday was Stage 15, the queen stage of the tour. It’s also the Etape du Tour stage tomorrow (Monday) and some amateur cyclists are in for a rude awakening at 124 miles and 16,000 feet of climbing. The stage includes a brand new climb in the Tour de France, the Port du Bales, and that climb is sure to create absolute carnage amongst the contenders. Not only is it the 4th pass (of 5) of the day, the 2nd day in the Pyrenees, and the last day before a rest day, but it is far harder than it’s stats would indicate. Advertised as 19K at 6.2% it is in fact a true monster because the first 8K of the climb are not really a climb, only 1-3%. The final 10K climb over 900m, so >9% average for 10K, but even within that final 10K there are flat and downhill stretches, so whenever I was climbing my altimeter showed 11%,12%,13%, and even for one stretch was pegged at 16% and 17%. It is killer and it just goes on and on and on. I completely cracked with about 5Ks to go and limped over barely turning over my 34-27. This will become a climb of TdF legend. I’ve already been over Telegraphe, Galibier, Port de Pailheres (broke Lance’s Disco team in 2005), Columbriere, Roselend, Plateau de Beille, and these are like free-wheeling downhill compared to the Port du Bales. Some very serious time gaps are going to be created on this day, and it is immediately followed by the Cat 1 Col de Peyresourde (10K 7.5%), so if legs have cracked on the Bales there is plenty of time for more minutes to open up. Set the DVR for this stage, it’s going to be a classic.
The other stage to not miss is the time trial in Albi - Stage 13. It is phenomenal! And very unusual for a time trial. It is quite hilly and includes a very serious descent with long fast straights and tight, steep switchbacks. I don’t know how they will handle this on tri bikes. Or even if they will. What goes down must go up, and there is a 1.7 mile climb that gains nearly 600 feet (it’s a Cat 4 - how do categorized climbs work in time trial stages?). It is a beautiful course and technical and hard - definitely not your prototypical time trial stage. Should be fun to watch.
Reports on the drug-free TdF attempt here: http://letour2007live.blogspot.com and here: http://kyleyost.blogspot.com. Only 5 stages to go!