LIMOGES-ST FLOUR: One Impression!!!

[Toks]

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I have just come back from a week in the Auvergne. I managed to ride the whole course in two 100 mile stages (so there was some overlap). Here are my impressions....

1) The 'flat' first 18.7 miles (to be covered in one hour) is not very flat, think Richmond Park plus. I found it surprisingly difficult to complete in the time.

2) In general, no part of the route is particularly steep, with the exception of the 2k of 17% at the top of the Pas de Peyrol. 39-25 should be sufficient.

3) As the organisers say, the main challenge is the distance.....

The route in detail:

As mentioned, the first section of the ride is rolling. As it progresses, the hills get longer but not really steeper. After the first 18 miles, Mont Gargan is not really noticable. The road drops into Treignac before the long drag of the Col de Lestards. The descent of the Col is marred by the appalling road surface (but the road crews might fix this by July)

Another climb brings us to the 50 mile point just after St Yrieux. Then there is a 20 mile mainly downhill stretch through Egletons ending in a suberb descent into the Luzerge gorge. A reasonably easy climb out of the gorge brings us to the halfway mark at the village of Soursac before the descent into the next gorge at the Barrage de L'Aigle. A rather steeper climb out of this one followed by a long tedious drag up to Mariac (this climb is called the Cote de Montplaisir on the profile although this name does not appear on any map of the area).

The following road to Salers is described as a climb of 1% but this hides a number falls and rises. This road always seemed never ending to me.

At Salers we are 100 miles in. We now head into the mountains and the countryside changes completely. The climb to the Col to Neronne is actually very easy - the summit is visible soon after leaving Salers. It is followed by a very pleasent descent into pine woods on the other side of the ridge. The road flattens out, then starts to gently rise again. At this point, the head of the valley and the road to the Pas de Peyrol becomes visible through the trees. Just before the end of the woods the road takes a sharp left turn. Someone has sprayed "2 km 17%" on the tarmac and the gradient takes a turn for the vertical.

The first section is the steepest. There is a turn to the right, then a hairpin to the right followed shortly by a sharp left. At this point the summit is visible.

There is a long descent down to Dienne, twisting for the first mile or so but then straightening out before the minor climb of the Col d'Egremont. This leads to a fantastic descent down a smooth, wide road to Murat before the last major climb to the Plomb de Cantal (labelled Plat de Bourc 9 km on the roadside) Again this climb is long rather then steep with the hardest section just after the halfway point at Albepierre.

At the top I made the mistake of thinking that it would be downhill all the way to St Flour, but there is still a 'Ranmore' sized climb in the way (not shown on the profile) before we are out of the mountains at Paulhac. There follows a few miles of windswept plain before the course takes a right turn off the main road to drop down to the village of Villedur. A short climb later and St Flour is finally in sight!

The road drops down the cliffs at bottom of the town before the final 2k climb. If you wish to time your final sprint, from the start of the climb there is a left hairpin, followed by a right hairpin. The finish should be on this stretch, or just after the left turn at the top.

This report was written by a rider from another club

Take Care, Toks