Maria's Etape du Tour

[Tamar]

I've had a text from Maria:

"Gr8 atmosphere & weather - the main climbs were terrible - & even after that the last 50m were hilly!! Loads were walking/abandoned - did 11hrs - bronze and happy."

No doubt she will fill us in on the full horror when she gets back. Sounds incredibly tough (read Hannah's preview).

[Elfric]

After reading Hannah's experiences doing the preview, I think anyone who finished qualifies as a bona fide hero/heroine.

Well done Maria!

[siwickm]

I got a text from Max this morning. He completed the course in 8 hours 55 minutes. Although he did walk 2km up the second mountain, not due to not being able to pedal but being mentally bludgeoned. He got up to a top speed of 80kph on the descent.

He gave me the impression that it was quite windy and that it was Hell to complete.

Cheers

Marek...

[richv]

Just got back from the etape and a few days watching the tdf afterwards. Hannah's description of the second big climb was absolutely spot on and I have been desperately trying to erase the last 5km of it from my memory ever since but without much success. Stopped, walked, and stopped again during it.
Apart from that it was a fantastic day, weather conditions almost perfect, clouding over nicely on the second climb to keep the temperature down. The descent from the Bargargui was fantastic riding but the 'downhill' section from there to the end involved too many climbs for my liking and a headwind just to finish you off. Finished in 9h18m. The most amazing thing was riding with 8,000 other people on closed roads with so much local support. Not quite the tdf but as close as most mortals will ever get.
Now looking forward to next year.

[John Sheridan]

Got back today. I agree with Rich, the Bargagui is best forgotten. If my hazy memory is correct the signs went something like: arrivee 6km, 1km 12%. Arrivee 5km, 1km 13%, arivee 4km, 1km 12.5%, arrivee 3km, 1km 12%... can't remember after that, no doubt I've blocked it from my mind to preserve my sanity. Finished in 9h26m.

[Maria David]

Yeah, it was a great day and really well organised.
It was amazing riding on closed roads like that with loads and loads of cyclists all around you.
There were alot of Brits (more than 1200). It was uncanny to go all the way to Oloron Sainte Marie and get chatting to someone from Brixton.

It was funny how people were all chit-chatting through the peloton, and then everything just fell silent as we had to struggled up the cols. All we heard were cow bells.
The worst bit for me was near the top of col de Bargargui - my quads were burning, I felt sick and I was heaving so much up the hill. The roads were thick with local Basques cheering us on - they were even more excited to see women doing it. A few people actually ran behind and pushed me up the hill. I so wanted to get off my bike and walk but felt obliged to keep pedalling. Boy, was I relieved to turn the corner and see the road going downhill - I was almost in tears !

The downhill from Bargargui/Burdincurutcheta was great. Exactly how Hannah described it.

The last 45 miles were a real chore. I was quite tired and it was a bit of a psychological blow to find the road undulating to hilly with a head wind practically all the way to the finish ! I really had to will myself along.
It felt great to see the finish line.

A few local cyclists I got chatting to said that they'd done almost all the etapes du tour that have been put on since 1993 and this year's (stage 16)was definitely the hardest. Also walking up col Bargargui makes up part of one of the local hiking trails (GR10). And walking up it is considered as a real feat. So I didn't feel so bad about the 200m or so when I had to get off my bike.
I suppose with it being the centenary year they just wanted to make it something really testing like it might have been for Maurice Garin and Co.
I don't know why they didn't go the whole hog and make us do it on fixed wheel bikes as well !

Anyway, I'll definitely be back next year.