Day 4 Aftermath!

With the length of the blog yesterday I was somewhat remiss in detailing the direct aftermath of the finish, being reminded by the others after reading the blog that simply saying that I was a bit grumpy for a short while does not do justice to the funk of despair I forced everyone to endure for about 3 hours afterwards!


As soon as I had finished and thought I hadn't been classified I'm afraid I wasn't the nicest person to know for a while as I internally kicked myself all over and over again, completely missing the chance to congratulate the others on their achievement and making it plain that I didn't what to hang around in Morzine to look at the finishers village, go to the pasta party, have a drink or anything!


The car was parked at the top of the 13km road out of Morzine and to get there we had to go in the cable car. Obviously that's where everyone was parked and the queue for the lift up to the cable car was massive so we had no option but to walk up the very steep gravel path carrying our bikes, to queue to get in the cable car, to then queue to get on a bus and get to the car park. It took about an hour and I must have said about 3 words in the whole time. We got back to the car, put the bikes on the back, I managed to pull myself round a bit and got some fellow finishers to take a photo of us with the medals and caps on then it was Michael valiantly volunteering to drive despite his cramp for the 2 hour drive to St Gervais.


Added to my hissy fit was the fact that the protein bars and energy gels I'd forced down had had a somewhat extreme effect on my digestive tract and the conditions inside the car led to what Michael described as the most uncomfortable car journey he'd ever been part of! Dec was mentioning something about the Bopal disaster and the Geneva convention which had outlawed chemical weapons in 1925.... With main roads still closed we were diverted onto the small roads down and back up the valley and as I was complaining that I didn't think the backs of your hands could sweat and that I'd burned my thumbs in the heat, quick as a flash Michael said "you should have put thumb cream on then!" That was it, everyone corpsed in the car and my gloom was broken! I finally realised I was being a bit of a selfish prick and we started to discuss how it had gone for everyone else. So....


Dec's Race


With the threat of being hunted down like a dog and with more bluffing over the last few days than a poker champion, Dec had set off 37 minutes (it's important that this is exact!) before me and Mark and had Michael about 20 minutes behind him. He told us that with the safety blanket of us possibly coming past if he was struggling and an extra 37 mins to outpace the broom wagon he was in a good place and just took it as it came. Steady away over both the first 2 climbs, he wasn't phased at the riders coming past as he had 6000 people behind him and just concentrated getting round. On the flat 29 miles across the valley he had lots of people to get into trains with and this had saved him lots of effort and he pretty much just granny geared it up the final climb to finish. Michael had come past on the flat bit before the climb and as far as he knew had beaten him to the finish. He'd finished at around 4.10 and had expected to see us all at the finish thinking he'd just missed us going past him. (yeah right!) He hadn't, he'd bloody won! Adjusted time 7hrs 44minutes.
Michael's Race
Bombing down from the start, Michael found the first climb tough because of the gradient, but managed up it ok, taking it easy on the descent and then loving the climb up the Colombire. The flat bit across the valley is his speciality as he's got loads more power than the rest of us but also the most weight to carry up the hills. He smashed across the valley at around 20mph, making up the 20 minutes start Dec had on him and turning up the final climb of the Joux Plane first. Only about 1km in though his chain came off, queue buggering about for 15 minutes sorting it, at which point unbeknown to Michael or Dec, Dec came "tearing" past (can you count 4mph as tearing?!) Just a little way further then the cramp that got me on the Colombiere got Michael as well in exactly the same place, both hamstrings. And that was it for Michael as regards any sort of chance in the mini race. Michael was to spend the longest time on the unremitting heat of the Joux Plane and its all credit to him that he managed to get over it and to the finish. And he still beat me by a considerable margin....Adjusted time 8 hours 19 mins
Mark's Race
Marks race was pretty similar to mine without the suffering and with a lot more waiting about as I heaved my lardy arse up the climbs, while doing all the hard work in the wind on the valley floor as I sat in his slipstream wheel hugging! If he hadn't been my loyal domestique until the foot of the Joux Plane he'll have finished much, much higher. We'll get to how much he destroyed us all on the climbs in a bit. The best bit looking back on the footage of his backside for the 5 hours I was stuck behind him was the descent of the Colombiere where he came past me at light speed and we proceeded to cock about passing people inside and outside until the bottom! With out the time he waited for me at the top of the first 2 climbs he would have been much further up the field....Adjusted time 7 hours 58 minutes
My race you heard about yesterday..... The only thing I forgot to mention was that I heard my phone ring in as I was half way up the Joux Plane yesterday. It meant only one of 2 things, that Declan had finished already, or someone had died. I wasn't sure which one I would be more upset about so I ignored the call....! Adjusted time 8 hours 32 mins.


So the results are in!


Yellow jersey goes to Declan O'Brien! Not wanting to be a sceptic but if in the real race a rider came from so far behind questions would be asked, blood samples poured over and his bike x-rayed for a hidden motor! However the advantages of living in the beautiful south instead of the frozen north and the temperature acclimatisation that it brings , the litre of beetroot juice and 3 pots of porridge he had for breakfast and most importantly his sheer bloody mindedness, determination and the fact that he was, and still to a large extent still is, an elite athlete means he was (grits teeth!) a worthy winner! Chapeau #henrithetortoise!


Polka dot Jersey for the king of the mountains goes to Mark "no arse" Noble! As part of the race there were official time stations that logged the chip on our race number up the 3 categorised climbs. Ultimately on long Alpine climbs, power to weight matters. At just over 12 stone and 6 ft 2 Mark is the tallest and lightest and boy did this show! The fact that he has also tackled the hardest race in the UK the Fred Whitton race in the Lakes a couple of months ago shows what a fantastic cyclist he is.  Results are as follows;


Col des Aravis
Mark               36mins 50secs
Michael           40mins 22secs
Me                   41mins 05secs
Dec                  44mins 35secs


Col de la Colombiere
Mark                59mins 15secs
Michael      1hr 10mins 06secs
Dec             1hr 12mins 13secs
Me              1hr 23mins 11secs


Col de Joux Plane
Mark           1hr 35mins 54secs
Dec             1hr 48mins 00secs
Me              2hr 06mins 59secs
Michael      2hr 44mins 14secs


A pretty comprehensive victory I think you'll all agree! If Mark hadn't waited for me his position overall for the climbs of 7,461 would have been around where he finished, pretty impressive! The well established fact of lightness is best going uphill is massively demonstrated in the results, as is the effect of getting massive cramp in your hamstrings, me on the Colombiere and Michael on the Joux Plane.


Green jersey for the best sprinter is for old thunder thighs himself, Michael Timmins! Although there was no timed race sections for the 29 flat valley miles, his Strava data and the fact that he caught and passed Dec, from starting 20 mins behind him means he wins this by a mile! Averaging nearly 20 miles an hour along this bit is seriously impressive!


So the only (mythical) jersey left to give out is the highly respected and fought over (really it is!) Lantern Rouge named after the last rider in the Tour De France. That goes to me! In the real race it a careful balancing act between maintaining last place and not being eliminated at the end of each stage and I feel it is a rightful resting place given the traumas I experienced at the finishing line! Of course it was just the finishing that mattered and not the times and where I came (I can't believe I'm writing this horsesh***! of course it mattered massively! I'm gutted!) But I am now going on a crash diet ready for next year!


With the results poured over, a quick shower and screams from the shower as Mark got soap in the sores on his non-existent backside, we retired to the pizza establishment in the town and ordered a massive pizza each, 4 lots of garlic bread and 2 lots of chips. Oh and 4 large beers.......after eating virtually none of the above and me getting about half the pint down I was done. Michael finished me drink off and we were going to go to the pub next door to watch the end of the France v Portugal game but to be honest we all just wanted to go to bed! Just before we left on the table opposite were a group of people with Tour De Celeb t-shirts on. We'd heard about this earlier in the week, apparently Channel 5 have commissioned a show in which they put 8 "celebs" though 3 months of coaching and training with Victoria Pendleton and they would then attempt the Etape du Tour and where in the race with us. Dec asked one of the girls who the celebs were and if they had all managed to get round. To our horror as well as some ex athletes Darren Gough, Austin Healy, she also said Louie Spence! "did they all get round?" we asked hesitantly? "yes, they all finished" she replied. Silence. She returned to her meal and we all looked at each other. "If Louie Spence beat any of us round that race I'm chucking the medal into the river!" There then took place a mad dash on the phones as we tried to get to the results page to see his time. We put his name in, no result. We then googled him, but we'd spelt his name wrong. Put in the right name, and up it came...........9 hours 11 mins!!!!! Fantastic! we had beaten him!


With that it was time to cut our loses and return to the apartment with just enough time to swear at Ronaldo as he hammed it up pretending to be the Portugal manager for the last few minutes of extra time and then it was lights out on what had been an extraordinary day!

St Gervais-Morzine-Col des Aravis-Col de la Colombiere-Samoens-Col de Joux Plane-Morzine-St Gervais

Distance 84.9 miles, Climbing 9,762 feet, Time in the saddle (for me) 7 hours 36mins Top Speed 48.6mph Temperature 36 degrees.........


Well it's done! It was both one of the best things I've ever done, and by far and away the worst! The key stat above is the temperature. I wouldn't even be out sitting in the garden in that heat normally never mind riding up the Joux Plane with 70 miles already in my legs, a climb that Lance Armstrong at the height of his doping was the reason for  "the worst day I've ever had on a bike..."


But we'll get to that later! (and the final results and placing's....) With Dec's alarm waking us up around 5.30ish it was time to don the magnificent cycling tops Dec had got us all mimicking the iconic Peugeot tops that Tommy Simpson and Robert Millar both wore on the tour together with a matching cap which would literally be the difference between getting round and not later in the day. Well it was for me, Mark and Dec as Michael realised he'd left his in the back of the Landrover  50 miles away in Morzine yesterday afternoon...


We'd brought some food with us for breakfast, mainly porridge based, with Dec excelling himself getting 3 pots of Quakers porridge down him followed by Michaels new secret weapon - Beetroot juice! Allegedly like a legal EPO, Michael had sent us an e-mail in the last couple of weeks pointing us in the right direction and as you would expect Declan was an early adopter, using it in his spin class and immediately seeing a benefit despite the fact that his doctor has told him not to have it as it has too much iron in it! Some banana's and smaller portions of porridge for the rest of us, it was loading our back pockets with as much food as we could carry for the route, various gels, energy bars, bananas and drink supplements and swearing at the various Garmins we had as they failed to turn on.


As we are legendary faffers, we had already put the race numbers on the bike and jerseys and also a super smart sticker of the route for the top tube of the bikes with the feed stations and distance to the climbs, and we were out of the apartment after a photos of the bikes looking really smart on off up the climb (again) to the start in Megeve.


With Dec being at the back on the few rides we'd done recently and a bit nervous about getting round, his start number of 10,664 meant he would set off a good 45 minutes before the rest of us and we had all talked last night of "hunting him down like a dog" and about where we would catch him on the route. Michael was also further up the road with a start number in the 13,000's but as me and Mark didn't think we'd have a hope of catching him, we'd just agreed to meet him at the finish. Meanwhile me and Mark would be starting right at the back in the 14 and 15,000's so we'd decided to start together and try and catch the rest up.


Adding fuel to this theory was Dec immediately dropping back on the climb up the Megeve, so noticeably that Michael dropped back to make sure that he was ok. Upon the question being asked Dec responded that he'd "checked the route more than once and the timed bit didn't start until we got through the line in Megeve!" I thought we are definitely going to catch him and was wondering what insult I could hurl at him as I sped past.........


At Megeve we said our goodbyes as Dec and Michael rode further down the road to the correct pen while me and Mark waited the 45 minutes till our start time right at the back looking at all the skinny Italian and French guys with there £7,000 carbon bikes and thinking "oh dear...."! One thing that had already been commented on lots was our jerseys, the French loving the design and some English guys behind us asking us to look at our backs as it had the race route on with the climbs!


All too quickly there was movement ahead of us and it was time for the 4km (that's how long 16,000 cyclists are!) gentle ride to the start line and a start time of 8.52. with the crowd giving it the countdown we were off!


We were warned the first 6 miles down to Flumet would be hectic as all those put at the back and should have been further up the field smashed it down the valley and it was! Keeping to the right we set a respectable pace down to Flumet and I was living out my Tour De France fantasies in full, race number on, in a peloton, speeding down a beautiful French valley!
At Flumet the first climb of the day began and although uncategorised it was enough to get me into granny gear to admire the spectacular scenery including a lovely tunnel clinging to the side of the mountain giving a much needed respite from the sun as we spun up it. Over the top, a quick drop down and we were in La Giettaz and starting the Cat 2 climb of the Col des Aravis. At 6.7km long it was the shortest categorised climb of the day but made up for it with an average 7% gradient. With Mark disappearing into the distance he promised to wait at the top and I stuck it in the lowest gear and got on with it. The scenery made up for the pain in the legs several times I was gobsmacked by the views while turning the GoPro camera on at regular intervals to try and capture it all!
45 minutes later I was at the top, not feeling to bad, although the Garmin was showing the temp to be over 30 degrees and I'd already gone through both litre bottles on the bike. Knowing the feed station was at the bottom of the 6 miles descent it was GoPro on down with the brave pills and go! It was amazing! Up to nearly 50 mph Mark had stopped just over the summit and we were soon passing loads and loads of riders. I was proper going for it so when Mark came past hunched over like a pro I couldn't believe it! Queue much mucking about as we got faster and faster until I finally got past him just before the feed stop! Watching it back last night it looks a lot hairier than it felt at the time!
A quick stop at the feed station for bananas, water and cheese and bread (it is France after all!) and there was a further 3 miles of descending into Le Grand-Bornand before we swept round a tight left hander with loads of people cheering and the cow bells going like the clappers and the start of the famous Col de la Colombiere. A cat 1 climb that would take in 11.7km and rise at an average gradient of 5.8% I knew I had a tough hour or so ahead of me to get to the top. As I told Mark to press on and not wait for me I got it into the smallest gear and started the climb. All the climbs today were south facing and the heat was now ferocious. The landscape up the Col De la Colombiere is pretty much meadow and grasslands and there was just no cover from the sun at all. I'd already drunk 2 litres of water by the time I was 3/4 of the way up and with my jersey open to the waste and helmet off (Bro the GoPro makes a great helmet mount!) I was thankful for the cap Dec had the foresight to buy us as it was all that was coming between me and heat stroke. With the official photographers taking this point to take a photo I can't wait to see what I look like! Finally 2 km from the top I got massive cramp in both hamstrings and despite trying to peddle through it I had to stop. Eating a gel, energy bar, and the last of the water I had after 5 minutes it had abated and it was back on to crest the summit.
By this time I was beginning to get worried. It was passed 12 already and I'd only done 30 miles or so, it was 34degrees, and we still had the Joux Plane and another 45 miles left. who's idea had this been? Am I mental? these were the thoughts going through me mind. As I've said before big bike are done in the head and sometimes you have to stop listening to the demons. On the positives I had a 16 miles descent to look forward to which only left 29 miles and how hard could the Joux Plane be?!
The descent was even more fantastic than Aravis, the GoPro footage is brill and I managed to pass just about everyone that had passed me up the climb, collecting Mark at the bottom where he had waited for me in the first bit of shade he could find to start the long slog across the valley floor into what felt like a sauna. Hiding behind Mark like a proper wheel sucker, we managed to jump onto a couple of Dutch guys who were going a bit quicker than we were and tag on and get a bit of a chain going. At this point the video crew came past and took some footage of us so it'll be interesting to see how that comes out!
The 15 miles across the valley floor dispatched we stopped at the water point at Mieussy to fill the bottles again and they had a hose pipe shower which I went though when we got there and when we left and it did help but it was so hot. it was 2.20 and we had 24 miles left to go cut off time was 5.24. It was going to be tough for me but Mark was feeling much better and so I told him to get me to the foot of the Joux Plane and then he could go for it.
I can't remember much about the 10 miles to Samoens but Mark got me there and at the feed station just before I tried to eat as much as I could and filled bit water bottles to the brim. I also tried to have my first wee of the day and as I had drunk 12 litres of water I still didn't have enough in me to manage! My black shorts were covered with salt marks and I had a long discussion with Mark about how I was getting up it. I decided to take it a mile at a time as all around me were abandoning. This was the last time you could pull out and get transferred round the mountain but it was just before 3pm and I still had 2 and half hours to get the last 13 miles. I would get up it and I hadn't come all this way to push the bloody bike up it either!


The Col de Joux Plane. An out of category climb (HC). just as an aside the classification used for the climbs was the gear you needed to be in in a 2CV to get up it. Out of category means you can't get up it in one.....At 11.6km it was as long as the Colombiere and at an average of 8.5% steeper than Aravis. Reading the blogs afterwards it states you should climb it early in the morning as it gets too hot in the afternoon....

It was now 36 degrees. As I turned the corner and started to climb everyone was off the bike and pushing. I couldn't comprehend walking up the hill pushing the bike for 6 miles so ploughed on at a steady 4mph. The steepest part was the first 2km out of the village at 10% so made this the first target. As Stu Grainger had told me on facebook yesterday, remember to break it down into manageable chunks and just concentrate on that. The first 2km was carnage. The only thing going past me were ambulances. People were collapsed in the minimal shade that the few trees and buildings offered and there was total silence, it was weird. Stopping after 2km, I finished another bottle ate the last of my food and got back on to peddle past all those walking. As the gradient got steeper I had to resort to riding across the road in zig-zags to just keep going, I wasn't going to push. Looking back at the footage I think I actually did about 20km's up the climb! Stopping every mile I slowly inched my way up higher and higher, stopping to help one guy who had keeled over until his friend got to him and waited for the ambulance.

By this time I’d lost all track of time, only to be brought back by the site of the pace car with convoy for the end of the race to go past me within 2km of the top. I didn’t know if that was it, but seeing clearly by the carnage further down the mountain they couldn’t sweep everyone up, it was last push to the top and past the bus with those who had abandoned that was stuck under the summit banner. I didn’t know if I’d still be classified but I was going to get to the finish whatever so it was zip up the time and get to the finish as fast as I could.

Although there was a 70m ramp just after the summit, more people off and pushing I managed to get up it and then down the steep 6 mile descent into Morzine.

To my amazement I caught and passed the convoy on the descent and thought I’ve got a big enough lead to swap the Go-Pro battery to capture the finish. I must have had heat stoke! What was I thinking?! I couldn’t get the case off and then the battery didn’t fit anyway and as I stumbled about back past came the convoy. Ahhhhhhhh! Back on the bike and trying to catch it again I got into the outskirts of Morzine then got stuck behind some ambulances coming off the Joux Plane. Getting past them with the finish line in sight I was a second behind the car as it crossed the line and the public address system announced the race finished.

I couldn’t believe it. How could I be so stupid? All the suffering and training? Dec was waiting for me, and had been some time (we’ll get to that tomorrow!) as was Mark and Michael but I was pretty inconsolable. I was handed a finishers cap and medal but it meant nothing if I wouldn’t be in the rankings. They tried their best to console me and say nice things that I had finished and even if I wasn’t classified it wasn’t the end of the world, but I must admit I was not the nicest person to know as we took the bikes up a stupidly steep hill to the cable car and the car park high above Morzine.

Once we had got back to car I had cheered up somewhat and we had a photo of us all together with the medals and hats on, hugs and handshakes all round. We had done it!

                                                            

Once we got back to the apartment about 8pm we were able to check the race results and I was there! I was classified! I’m aware that this is turning into a novel not a blog, so I’ll save the analysis until tomorrow when we’ll have all the results from the ASO, but we all finished in the 10,000's and massive Chapeau to Dec as he had bluffed us all week and came in first in the adjusted results, brilliant! Mark had waited for me loads so he could have been much higher, while Michael had passed Dec on the second climb but then suffered exactly the same as me with massive cramps and Dec had got back past him by the finish line. I was last, but I didn’t care (oh but I did care lots!!!) to put it into context there were 11,153 finishers, but 15,986 had started…………


Stories from the others, awards and the not so boozy night that followed to follow tomorrow!

 

Day 3 - St Gervais-Megeve-Megeve Airport-Megeve-St Gervais-Le Bettek ski station-St Gervais actually on a bike!

Miles 32, climbing 4100 feet, max speed 46mph (Mark Noble!)

After sorting out the sleeping arrangements it was Mark on the top bunk bed, me on the bottom with Dec and Michael in the lounge on the settee and airbed respectively. I spent most of the night waiting for Mark to come through the slats but eventually morning arrived with Dec and Michael up at 6 as they'd forgot to close the shutters and the sun was streaming in.


Not wanting anyone have a lie in they made enough noise for us all to be up and dressed and down to the boulangerie in town for some excellent pastries and coffee before some photos on the bridge and back to the apartment to get our gear on to ride up the "slight hill" (TM Declan O'Brien) to Megeve where we needed to register, pick up our race numbers and generally act like 5 year olds on Christmas Eve!


Given that we were back in the apartment for 8, the fact that we were outside waiting for Dec at 9.30 after some monumental cocking about shows that yesterday must have been a fluke! It was already pushing 30 degrees as we waited in the shade and it was slowly dawning that it wasn't the distance or climbing that may undo us on Sunday but the heat.


Finally we were ready and we started the long 6 mile climb to Megeve and where we thought the registration village was. Obviously we hadn't brought our info map with us, "how big could Megeve be? There were bound to be signs" (you'd think we would learn...) so we settled into a steady pace up the climb once Michael realised he was about half a mile in front and slowed down to let us catch up. Following Mark "no arse" Nobles skinny backside was to be the feature of most of my day as we climbed up and up out of the valley, with just a quick sprint past Dec with the usual greeting for old times sake to alleviate the grind.


30 minutes later we were up the climb, and to be fair to Dec it wasn't too bad averaging 4% to the roundabout on the outskirts of town as we started looking for the signs for the registration village. We duly found them and began climbing again. Then we went past the exit sign for the village. "This can't be the way surely?" (you'd think we'd learn etc...) As we pulled over to mull things over Michael decided to go back down the hill into town to make sure we hadn't missed anything, Mark would wait there for him and me and Dec would press on. And on. And on. 4 and a half miles later and another 1250 feet of climbing I finally saw the airstrip of Megeve airport come into view and a queue of cars waiting to get parked. Up the whole climb it did seem to be only the mad British who had decided to ride up to register, the French and Belgium's laughing at us as they sped past in the cars! near the top I had a brilliant moment when I was passed by a British lady going twice as fast as me but who was singing "Lean on me I won't fall over" as she passed as I had my Carter USM cycling top on! Brilliant!


Miraculously I had got to the top first but Mark, Michael and Dec were soon cresting the horizon, and bikes checked in it was time to register. The quick "spin up the hill" (TM Declan O'Brien) talked about months ago, turned into and hour and 10 mins, 11 miles and 2500 feet of climbing! I'll not bore you with the details but the village was massive, with all the bike manufacturers and clothing companies having large tents and loads to see and do!  Once we had shown our passports, given the ASO our doctors certificates we got the magic envelope with the race numbers and were then sent to another tent where we were given a rather snazzy back pack to keep everything in. At this point we were all walking around with stupid grins on our faces and I had to pinch myself slightly that I was here and it was happening!


Before we saddled up to head down the mountain, there was time for a picture of each of us with our head through the cut out, winning the Etape, as well as a photo next to our name on a massive long banner with everyones name taking part! Class! Possibly stung by earlier criticism of his tardiness Dec together with Mark had already started the decent without us, so brave pills taken it was a dash overtaking the cars on the way back down to Megeve, only to be stopped by Mark and Dec wanting a photo opportunity in front of a sign for "Doggers Wood"......


The road back down to Megeve was now really busy so there wasn't much chance for any speed and once we were at the bottom we decided to have lunch in Megeve, then head back to the apartment as Dec and Michael had to drop the car in Morzine at he finish line and get the shuttle back for the end of the race tomorrow. As we had climbed up the valley from St Gervais we'd seen the sign for the hillclimb time trial that would be used on stage 17 of this years tour, so me and Mark decided that we'd go back, drop the bags off and give that a crack in the afternoon. Loaded up with Omelette and fritte  the hammer was down for the 6 mile descent back to the apartment. If there is one thing I am quite good at on the bike (and it is one thing!) it's going downhill, so with the go pro camera on it was pull the pin and go. Averaging 31mph for the 6 miles down the valley was something really special, especially as I managed to get right up behind a Renault Espace and get a pretty good tow for a couple of miles! Looking back on the video later, I touched the brakes twice, and after downloading the data to Strava, of all the 70 cyclists coming down that road today, my time was the fastest! Not bad for a fat middle aged bloke!


After a bit more faffing about getting stuff to put in the car for after the race tomorrow Michael and Dec left us and in the 2 o'clock heat (it was now 33 degrees) and me and Mark started the ascent up to the ski station at Le Bettek. It was amazingly beautiful with jaw dropping views of Mount Blanc right in front of us as we climbed and climbed and Mark's skinny arse became ever more distant! With it being a stage of the tour they had Kilometre  markers at the side of the road with how many to go and the average gradient for the next km. it started out nice and gentle, 5%, 8km but ramped up and up. Now in granny gear and the sun baking down as well as reflecting off the new road surface put down for the tour it was searingly hot and a good idea of what it's going to be like on the Joux Plane tomorrow. With 4km to go the average gradient was 9% and the road had turned into a classic Alpine hairpin fest, coming thick and fast as I was looking for smaller gears that weren't there. The views were helping though and as Mark eased off to help pace me up the 2km sign came into view gradient had dropped to 8% and I knew I'd make it up. We finally crested the last hairpin to the ski station to sweaty but happy to a perfect photo opportunity by a sign with the word pain in it!


A quick Fanta, check with the data (5.11 miles, 1690 feet climbing, 44 minutes!) and it was the fun bit again as we cruised back down, the hairpins making it harder to get much speed up, not that it stopped Mark recording the best speed of the day at 46mph! 11 minutes later we were outside the apartment in the lovely shade and ready for a shower. Turning on the TV we caught the end of today's stage with yet another Brit, Chris Froome showing everyone he can descend and winning the stage, good omens for tomorrow!


Dec and Micahel arrived back around 6ish after having the usual problems with shut roads as well as the bombshell that the car park in Morzine is in fact 13km up the Col Du Avoriaz! There is a cable car up there but it's going to be bedlam tomorrow so were going to see how it goes and we might try and tag it on the end of the ride. This may be not such a big deal as the ASO have confirmed that the Col De La Ramaz will now not be part of the route due to a rock fall so it's going to be a bit (bit!) easier. we'll wait and see!


Off into town for a big bowl of pasta, the realisation is now upon us. I'm a bit nervous, mainly because of the temperature. I've done the training, put the miles in but not in 30 degree heat, and we'll all need to be able to cope with it if we want to get across that line before the broom wagon! Pinning on the race numbers, putting the route stickers on the bike it's a long way since the phone calls and e-mails we exchanged in September when we all agreed to do this amazing thing.


Whatever happens we're committed to helping each other get there as we agreed the worst thing that could happen would be one of us not making and the other 3 completing it. It would make the beer taste a bit sour tomorrow night I think.


Anyway fingers crossed, wish us luck and I have an early start in the morning!


Don't forget to sponsor us if you haven't already, past the £1000 mark yesterday, and this is what it's really about, not me worrying about climbing some hills!