The end of the season is nigh.......

Just back in Chamonix after a few days in Provence with Steve from Classic Cycling Tours, Meribel.

Sunday we rode the La Dromoise cyclosportive, a 116km blast with around 1500M of climbing around Provence from a small village called Die (pronounced Di). It was a muggy day with some damp roads and a number of crashes in the first 20KM. Happy with 8th in my age group and finishing 70th out of 500 finishers.

Moving on to Malaucene at the foot of Ventoux and fresh from celebrating Cav's World Championship win it was time for a second go at Ventoux. Through the forest and the unrelenting 10% incline it was pretty muggy but 21.5Km later and 1500M of ascent reaching the top in 1hr 45M. The weather for the end of September was amazing with a very slight breeze at the summit and in the early 20's.

Descending down we stopped for a moment with Britains last World Champion Tom Simpson.

Onto the Georges de la Nesque - possibly one of the most spectacular roads in France?

A big day after the previous days efforts!

Recommended Reading

My recommended reading list that has helped and inspired me on the bike....

Great Day in the Alps!

Headed over to Taninges for first big day since Marmotte and Etape and recovering from a post TdF week cold! Taninges is around 30 mins from the Chalet and a great option for a change of scenery.

The weather has improved dramatically that last few days and today was the first day...since I can't remember....that you didn't need to wrap up for the descents.

From Taninges I headed to Mieussy and over the Col de la Ramaz (used in the TdF last year) before the dog leg left turn (blink and you miss it) half way down the descent onto the Col de la Encrenaz and scene of my crash back in June. Managed to stay aboard this time and dropped down into Morzine and then up through Montriond, passed the beautiful lake of the same name and onto the Col de la Joux Verte. I'd only descended this before. It comes out at the top of Avoriaz and is a much better option than the main road climb. I guess the attraction of the main road is its regular appearance in the Tour, however the Joux Verte is 100% more spectacular as it winds its way up past the lake and some waterfalls before passing through a small village (watch the goats and small children) and onto the final 4kms to the summit. Dropping down into Morzine for a quick snack and then onto the much steeper Morzine side of the Joux Plane. Every time I looked at the Garmin it was over 10% (up to 14%) for the first 3 kms. 55 mins later I'm over the summit, refilled water bottles (tap behind cafe) and on the descent.

Down in Samoens its a scorcher and after a quick coke stop its a flat 10kms or so back to Taninges. Job done.

Post Tour.....

So back in Chamonix after an epic week over in Bour D'oisans with the Ridestrongbiketours.com crew and after some horrendous weather in the Alps the last few weeks (50cm of snow on the Galibier the day before the Tour got there!) its no surprise that I've been laid up with a cold this week. Not full blown man flu luckily.

So back to the Tour! Ride of the week has to be from Serre Chevalier over Montegenevre and then down into Italy and up to Sestrierre. With fresh snow above 2200M, the back drop for the day and the TdF stage was amazing and we had a great view just below the summit at Sestrierre.

Stage of the week has to be Alpe D'Huez. We set off early with the threat of an 11.00am road closure and headed up the ADH. Bourg D'Oisans and ADH are a bit like the Isle of Man at TT week only without the leathers. There's the posers in full team kit team bikes, the once a year cyclists with a few bob in their pocket, decked out in Assos, overweight and then there's the old timers, on steel frames and toe clips.............then there's the Dutch! We reached Dutch corner at around 10 and the party was already in full swing with some weird deckchair dance going on to a tune that translates as They have their own radio station set up, plus bar, food, seating and its clear they'd been partying all night!  We opted to stop at Bend 1 (2.2km from the finish) and after climbing the banking we had an amazing view 3km down the valley. Being their early we eventually were invaded by the Vikings (again) with half of Norway joining us.  I think the Norwegians gave the Dutch a run for their money at this years Tour complete with the Norwegian equivalent of Borat in his Norwegianmankenneee.

We had Rolland attack Sanchez and Contador right in front of us to go on and take the stage win, and also Cadel making a move on the Frandy Schlecks.

Saturday turned into another rainy day on the Galibier. 4 times this year and twice its been throwing it down (bit like the IoM at TT week again) however I was well impressed being only a few minutes slower than my Etape time. Garmined up, its surprising to see the actual gradient. I'd have never said that the drag up to Plan Lachat was 8% average - I thought it was nearer 5 or 6. And then the last KM to the summit ranging from 14% to 5%.

Thanks to Julie at Ridestrongbiketours.com and also to Rob for the best decision of the week to sit at bend 1 ADH!

Back to reality....with the Marmotte and the Etape over need to find a big bag of motivation and a goal for the end of the season!

Etape du Tour Monday 11th July

So we're back in the Maurienne Valley for the big showdown, the 2011 Etape du Tour. After a mammoth 3 1/2 hour faff to get our bibs (why did 8000 riders have to go in 1600 bus journeys up to Valfrejus ski resort just to get our bibs?).

Monday morning was warm and still and you know when you know you are feeling good so after the 10km ride to the start I confess I was feeling much better than a week ago at the Marmotte start.

Rolling out of Mondane in the 4th group on the road, the 3 of us in this group, Miles Smart, Steve Seddon and me, were soon on the front and glad we'd done our home work on the roundabouts for the shallow descent down to St Michel, with the group blasting along at around 55km's an hour and managing to stay out of trouble.

With the sharp left hander onto the Telegraphe and onto the climb, feeling strong and cresting the Telegraphe summit in 1 hr 12 mins from Modane for the short descent to Valloire. The great thing about closed roads is being able to use the whole road on both the acsent and the descent. On the way up the kick from the sweet spot on the switch back bend is a great motivator, and the safety of descending on the whole of the road means that there is much less braking - I reached a top speed of 71kmh during the day.

Onto the Galibier and once through the initial steep section after Valloire, the push on to Plan Lachat is a great place to take liquid and gels before the road really ramps up after Plan Lachat. Passing Marco Pantani's memorial ( and also Simon Abrahams who usually passes me!) and a non existent water stop (did anyone else find it?) and on towards the tunnel entrance, (why did the route map suggest a summit of 2556m rather than 2645m - it looked like we were to use the tunnel!) for the final ramp up to the summit in 2 hrs 42m from Modane. With the road re-surfaced for the Tour de France in the last couple of weeks the technical section from the summit to the tunnel exit is now much more rider friendly and after my Morzine incident, putting this to the back of my mind, and my target of sub 5 hours was definitely on. I only got over taken by one guy on the technical section down to the Col de Lauteret  and must have overtaken 30+.

Descending from the Lauteret is critical to get in a good group with the headwind,and with about 15 of us together through the tunnels , it was much safer being on the front. Over the dam and left onto the Bourg D'Oisans round the sweeping descent continues until a brief kick up through a tunnel. I quickly realised that I was off the front of the group, comparing to dropping off the back on this section during the Marmotte just a week  ago.  I opted to push on alone and using the full width of the road and using the smooth centre line pretty much all the way of the final flat section into Bourg.

With the 5 hour target still in sight and a brief water stop at the foot of Alp D'Huez, I was beginning to think that with an hour and 20 mins to get up the Alp that I just had to keep it steady........wrong! With the thermometer rising and the minutes ticking away the best solution was to use the whole off the road to get as much shade a possible. Suffering through Huez and onto the last 5 bends and managing a sprint up to the finishing line I'd managed to climb Alp D'Huez in 1 hour 17 mins and in a total time of 4 hrs 57 mins 2 secs.....result! Much happier than the Marmotte which I guess I have to put down to an off day.

Hats off to the 6461 finishers and anyone coming up Alp D'Huez in the 30 degrees + in the afternoon!

So now a brief rest before again setting off for Bour D'Oisans for the Tour de France next week and als start planning my attack on the Marmotte and Etape next year!

Marmotte 2011

06:15 last Saturday seems an age ago now, but descending from Alp D'Huez to the start of the Marmotte in Bourg D'Oisans the reality of the day ahead started to sink in.  7000 competitors, 174km, 5000M of climbing. Over £21M of bikes, half of Holland seem to be here and after our last attempt on the Galibier thankfully the weather is kind.

It was a very cool start to the day with the temperature around 7 or 8 degrees at the start, so with the band playing (!) we rolled out of BDO behind the superstars of the priority start in the first group proper.

After the gallop of the first 12kms or so the first 'hill' is up the face of the dam before joining the road up the Col de Glandon which gets more spectacular as you approach the summit. Over the top in just under 2 hours from BDO, and taking things easy on the neutralised technical descent, I started to think I'd overcooked already when I got dropped from a group on the main road up to St Michel de Maurienne and with the temperature rising I opted to take it very steady on the Telegraphe and passed through Valloire in 4 hrs 17. In hindsight I should have stopped here for more liquids as reaching Plan Lachat at the point where the Galibier really ramps up I had to take stock before pushing on. Nearing the summit I was struggling to raise my heartbeat above 150 when I normally climb at around 160, however down the other side and with a very strong headwind I managed to hang in a fast moving group for the hour plus descent to Bourg D'Oisans. If you are doing the Etape be super careful in the tunnels as the first one, and the third one(??maybe 4th) are super dark even without sun glasses on.

So with the last climb to Alp D'Huez and the day now getting much warmer it was a super slow grind up the Alp crawling over the line just before 9 hours, with an official time of 8hrs 32m after the Glandon descent is deducted. So after 5000M of climbing, and 174KMS on the road somehow I end up with a gold award! Gotta be happy with that at the first attempt....back next year!

So to the Etape. One week to go and significantly easier than the Marmotte, missing out the Glandon, but the same route over the Telegraphe, Galibier and ADH. Easy week this week and try for under 5 hours remembering to drink and eat a lot more!

Thanks to Mrs B for holding the Chalet Annabelle fort and support and patience over the last 5 months and also thanks to Steve and Anna at http://classiccyclingtours.com/ for great food, accommodation and general motivation!

Time Megeve Mont Blanc 2011

Sunday June 12th saw the  8th edition of the Time Megeve sportive. A cool sunny start in Sallanches as 1700+ lined up. Along with us from breathebike.com was Penny Comins from Cycling Weekly and Gareth Evans from Evans Cycles, with his brother Michael and father Ron.

Its a flat start for around 20kms with a very quick pace to Cluses with the speed reaching 50kmh at one one point. After negotiating the town its a turn left through to Scionzier and the start of the Colombiere rising from 498m above sea level at the start with a brief respite through the aptly named Le Reposoir (resting point) before marching ever upwards to the summit at 1618M a total climb of 19.5KM. With Jude providing support for the day, after swopping bottles, its a swift descent down to Le Grand Bornard with a short leg burner climb up to St Jean de Sixt before the swooping descent down to Thones. Onto the Col de la Croix Fry  starting all the way down at 625M and rising over 12km to 1467M. Feeling good on the climb, even as it ramps up after Manigod, the decision was made to go for the long route (133Km total) as part of my Marmotte and Etape preparation. I'm not using a power meter, however I've discovered that if I climb at 159bpm, and maintain a cadence around 75/80 I avoid blowing up! The short descent brings you out around 2/3rds of the way up the Col des Aravis with approximately 4km to the  1461M summit. Luckily I joined a confident group on this technical descent and we were flying down to Flumet. Shortly after the village you swing right onto the Col des Saisies  and the last climb of the day the 14km ascent from 700M to 1657M. After ramping up through the first km, the gradient levels slightly. This was the junction for the long event and the guy in front of me thought wise to turn around at this point and head straight to the finish! Pushing on with a good cadence and another energy gel, summiting just after 13.00 it was now warm enough to descend in short sleeves for the first time today. Back down on the main road to Megeve its the final 8KMS to the finish and over the line in 5 hrs 23 mins. In total its a circuit of 133KM with 4 climbs all regular features in the Tour de France and a total ascent of 3500M.

Great organisation from the Time Megeve and Club des Sports Megeve.



With the Marmotte only 3 weeks away I'm finally feeling confident about the distance and the climbing. Morzine is next weekend with a slightly longer course and the final climb over the Joux Plaine.

Lap of Lake Geneva cyclosportive

Sunday saw my first sportive of the Summer with a mega early (4am) start for the drive from Chamonix to Lausanne Switzerland for a 6.30am start line for the lap of Lake Geneva.

It's a fantastic event with a distance of 180kms on an undulating course and spectacular scenery by the lake shore. Passing through Montreaux, over the border into France and through Evian, Thonon, then back into Switzerland and through Geneva for the final leg back to Lausanne.

With 1500 on the start line our group managed to start in the fifth peleton (groups of approx 70) and the group were immediately working well. After 15 minutes the group behind us came screaming past on TT bikes. This is a first for me seeing TT bikes and aero helmets in a cyclosportive! Is this normal??!!?? A few of us attempted to hang on but with my heart rate maxing out it was time to back off. One of our guys Neil McNab managed to hang on to within 20kms of the finish line and finished 10 minutes before us.

One of the problems with a Polar computer is the Swiss Rail overhead lines interfere with it. I knew something was wrong when it said my heartbeat was at 220 and I was doing 150 km/h !

After re-grouping with 3 of us from Team Chamonix staying together, our group was working steadily with some strong riders and about 15 of us taking turns on the front. We started to reel in the groups that had started before us and we were averaging nearly 40kms an hour. Initially I was thinking this was too fast for me with the overall distance but I was feeling great and continued to take turns on the front and staying in the first 15. It was soon apparent that no-one was intending stopping at the feed stations so it was rationing drinks and relying on 5 gels.

Over the cobbles through Thonon and onto a short climb before crossing back over the border and a manic late morning blast through Geneva however the organisation was great and the motorbike outriders did a great job.

The last leg down to Lausanne had a few small climbs and in the last 10kms I was starting to suffer, however managed to hang on the back and finishing in 138th position out of 1500 in 4 hrs 35 mins.

Happy with that as I'd targeted 5 hours.

Eyes down now for the Time Megeve on June 12th - entries still open and we have space in the Chalet This is another great event going over the Colombiere, Croix Fry, Aravis and the Saisies - all regulally featured in the Tour de France.

Think this will be a grudge match for Team Chamonix as there is some serious col training and suggested times being banded about!

Back in the Alps

Back in Chamonix this week and its been back to Col conquering however fitness levels not quite what was expected after the Lanzarote trip, but the weather has been great all week so that helps.

Monday a group of us did the Time Megeve route from Sallanches over the Col de Colombiere and descent down to La Clusaz and then the climb over the Aravis before looping back around to Megeve and down to Sallanches. 100km loop with 2000M of climbing.

Tuesday we headed of an hour away to Annecy and bagged the Col Leschaux, a gentle rise out of Annecy followed by a great descent on quiet roads back down to the lake for 2 laps and the leg breaking climb of the Col de la Forclaz. This was a new col for me and the Forclaz gradually gets tougher especially 4 kms from the summit however the views of Lake Annecy are spectacular. 105km with 1500m of climbing.

After a day off the bike yesterday, today was the ride of the week. Meeting in Taninges (at the start of the Samoens Valley/Valley Verte) its a short warm up to Mieussy for the start of the ascent of the Col de la Ramaz used in the Tour last year. On quiet roads, again rewarded with spectacular views however just before the ski area the road rises up through the avalanche barriers and the tunnel to around 15%. Its about 14km's to the top and this brutal section takes it out of you, however the descent down through Pra sur Lys, another ghost town ski station , is pretty full on before hammering on the brakes for the 180 degree junction onto the Col de l'Ancrenaz. The Ancrenaz is fairly tame and after around 5kms we're over the summit and with no cars in either direction the road dips town towards Morzine via Essert Romand. After a rain encouraged extended coffee break we headed out from Morzine onto the slopes of the famous Col de joux plane which immediately ramps up to over 11% for the first km before easing to an 9.9% average for the next few k's. With rain in the air, its a great temperature at the moment for climbing and with the legs starting to feel good we passed under the ski lifts at the summit and reached the top in 55 minutes. The descent down into Samoens hasn't been road swept yet so this made for a few 'moments' on the way down into the Valley Verte where it was pretty much full on Summer. Flat roads back to Taninges after 75km's and 2150M of climbing.

With the aim still on the Marmotte its starting to become fairly daunting that its over 170KM's and 5000m of climbing, however with the Time Megeve in 3 weeks and events the following weekends leading up to the Marmotte I'm hoping that some form is going to kick in pretty soon!

Lanzarote Training

So Winter is finally over and the 14 to 16 hour days running our ski Chalet business have come to and end after a 4 month slog!

Jude and I escaped to Lanzarote a week ago avec Pinarello and now trying to balance recovering from Winter and training - all going well!

Weather mixed with some rain but sticking to the training plan. The good thing this year is I did manage to get in some long rides towards the back end of Winter and with the amazing lack of snow in the Alps it did allow for some great rides and skiing took a back step.

Our base at a friends Villa in Playa Blanca is a great spot and whilst the route out of Playa Blanca is a bit boring for the first 10KM's and a bit repetetive, once you are either along the coast or through Uga the Island opens out.

I've planned on this 12 days being a build up on core strength before hitting the mountains when back in the Alps end of next week. Its akinda weird change riding flatish roads but the Lanzarote wind makes for a challenging ride. Its either eyeballs out into it, or a mach 3 return with the wind behind.

Back in Chamonix attention turns to getting some climbs under the belt and with most of the high passes starting to open earlier than usual (seems apart from the Galibier).

We've got the cyclosportive lap of Lake Geneva at the end of May which is a flat 180KMS and then into early June we have the Time Megeve event which Peny Comins Events coordinator for Cycling Weekly and Freelance journalist is joining us - watch out for the Cycling weekly article later in the Summer. We still have some spaces left!

The great thing about the Chamonix region is the amount of cyclosportive events during the next few months all leading up to La Marmotte and then the Etape.

So in the leads up to the 'big two' its the Time Megeve, then Morzine, Le Grand Bornand and a couple of over events before the Marmotte at the beginning of July.

Spring in the Alps

Warmer weather returned to the Alps last week and with our Winter guests skiing in Verbier for the day I ceased the time to cycle the climb to the beautiful mountain village of Champex du Lac. This is an amazing road, super quiet at this time of year and 13km, 1000m of climbing you arrive in the village which is round 1500M in altitude. The lake was still frozen, however the temperature in the valley has been pushing 18 degrees! Even the descent was warm in the midday sun.

Yesterday we had guests skiing over in La Thuille Italy , half way up the Petit St Pass. With the top section closed I opted to drive down to Morgex via the San Marco Pass to take a look at this col before cycling it later in the year. Definitely a good decision as the San Marco is super steep in places and the 12kM 1000M descent left the van brakes overheating. However With a warm up ride from Pre St Didier and the cycling the San Marco and onto the top section of the Petit St Bernhard, this will make a great day out later in the year. For yesterday I took the easier(?) option of cycling down the Aosta valley to Introd and then taking the 25km climb up through the Grand Paradiso National Park climbing up to 1950M altitude, way above the snow line. After the first 10km the climb lessens and its fairly gentle albeit its strange cycling along with cross country skiers at the side of the road! Needless to say it was a chilly descent back, but a great day out with nearly 4 hours in the saddle, 80KM and 1500M of climbing.

4 weeks until our trip to Lanzarote and then its head down for the Marmotte and the Etape.

Training Begins!

Okay, its been a while! Ski guests wanted to visit Annecy this week so managed two laps of the lake (80kms) to kick start the training regime. Another 3 weeks of Winter guests in the Chalet and can then turn attentions to the Summer. Ebntry accepted for the Marmotte and the Etape, and first event likely to be the Time Megeve Cyclosportive - still space on our Time Megeve weekend! This Year the event starts in Sallanches rather than Megeve, taking in the Col de la Colombiere used in the Tour de France the last 2 years.

Lanzarote in 5 weeks for some cycling, sun and recovery from the manic Winter, and back here in Mid May when the mountain passes should start to open.

Aiming for some Marmotte/Etape reconnaissance before the Time Megeve.