| Another edition of the Tour du ALS completed this year last Thursday 28th. Lots of climb, lots of kilometers and effort but more than anything lots of camaraderie and support. Everybody reached their goal in this hard day. More especially Sem, the daughter from our colleague and friend Jos, completed the climb from Bedoin which is considered the hardest side of Mont Ventoux. See more details and pictures after the link. |
Outra edição do Tour du ALS completa na última Quinta-feira, dia 28. Muitos quilômetros, muitas subidas e esforço pesado. E melhor ainda, muito suporte e camaradagem to time. Todo mundo atingiu o próprio objetivo em mais um dia duro de calor. Mais especialmente Sem, a filha do nosso colega Jos, completou a subida desde Bedoin, considerada a mais difícil do Mont Ventoux. Veja como foi o dia e algumas fotos depois do link. |
THE TEAM JOS – NIKE COURAGE WITH JOS FAMILY AFTER THE FINISH.
After 2 days of riding in the region with different levels of difficulty, we woke-up in the middle of the night to have a 3:30 am breakfast and drive the 36 kilometers that separated our chalets from the start line. Part of the group was going for climbing the Mont Ventoux 3 times and other small group 2 times. The team that would climb it once stay in their beds as they only need to start riding at 12:30.
It was still dark night with a hint of blue sky in the horizon while we waited at the start line. The air was cold but the forecast was of a hot dry day. Radar Love was playing hard at 5:00 am just before the mandatory countdown from 10. That got the old farts hitting softly their handlebars, maybe to easy the nerves and the expectation of a brutal ride.
Countdown done and we the start slowly at the sound of “We are the champions”. Cheesy, but always present and somewhat effective. Some family of the patients were there cheering us up to go thru the first 19 kms of dark roads, guided by motorbikes and a long strecht of rear red-lights from bikes. The path was narrow and felt more like a Belgium or Limburg ride than a French one.
Everybody was just going along, saving energy for the first climb that start on the south side of the Mont Ventoux, at the village of Maulacene. But first we need to climb the col de Madeleine. A short climb with swiveling turns and beautiful scenery and houses. Very nice warm-up of the day. It took us 50 minutes to be at the foot of the mountain.
Remco, Bart, Dolon and I stick close to each other most of the day.
FIRST CLIMB | I started the climb not feeling really well. I stayed too long exposed to the cold wind the day before and I had a shivering chest. Because of that I decided to start slowly and see what would happen once really warmed up. I was riding mostly with Remco, but he took of at that point and I stayed alone. Not a problem but shortly I met Richard and we rode a couple of kilometers together with gradients of around 8 to 9%.
Right before the real hard part of the climb starts when gradients go up to 12% for 3 and a half kilometers, Bart met us and our group became 3. But right at that moment, I started feeling good. Maybe because I was warm due to the effort and I decided to push my heart to around 165 bpm. It went really well and I could keep a good pace all the way up to the top.
Passing by Chalet Liotard, that is right in front of our accommodation, the family of Jos and the group that would climb the mountain once were waiting for us. I passed there at 7:32, almost exactly the time Peter had said we would do. I didn’t believe in him but it was true. I waved to them and went straight as I wanted to do the climb from Maulacene without touching the ground. It was great seeing them and been cheered up! It gave lots of energy to tackle the last 6 kms.
At the top, after a little recover and a banana, Bart showed up and we fill up our bottles and went down the mountain towards the village of Sault. That was a great descend. Max speed of 71 kms/h and with long stretches not touching the breaks at all. On the way down we catch up with Remco and Dolon, what would be the most constant group during the day for me.
Mont Ventoux at a distance from Sault. Second climb and easier of the day.
SECOND CLIMB: SAULT | After some more eating and a quick toilet break we turned around and went back to face the second climb. Remco and Dolon took off and Bart and I decided to start easy and build-up speed. The climb from Sault is the longest with 26 kms but it is the easiest, with gradients between 4 and 6%. We stayed together until half of the climb, when I started felling I was taking too easy. My heart rate was going below 140 bpm and I had a feeling of sinking or slackening.
I decided to push the heart up to 160 bpm again, just like in the first climb and I gained some speed. Bart decided to keep his pace and I went on alone. It was a great feeling of climbing with a cadence of 85 rpm, 25 to 28 km/h and speeding up on the turns. Great climb and finish strong on chalet Reynard, that is 6 kms from the top on the other side of the mountain. Remco and Dolon were already there and as Bart was just around 5 minutes behind me our group was together again. It was also great to see the brother from Remco there and two friends that gave us some water and extra encouragement. Great support!
Our stop was quite short and we went ahead to finish the second climb of the day. Remco took off immediately and I pushed with Dolon. In the L’Etape du Tour last year I was with him at the beginning of the climb of Tourmalet when he dropped me. At that day I decided to save energy and not stick with him. This time was different and I decided I would stay with him. It worked quite wall as he gave me pace and we finish almost together. Just in the last 300 meters he decided to “attack” and drop me. Nice!
Other nice point at that moment was that we were 12 minutes ahead of our planning for the day. We had calculated that if we pushed an average of 18 km/h we would be at 10:30 on Chalet Reynard and 11:00 at the top. We cross the line at the top at 10:48. Felt like mission accomplished and the reason is that from the top we needed to go down to the start point, which was 36 kms from there and be ready for the last climb start at 12:30.
We rested a little bit and descend like crazy fun towards Mazan. We managed to get to the village at 12:10 with a great speed and met the whole team and family for the last and hardest climb of the day and this time with Sem, the daughter of Jos, our colleague victim of the ALS disease.
Bart and I pushing on the 11% ramps of climb from Bedoin.
THIRD CLIMB – BEDOIN | After some eating and drinking the whole group of around 500 cyclists gather for the last climb of the day. At that point we had around 135 kms in the legs and 3500 vertical meters of climbing. Another countdown, another We Are The Champions and off we went on a long stretch of riders of two by two. We were riding very slowly as we were crossing very small roads with broken tarmac, potholes and grass patches. The temperature was around 38 degrees and I felt like I was being baked slowly. By far that was the hardest part of the day for me.
With that feeling I really appreciated when we hit the bottom of the mountain and we had more space to go our own speed. But that relief was short lived as once in the forest it felt even hotter. We went from baking to a “tempura” feeling. Climbing on a sauna is not the greatest feeling in cycling. And that is when the gradients go to around 10% and you know you will have 10 kms of that to go thru.
Sem being helped on the hardest part of the climb from Bedoin.
After 3 stops I started feeling my legs getting very stiff and the distant feeling of cramping starting on my hamstrings. That was the result of warming up during the riding and cooling down constantly. I got nervous with that and told Remco I was going to keep on going until Chalet Reynard again. Bart joined me and we rode together all the way. It was great to have company and face the challenge with Bart. We pushed a good speed for the conditions of our legs and the weather. The feeling of extreme heat and the tiredness of the long day was hitting us hard. I got to Chalet Reynard completely empty but relieved that I would have a break before facing the last 6 kms, as we would wait for Sem and the rest of the team to come.
Sem with her proud mother and brother at the top of Ventoux.
THINGS THAT I NOTED
- Variety is the secret of eating. I didn’t have time to buy cycling food. So I had to improvise and I had 9 different types of food during the ride: SnelleJelle Chocolate, Appel mouse gel, white bread with jam, beignet chocolate, waffle, dried figs, chocolate muffins, bananas and a energy gel.
- During the race we kept being checked by the motobikers that were supporting the event. They were always asking if we were feeling good. If everything was OK. Even slowing down to chat a bit in the easier parts. Great guys with a great sense of humor. Thanks!
- Even being on a forest and one of the most beautiful regions I ever been, there are still idiots that just drop their garbage on the road. I just don’t understand that…
- People are more friendly when they are not being timed. They chat, they give space and they help if the purpose is to compare them with other people results.
- Provence is a great area for cycling. It is not only the Ventoux. There a series of small and not so difficult climbs around. And you got some views like you would expect more in Tuscany. Worth a vacation with the family.
- Man continue being dogs: they piss everywhere. Even if there is a toilet with walking distance.
NUMBERS:
Max speed : 71 kms /h
Total distance: 195 kms
Elevation gain: 4.969 meters
Calories lost: 5.890 kcal
Max temperature: 38 degrees C
Total riding time: 10 h 17 minutes
PHOTOS
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