Day 21 Stage 19. Two monsters and a few wild animals too

Day 21. Stage 19. 12 July Bourg d’Oisans to Le Grande Bornand, 204 km 5 climbs 1xcat2, 2xcat1, 2xHC.

A long hot day with many metres of climbing

Today the riders cycled to the start from Alpe D’Huez where they had spent the night. The route started with 2 classic climbs of the Tour. These monsters, Glandon and Madeleine were both tackled from their most difficult side though the other climbs were not monsters the could be considered to be as reassuring as wild animals! Nick considered today to be pretty similar to the Etape du Tour he did last year which was comfortingly labelled as the Circle of Death! Unfortunately Nick had been unable to get a replacement front mech so he needed to be very careful and gentle with his gear changes today.  

Col de Glandon

The weather was warm and hot with a cloudless sky. It goes without saying that the work was hard, the riders were hot and sweaty but at the top they were rewarded with stunning views as usual. Despite the sunshine as they descended from these peak at about 2000 metres they noticed surprising changes in temperature as moved through pockets of warm and then cold air. The sensation was similar to that of swimming in the sea through warm and cold currents. The colder air rolled down the mountain sides following the valleys.

Descents from around 2000 metres are often 15 to 20 km long and the riders hurtle downwards along gradients of up to 14%. The roadside barriers do very little to prevent traffic leaving the road. At one point Matt looked briefly to his right over the one foot high protective wall to see that there was absolutely nothing on the other side of the wall until about 200m below.

 

The day started with two massive mountain climbs. The early morning heat of the Glandon was fierce and the Madeleine was worse. Phil Deeker the head rider rated the Madeleine as the toughest ascent of the whole Tour this year.

 

It is unusual to get a shot of Matthew since he has speeded up quite nicely. He is faster uphill than Nick and since the Ventoux incident he is massively faster downhill but Nick spends less time in the feed stations, he fills his bottles puts food in his bar bag then sets off again.

Unfortunately one rider, Janice became severely dehydrated by the time she reached the top of the second climb. She was suffering with heat exhaustion and was unable to keep fluids down so Dr Col gave her IV fluid resuscitation but she was unable to continue and finished the stage in the support vehicle.

 

View of the peloton at the top of Glandon

Our riders expected today to be the greatest challenge as it started with 2 HC climbs after they finished on 2 HC climbs yesterday making it 4 consecutive “Hors Categorie” climbs each gaining more than a kilometer in altitude and all had section with gradients in excess of 10%. Matt finished before Nick and after over 12 hours Nick was about 15 minutes behind. Once the last climb was over there was a long descent to the Hotel in Le Grand Bornand. Long descents after 12 hours in the saddle are a real challenge. On the way up the hill the riders overheat and become sweat soaked and probably a little dehydrated. Once the summit has been reached they then plunge downwards, picking up speed,  the sweat dries and quickly they become cold. If  late in the day they may also move into shadows where at high altitude the air in the shade is remarkable cold.

Ascending the mountain is hard work but the descents produce little heat so riders very quickly become very cold. Descents from the HC and category 1 mountains may go on for 10-20 kilometers with steep downwards gradients of up to -14% in sections. These require huge concentration particularly when the light is poor or the road is wet. Nick was caught out in just this way on the descent from Ventoux when he crashed on a pitch of -10% in the rain.

Since the Ventoux crash Nick has taken a special interest in improving his descending ability. In order to descend safely speed must be controlled but braking has 2 major problems firstly it produces skidding or loss contact between tyres and the road leading to a crash and secondly going over the handlebars with the same result. Loss of adhesion to the road is more likely during braking than when not braking. The grip required to prevent skidding of a rolling wheel whilst cornering is minimal but if the brake is applied the road adhesion is tested and it is easier to skid. – it is so obvious but it needs to be remembered. Ideally there should be no braking on corners and absolutely no braking on loose grit or gravel. Light braking with the back wheel can slow the bike if this is essential and if the back wheel starts to go the brake lever can be released.

The front brake is most effective for controlling speed but a front wheel skid is more likely to result in a crash. When descending it is important to brake only when traveling in a straight line. The front brake should be applied before the corner to reduce speed then released as the rider rolls through the bends. If there is a steep downward bend the rear brake may be applied throughout the corner but no braking is the best way to avoid a slide. For speed control on fast descents speed needs to be controlled on the straight bits between corners. As mentioned previously the rider may be flipped over the handlebars if the front brake is applied too harshly. To avoid this scenario the rider’s weight must be as low on the bike as possible and therefore applied to the pedals and not the saddle. Many fast riders extend their arms and move their buttocks backwards past the end of the saddle whilst taking their body weight on the pedals. This lowers the centre of gravity and places the weight further back on the bike, making it possible to brake harder without going over the handlebars. Some riders take the idea of no braking to heart and Brian one of the other lifers has clocked up 96 kph (60 mph!).

 



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