Prior to my arrival in France, my only definitive goal was to ride the famous climb up to the ski town of Alpe-d'Huez in the French Alps. I had seen it many times while watching the Tour de France on TV and wanted to experience the "fun" myself. While not the longest or steepest climb, the 21 switchbacks leading up to Alpe-d'Huez are probably the most famous in all of cycling. Katie convinced her cousin and two friends (all from the States) to join us (we also did some rides in the surrounding areas) in early July. Although we didn't have a lot of time to ride (the weather was also unseasonably cold and wet), we did get a taste of Alpine riding. We ended up riding l'Alpe-d'Huez (the mythic climb), les 2 Alpes (nice views, not too hard, and a short ride--especially if you take the cable car down!), and the Col de la Croix de Fer (our longest and coldest ride--windy, rainy, even snowy at times--yet the most beautiful by far). We also drove up to the Col du Galibier (part of stage 9 of this year's tour). The following is a brief account of my Alpe-d'Huez climb (you can check out all of my photos here).
Each hairpin on the way up to l'Alpe-d'Huez is numbered and named after a rider(s) who has won a Tour stage there. The first turn is #21 (Fausto Coppi/Lance Armstrong) and is located in one the steepest portions of the entire climb... not an enjoyable way to start! Fortunately, I'm happy to say that in general I felt quite good on the climb. After the enormous amount of hurt I felt on Mont Ventoux (see my earlier blog), I learned my lesson and was much better prepared for l'Alpe-d'Huez. I was also highly motivated to beat the hour and a half time that Sheryl Crow (Lance Armstrong's ex-girlfriend) recorded a few years ago. The way I see it, Sheryl Crow is to the Alpe-d'Huez climb what Oprah is to marathoning. As someone who considers himself a decent biker, I was not going to be embarrassed by some pop singer. And apparently I'm not the only one who feels this way. It's all about pride.
From what I had read about the climb, I was pretty nervous during the ascent. My legs felt really good but I was worried that I would run out of gas before the top. Thankfully, that moment never hit. When I finally made it to turn #1 (Giuseppe Guerini), I was in a good rhythm and making decent time up the mountain. I also kept my concentration up since turn #1 is NOT the final turn. While it's called the famous 21 hairpins of Alpe-d'Huez, there are in fact a few more turns to get to the actual finish. Actual is italicized because apparently the finish line keeps moving. The climb used to finish just after turn #1 (at the entrance to town), but as the town grows the Tour de France finish moves further and further back. Apparently the current TdF finish isn't even accessible now (it's in the middle of a construction site), so where we finished is as close as you can get (they have a nice little sign there). All in all, the ride is about 8.7 miles with an average grade of 7.7% (12% max)--at least according to one website I read.
And for those of you keeping score at home, I made it to the old finish line in just over 1 hour (1:01) and to the "official" finish line in about 1:05. Either way, I beat Sheryl Crow!! Mission accomplished, and I didn't feel like I had suffered all that much. Just to give you some context, the best Tour de France rider (Pantani) did it in around 36 minutes--and this is after they've ridden 100+ miles and have gone over 3 or 4 "above category" (HC) climbs before this. The most Katie and I have done so far is 2 passes (Category 1 & 2) on one ride and about 70 miles. Doped or not, it's quite impressive to see some of the mountains the tour riders go over. All in all, I was quite happy. Riding up the Alpe-d'Huez was something I wanted to do for a long time. Katie and I definitely intend to ride some of the famous climbs in the Pyrénées before we head back!
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