The race today was a time trial up the Alpe-d’Huez, a 15 km steep, winding course. It was estimated that up to 1 million people would be lining the course, so they had closed the roads within 15 km of the start 24 h before to try and keep the crowds down. Because of this, our guide decided to change the plan and let us ride up one of the other mountains—the Col du Galibier which has been part of the tours in previous years.

An early start was recommended so that we could be back in time to watch the race. I set out at 7:40 with Pierrre and we immediately started climbing. We would continue climbing all the way to the top, a distance of 37 km. Of course we would then be rewarded with a 37 km downhill run which a nice thought.

Jeff’s dad John had a cold and unfortunately I had the start of one this morning. Along with a disturbed sleep I was lacking in vim and vigour. I kept up with Pierre for 15 km (at 25+ km/h) when I decided to ease off. I had doubts about my ability to make it to the top, at least until my 8 h Tylenol kicked in and got rid of my headache.

The uphill ride was different to the earlier ones in the Pyrenees insofar as it was not as steep, but it just went on and on and on. The road was narrow in places, and the traffic heavy (undoubtedly due to the race) so it was also scary at times. It was a good idea leaving so early as it did not take long to work up a sweat. I just continued along at a comfortable pace, and was passed by a few others from our group. The day was brilliant and I just loved having such large mountains surrounding me.

Towards Col du Lautaret there was a long traffic jam snaking its way down the mountain. There were also a lot of cars and vans unloading bicycles. I noticed a foot pump and asked if I could use it for my rear tyres which I had changed the previous evening. It was kindly loaned and I was able to get the pressure up to 7.5 bars. Hand pumps are great but I can’t get enough pressure in my tyres with them. After all my tyre problems I was hyperparanoid about punctures, and underinflated tyres don’t help things.

There were several tunnels on the way up which were closed off by gates. I thought how my wife Lis would want to climb over and go exploring. However, the pavement was in such excellent condition that I wondered whether or not these were used in winter when there may be too much snow or avalanche danger. There was a very large 500+ m long concrete overhang further up the road which suggested real snow problems. It created a protected ‘tunnel’ for the road which was on the edge of the cliff. Just before the overhang I noted an old road and a tunnel so I hopped the guard rail to investigate. Had I a torch I might have gone in since it was too dark to see where it went. Obviously this was superseded by the new concrete protection.

The Gendarmes were stopping vehicles at Col du Lautaret and not permitting them to travel any further towards Gap, which was the rout to Col d’Huez where today’s time trial was. Not surprising given the expected number of viewers. They were either sent back to Brancion or over the Col du Galibier. I found out later that our coach was turned around at this point. I turned right and saw the mountain in front of me … looked easy.

A few years ago my wife and I went hiking in Vail Colorado. We decided to walk to the top of one of the ski slopes and near the crest my wife expressed her disappointment that it was such an easy climb. She was surprised to see that it was a false crest and that the hill continued up. After several of these she decided that it was in fact a hard climb. The same was true today. What I took as the top of Col du Galibier was in fact the first of several false crests, but I get ahead of myself.

With the traffic being diverted there were quite a few vehicles on the road, but they were by far outnumbered by cyclists, and many were assembling their bikes in the parking lot by the corner. I thought it was kind of cheating to have driven that far since one avoided the nice work out climbing from Brancion. Then again, they would also miss the descent back to town which makes the climb all the more worthwhile.

In the photo above one can see the road snaking up the mountain. The gradient was not too bad, probably on the order of 8% for much of the way so it was just a case of finding the right gear and grinding my way up the mountain. I missed my mountain bike since I was often searching for a lower gear but unfortunately not finding it.

Towards the base of the mountain above I heard the sound of bells and down below the road was a flock of sheep with bells on them grazing. As I wound my way up I came across the shepherd who was sitting by the road with a walking stick, watching the sheep. Further up there was a woman with three sheep dogs also watching the sheep. I reflected that the flock was small by NZ standards – about 100 at most – so how it could support two shepherds was an enigma to me. In NZ a single shepherd (with dogs of course) would probably have a flock 10 to 20 times the size. Probably just another reflection of the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy which subsidises uneconomic farming activities. But as an Australian on the bus noted, if they want to spend their tax dollars on that it’s their choice. I only partially agreed since it also distorts the world’s economies and contributes towards penury in developing countries.

I stopped for a photo and a kiwi from Taupo named Warwick who was also cycling stopped as well. My NZ shirt was a magnet to other New Zealander’s, as well as eliciting comments from those I passed. He was on the same tour that I was, but on the bus organised from NZ with 40 compatriots. As you can see from the photo below I was already high, but continuing to climb.

The road continued to climb and I was rewarded with fantastic views towards Brancion. Pierre, who I had cycled with earlier, zoomed by on his way downhill, having made it to the crest which can just be seen towards the left of the photo below. I noted that there was a very steep section at the end, but the climb did not look overly difficult.

Since I was by now getting quite high up it was getting cool, and I felt sorry for the downhill cyclists who did not have warm clothes. In spite of the temperature I was working hard and so was quite wet with perspiration; it can be very numbing to descend quickly with wet clothes. I thought of Pierre’s story to me when four years earlier he had cycled the stage on Mt. Ventoux and it got to –3 at the top; one of the cyclists died from hypothermia. No chance of that today, but I was thankful I had my wet weather gear with me.

Just before the final climb to the top there was an old abandoned building that was next to the road fenced off. Just beyond it was the large monument below commemorating the founder of the Tour De France. Not many countries would have such a monument to the founder of a bicycle race!

There was a tunnel through the mountain but I continued climbing on the road through four switch back curves with gradients of 15%. While it was difficult I consoled myself as I passed each curve that it was 25% down each time. Eventually I got to the top and saw George, Rod and Andrew who had passed me earlier getting ready to descend. I got the obligatory photo below.

Two Americans parked their bikes next to mine and we walked together up the path to the summit. They asked about how I got there and, like me, they were also on a Graham Baxter tour. I learned later that they had 16 coaches so upwards of 600 cyclists on various tours – and they had to turn people away. Like me, they had made their selection based on price and having seen the more expensive Trek and Backroads tourists on the same roads felt that we had real value for money.

The view from the top was spectacular with a panoply of mountains as far as the eye could see. The photo below shows the roads I cycled from Brancion up the mountain, along with some of the final switch back curves.

After descending to my bike I donned my cycling jacket and warm leggings and then started the downhill ride. As my friend Kat Brown would say, gravity is the enemy but momentum is your friend. It was a thoroughly fun ride screaming down the hill, although the curves did put a slight damper on things. I passed George, Rod and Andrew posing for photos with their bikes in the snow, and then several others from our tour still climbing. I hung a left at the crossroads and continued the downward run, hitting speeds of over 60 km/h. With relatively little traffic I was able to use my aerobars and most of the road which was great.

It was very cold during the first part of the descent so I was thankful for the warm clothes. I eventually stopped when I was in the valleys as it was sunny and hot so I was sweltering. I made it back to Brancion in record time, having been richly rewarded for my uphill efforts. I stopped at a bike shop by the hotel to get a spare tyre and then it was inside for a shower to tidy up.

My plan was to head into town and find a place to watch today’s time trial on TV. I was told that the others from our tour were going to the Diablo café where they had a large screen TV so I wandered into town and found the place. Since the race wasn’t starting for a while I went around the corner to get lunch. I was hankering for pizza and found a suitable restaurant with a table on the sidewalk. As I sat down I noted two kiwis at the next table and when a third came along I offered him the spare seat. He was surprised that I was from Motueka. We had a good chat and an excellent lunch before I returned to the café to watch the race.

It was much more crowded by then but I found an excellent seat and we had a fun afternoon watching the time trial. L’Alpe D’Huez is famous in TDF cycling as it is a massive climb of 1130 m through 15 curves over a 13.8 km distance (the first 1.7 km is flat) for an average gradient of 7.9%. This year it was a time trial which meant that each cyclist started at the bottom at 2 minute intervals, in the reverse order of position in the tour. This meant that Lance, at number one, was the last to go.

The excitement began to build when the last ten riders began their rides, especially when Jan Ulrich went as he is a great time trialist. He attacked the road and set a fantastic pace, beating all previous riders and it augured well for him. Until Lance started. Let’s just say that the guy is a freak because he took about 30 seconds off Ulrich’s time, which itself was about 30 seconds faster than anyone elses. It was incredible to watch. Except for a few French in the bar we were all pro-Lance so he got great cheers as he went up the mountain and we saw him building up more of the lead. So much for the TDF organisers designing things to make life difficult for Lance.

It’s funny but watching TV gives you a much better view of what is going on with the TDF than actually being on the ground, but I wouldn’t change the experience of being here for anything. The TV doesn’t pick up the elan and excitement of the crowds, not the incredible difficulty of the rides.

I left shortly after Lance won the stage and went to the local Internet café where I answered a large backlog of e-mails for 2 h. Then back to the hotel for a forgettable dinner before changing a tyre on my bicycle and making minor adjustments. Another great day, and I was sad to think that things would soon be over.