155km, and 2800m of climbing. Five climbs are between us and bubbles, a good hotel and good food in Nice. The little things in life and the reward for the past 7 days of suffering. Five named climbs with the timing finishing at the top of Col de Vence.
How hard could it be? On fresh legs it would have been a good day, however day 8 in a row, the legs were not so fresh, the body was tired, the backside was sore and the mind was done. Pete, Leah and I were ready to be in Nice. Not getting our bikes back last night, as well as the 3.5 hour transfer from Mt Ventoux had tested our patience. Pete and I made an executive decision to enjoy the day, and not kill ourselves, or each other, going up the climbs. (Often our biggest enemy was each other as we would try and set a tempo that was just harder than the other liked). A steady, but not easy, tempo. A good call as the first climb of the day was the Col du Corobin. After a very brief 3km neutral section, if was straight up for 600m, at a steady 8%. A nasty warm up, and a lot harder than the road book, and our sticker showing the climbs for the day said. Lets just say this set the scene for the day, and a good tempo ride in the sun was enjoyed.
As we got closer to the coast the landscape as well as the scenery changed. Dry, pine covered hills broken by steep gorges and winding twisting roads were now the constant. The towns become more medieval, and one highlight was been clapped through a small village by a group of locals as they enjoyed their tea and pastries. Another lasting memory I have is of a old lady reading her newspaper in the sun, while lycra clad cyclists zipped by 6 feet away. I could have been on another planet, and she would not have known. The entire scene felt very french.
The downer of the day was seeing the number of crashes. Pete, Leah and I all finished with all of our skin, which was always the goal. The legs, body and mind is tired at this time and having seen very few crashes all week, we saw a couple of bad ones today. Pete and I stopped for 5 mins at one and did traffic control as a cyclist had fallen on a hairpin turn, and was not moving. Others were with him, and I was concerned that a high risk idiot was going to plow into him. I was impressed by the on the road support, as a motorbike was at the scene within 2 minutes and an ambulance within 5 with police motorbikes as well as other safety bikes. At this stage I continued on, and 20 minutes later Leah saw the scene and they were stabilizing him. The rumor later in the evening was that he had broken his femur. A reminder to everyone about the risks of road cycling, and Pete and I were happy to take the downhills easy with no risks.
After a few grumbles from Pete (more than a few at times), Leah and I enjoyed the day. After the timing stopped at the top of Col de Vence we cruised down the sweeping, twisting downhill into Vence where all of the riders regrouped until 3pm for the procession into Nice. We were there long enough to enjoy a small beer, and a good meal (a lot better than the burgers from the night before. Our location in Digne Les Bains left a lot to be desired..). Leah finished about 40 minutes after Pete and I and she joined us in the sun for a late lunch as well.
The Haute Ruote Alps finishes with a procession from Vence down to the Nice waetrfront, and then along the waterfront for about 15km. With safety motorbikes, police cars and motorbikes and a rolling road closure along the waterfront, it is a spectacula way to end the ride. The race village was set up right on the waterfront, and our hotel was a two minute walk away. After a few photos, and Pete saying hello to his wife Janine, it was off to the hotel to get out of smelly cycling clothes and a well deserved shower before a couple of glasses of wine on a roof top bar. A good day. Later that evening was the official closing ceremony, and then we enjoyed a very pleasant meal out.
How did we get on?
1,000km
21,000m climbed, and the biggest day was 4,750m
Leah: 35:55:12 - 8th women overall and 2nd in her age group
Pete: 29:44:34 - 74th overall
Hamish: 29:08:12 - 57th overall
