I was really unsure what I was going to do today. Today and tomorrow are out and back days from the same hotel I’m staying in for three nights so I have much more leeway in what to do and had planned a couple of long routes to do some or all of. With the Tour having just climbed Col de la Loze the day before I was really tempted to try it myself, so was fairly set on taking my “Day 4" route, over the Col de la Madeleine then up the valley via Moutiers, La Tania and then the Col de la Loze.
I was also pretty scared of taking it on. At 220km with ~4000m climbing it did seem ambitious, but the climbing was very front loaded in the first 110km and I felt like I could manage the longer flatter route back home, avoiding the Madeleine, if necessary. Woke a couple of times in the night with the decision still turning over in my head but by morning I had decided that fortune favours the bold and I’d give it a crack.
Rolled out of the hotel, down the valley and picked up the Col de la Madeleine climb fairly soon. Starting to feel now like I know how this first big climb of the day goes, and I trundled up it at a steady pace. Losing the panniers doesn’t make a huge difference, but I feel like I can just spin up an extra percent or two of gradient for a little less effort. All alone until just past half way when a group of 5 riders came up and passed me, I hadn’t seen them so suppose they had just started off, anyway I was riding constant power and went back past them on a flatter section after which they sat on and I paced them up to the summit. No chat but nice to have people around. One guy accelerated past me at 3km to go and I managed to restrain myself — keep the powder dry Jon — but another one went at 1km so I reeled him back in gradually and then smoked him 300m to the summit.
The descent was amazing. Big long traverses between switchbacks, not as steep as the Iseran so easier to just let the bike run, with sweeping bends as the road followed the contours that were great to lean the bike in and out of. The middle section was a series of villages, tarmac less good, tight, messy, but then it opened out and got faster again and I felt like I was linking my turns together nicely.
Had breakfast then had to elbow my way through Moutiers as they were setting up for the start of the day’s Tour stage. On the way out of town the Garmin started me on a 1000m climb which would take me roughly to La Tania. Nice climb on the main road, good surface, not too steep. Not much traffic going up but loads of traffic coming down, I hadn’t realised that all the teams would have stayed up in Courchevel overnight so I passed every team truck, car, bus coming down the mountain. Waved at most of them, got a honk from a few including the Jumbo team bus. It was exciting to see the circus on its way from one stage to the next.
Turned off the main road at La Praz, by La Tania it was starting to get really hot so I stopped at the Sherpa for two big bottles of water and some Barquettes d’Abricot, filled two bottles, drank maybe a liter, poured the rest over my head and carried on up.
The route follows the road as far as Meribel but then dives off onto a purpose-made cycle path, which I found with only a little difficulty. At this point I was riding with a guy from New York who didn’t really have the route down and was very glad of my Garmin.
Once on the path, the average gradient increased significantly but also the gradient was very variable, with short sections of 20% or more which were really hard to drag the bike up. Again just had to take it steady, backing the power off when it flattened out to try and recover and then cranking the bike up the steep sections. It took a while but I managed to keep going, lots of people stopped or walking, looking pretty spent, but soon came to the 2km sign where the switchbacks are done and the route follows a blue run across the contours and up to the Col.
Stunning views on the final ascending traverse and a steep ramp at the very last before arriving at the summit.
Basically from this point it’s a descent straight to Moutiers. Carrying on over the top of the Col there’s another bike path that takes you down into Courchevel, following a lot of piste signs and passing spots that I remember from ski trips. Then onto the road, down through the villages and linking up with the ascent route in La Praz. Easy, fast, comfortable, not to technical, very pleasant indeed.
So this was the end of the fun part of the day and worst case I had 80km of boring kilometres down the valley from Moutiers to Albertville and then back up to the hotel in St Jean de Maurienne. But, my friend from the climb stayed with we on the descent and offered me a lift to Albertville from where he was parked just below Moutiers, then I decided to get a train back from there.
Fabulous day in the saddle by any reckoning. Doing that climb the day after it had been so significant in the Tour, and being in amongst the excitement and machinery of the Tour as I went up the valley, made it a day I’m sure I’ll never forget!
