Hruška: Tour de l'Ain - Stage 4.....and thoughts....
Hello again - thanks again for the responses, and especially those wondering about last stage and if I am ok!
Last couple days have been terribly busy....I pretty much collapsed after Saturday, Olga and I ran about Lyon a bit on Sunday (well, I walked very slowly!), then we had to drive back to Geneva so I could fly back to Prague today...uff!!
The big news is...I finished!! There were a few times when I was not sure, but I'm very happy that I made it - an experience I will remember forever.
Details....I made it the start ok on Saturday after not enough sleep again (more about this...). A much bigger field started - not sure if I mentioned, but it was possible to register for all 4 days or "a la carte" to do one or more separate stages. Looking at the numbers people were wearing and results, I believe 109 riders started with the intention of doing all 4 days. 250-300 started on Saturday.
Saturday started so fast it was unbelievable - you can hardly imagine such a pace. I thought stage 3 was like a crit---this much faster....many one-day riders pushing the pace, and we started on wide, fast roads. It was very difficult even to hang on the peloton! Before the big climb there was only one categorized climb at approx 26km....but in the first 20k there were many sharp, steep climbs of maybe 100-200 meters - they were so hard for me I kept falling back! I realized very soon that I was incredibly fatigued and going on adrenaline - the day became more about survival and finishing than racing. I hung on to the front group or two for 20k or so before I "blew up"...I kept going and another group came and caught me (alone!) just at the first climb. Not a hard climb but I could not even hang on. And another(!) group came a bit later and I managed to stay with them until the big climb. Until I got with this group I almost quit a hundred times - all I wanted to do was stop and not be riding anymore.
So one of the guys sees my number (color code) and says 'wow, all 4 days...courage!....and have you ever climbed Grand Colombier?....it;s the hardest climb in France - way harder than Alpe d'Huez and Tourmulet'....I had managed to get reasonable pace by then and feeling ok, so this was not completely demoralizing...but for sure not what i wanted to hear! btw, Grand Colombier is not the same as Col de Colombier near Grand Bournand that has been on Tour last 2 years...it is south and a bit west of Geneva, and tops out at 1500 meters or so.
The climb is 20k - or less depending on how you judge it. First 6k were ok - I could stay with part of the group and get to final rest stop. Then the fun really started with another 13k to the summit....oy oy oy....it was a really brutal climb, many long sections at 14%. There were some flats on the way to break it up but it's definitely some of the hardest climbing I've ever done. I had a 34x25 and could have used much smaller! I can't even imagine racing this climb....I was just trying to make my way steadily, and was alone most of the way. Well, except for fans!!...a thousand or so along the way waiting for pros - great encouragement! The last km was ridiculous - you come out into a clearing and think you'll go through a gap and descend....but then you look right and up, and up, and up!! Finally made it, and cool and foggy at the top...this was a shame because it;s supposed to be one of the best views in France, can see hundreds of km's in all directions on a clear day.
And then the descent....almost as hard at the climb. 17-18km of bone-shaking, nervous, and technical treachery. Terrible road surface for such a mountain, and 14-18% in some areas. Good thing I had new brakes....I have maxed out at 85km on downhill before but this was all danger from 40kph up to my max of 68 or so. My hands and feet were almost totally numb at the bottom, and I've never felt so good about being on a flat road! Then on to the last 15k to the finish I actually felt ok and kept a strong pace...some real stinker short climbs along the way. The French call them "Russian mountains"...kind of like steep roller coasters up and down. Then I finished and it was pure joy....and not too many after me!
Thoughts.....finishing was an amazing feeling. Joy, relief, exhaustion, emotion. I did not know what it would be like to race 4 days like this and the fact that I was really in over my head made the finish very satisfying. Good luck as well - no mechanicals and the weather was good or very good the whole time. The level of "hurt" was new experience. I still never cramped, even the last day, but the muscle soreness going into stage 4 and now afterwards goes right down to the bone. But strangely you can still go on, still race and compete. This was surprising...I can't wait til I recover - I'll be feeling super-human! I have been very tired though...after the final day I slept 12 hours very easily and could have kept going.
I'd like to do something like this again but I'm not sure if I would. To me it's not so much fun if you are not very competitive - like being on a training ride where everyone is much better and you lose interest and motivation. I was barely able to hang in this group....they were very good. My training was not bad either, but it shows me what it would take....I would really need a big step up in intensity and would need more races like this to get prepared. Very difficult and time-consuming, and I already spend a lot of time on the bike! But for first time I guess I should not feel that bad.
Results.....the organisers had a GC every day but I have only manged to find GC after stage 3 and 4, so I do not know my progression. I think after each of first 2 days I was somewhere in the 80s. I was 66 after stage 3 and 68 after final day. 109 started doing the overall and 73 finished all 4 days for a classification....so I was pretty close to the "lantern rouge"!!!! In my age class I was 27 of 29 after 4 days...34 started. Pretty far down but I finished! You can find some results at the race web site or better is here:
http://www.velo101.com/cyclosport
Logistics were a real killer for me. I could not imagine the time and energy spent to manage travel and eating each day...but it is not a surprise since I do not know the area and don't speak the language. Again, I would only do something like this again if I were with a group and we could share support....doing it alone was very difficult, and I paid the price for it - I think I only got 6 hours of sleep each night and you cannot compete on this level like that. I have to think that a lot of these guys have done this before and probably even know a lot of the roads. Experience pays!
Thanks again for all your comments and support!...I will try to get back individually this week,
Mark
Last couple days have been terribly busy....I pretty much collapsed after Saturday, Olga and I ran about Lyon a bit on Sunday (well, I walked very slowly!), then we had to drive back to Geneva so I could fly back to Prague today...uff!!
The big news is...I finished!! There were a few times when I was not sure, but I'm very happy that I made it - an experience I will remember forever.
Details....I made it the start ok on Saturday after not enough sleep again (more about this...). A much bigger field started - not sure if I mentioned, but it was possible to register for all 4 days or "a la carte" to do one or more separate stages. Looking at the numbers people were wearing and results, I believe 109 riders started with the intention of doing all 4 days. 250-300 started on Saturday.
Saturday started so fast it was unbelievable - you can hardly imagine such a pace. I thought stage 3 was like a crit---this much faster....many one-day riders pushing the pace, and we started on wide, fast roads. It was very difficult even to hang on the peloton! Before the big climb there was only one categorized climb at approx 26km....but in the first 20k there were many sharp, steep climbs of maybe 100-200 meters - they were so hard for me I kept falling back! I realized very soon that I was incredibly fatigued and going on adrenaline - the day became more about survival and finishing than racing. I hung on to the front group or two for 20k or so before I "blew up"...I kept going and another group came and caught me (alone!) just at the first climb. Not a hard climb but I could not even hang on. And another(!) group came a bit later and I managed to stay with them until the big climb. Until I got with this group I almost quit a hundred times - all I wanted to do was stop and not be riding anymore.
So one of the guys sees my number (color code) and says 'wow, all 4 days...courage!....and have you ever climbed Grand Colombier?....it;s the hardest climb in France - way harder than Alpe d'Huez and Tourmulet'....I had managed to get reasonable pace by then and feeling ok, so this was not completely demoralizing...but for sure not what i wanted to hear! btw, Grand Colombier is not the same as Col de Colombier near Grand Bournand that has been on Tour last 2 years...it is south and a bit west of Geneva, and tops out at 1500 meters or so.
The climb is 20k - or less depending on how you judge it. First 6k were ok - I could stay with part of the group and get to final rest stop. Then the fun really started with another 13k to the summit....oy oy oy....it was a really brutal climb, many long sections at 14%. There were some flats on the way to break it up but it's definitely some of the hardest climbing I've ever done. I had a 34x25 and could have used much smaller! I can't even imagine racing this climb....I was just trying to make my way steadily, and was alone most of the way. Well, except for fans!!...a thousand or so along the way waiting for pros - great encouragement! The last km was ridiculous - you come out into a clearing and think you'll go through a gap and descend....but then you look right and up, and up, and up!! Finally made it, and cool and foggy at the top...this was a shame because it;s supposed to be one of the best views in France, can see hundreds of km's in all directions on a clear day.
And then the descent....almost as hard at the climb. 17-18km of bone-shaking, nervous, and technical treachery. Terrible road surface for such a mountain, and 14-18% in some areas. Good thing I had new brakes....I have maxed out at 85km on downhill before but this was all danger from 40kph up to my max of 68 or so. My hands and feet were almost totally numb at the bottom, and I've never felt so good about being on a flat road! Then on to the last 15k to the finish I actually felt ok and kept a strong pace...some real stinker short climbs along the way. The French call them "Russian mountains"...kind of like steep roller coasters up and down. Then I finished and it was pure joy....and not too many after me!
Thoughts.....finishing was an amazing feeling. Joy, relief, exhaustion, emotion. I did not know what it would be like to race 4 days like this and the fact that I was really in over my head made the finish very satisfying. Good luck as well - no mechanicals and the weather was good or very good the whole time. The level of "hurt" was new experience. I still never cramped, even the last day, but the muscle soreness going into stage 4 and now afterwards goes right down to the bone. But strangely you can still go on, still race and compete. This was surprising...I can't wait til I recover - I'll be feeling super-human! I have been very tired though...after the final day I slept 12 hours very easily and could have kept going.
I'd like to do something like this again but I'm not sure if I would. To me it's not so much fun if you are not very competitive - like being on a training ride where everyone is much better and you lose interest and motivation. I was barely able to hang in this group....they were very good. My training was not bad either, but it shows me what it would take....I would really need a big step up in intensity and would need more races like this to get prepared. Very difficult and time-consuming, and I already spend a lot of time on the bike! But for first time I guess I should not feel that bad.
Results.....the organisers had a GC every day but I have only manged to find GC after stage 3 and 4, so I do not know my progression. I think after each of first 2 days I was somewhere in the 80s. I was 66 after stage 3 and 68 after final day. 109 started doing the overall and 73 finished all 4 days for a classification....so I was pretty close to the "lantern rouge"!!!! In my age class I was 27 of 29 after 4 days...34 started. Pretty far down but I finished! You can find some results at the race web site or better is here:
Logistics were a real killer for me. I could not imagine the time and energy spent to manage travel and eating each day...but it is not a surprise since I do not know the area and don't speak the language. Again, I would only do something like this again if I were with a group and we could share support....doing it alone was very difficult, and I paid the price for it - I think I only got 6 hours of sleep each night and you cannot compete on this level like that. I have to think that a lot of these guys have done this before and probably even know a lot of the roads. Experience pays!
Thanks again for all your comments and support!...I will try to get back individually this week,
Mark
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