If ever there is a climb that is synonymous with pain and suffering, the Col du Tourmalet is it. At 6,939ft it is the highest road in the central Pyrenees and I wish I could say that it felt like it as I crested the summit this morning, sweat dripping off my face and arms onto the carpet.
The Tourmalet has been included in the Tour de France more than any other climb over the years. In 2010 it was crossed twice in fact, once as a stage finish (Stage 17) won by Andy Schleck. So in total now the summit has been crossed a total of 75 times in the TdF, as well as being used a couple of times in the Vuelta. Not bad for a Pyrenean pass!
The pass also featured in last year’s tour, and although it was not a stage ending summit, the leader over the summit was none other than our friend Thomas Voeckler!
Yes, once again I enjoyed the climb but cannot help but be left with an empty feeling. What does it actually feel like to breathe the thinning air? How does the descending air temperature affect your performance? Does anyone have any answers for me? I have done some big climbs in Colorado and so I do know what thin air feels like. I remember my legs feeling quite weak and a tingling sensation in my lips. I also remember the lads in the support van following who kept encouraging me to keep going whatever happened. If I stopped, they said, I’d never start off again. I was inclined to believe them.
Some little downhills near the start of the climb allowed for some fast spinning…then it was all up hill!
Clearly riding on a simulator is not going to live up to the real deal, but it is still giving me one hell of a work out. I started off once again with a 5 km warm up that I feel is a good distance to spin the legs before they suddenly and brutally hit ‘the wall’ when the climb starts. Interestingly, the first few kilometres of this climb and a little all over the place. There are a few hundred metres of minus gradient which allows you to spin out the legs, but then it’s pretty much uphill all the way to the top. The scenery is stunning, as with all these mountain passes, and it is providing some terrific motivation to save for a Tour de France of my own in the next few years.
For the next few months though it is onward in the basement. New climb coming……haven’t decided which yet, so it’ll be a surprise for all of us.
andybuk
gianellavr2
James
Sluggo
Etape de Tour 2001 – 120 km of pouring rain already despite the fact that it is July. Start the Tourmalet and discover that it is a very consistent gradient the whole way and I am very slightly overgeared so it is going to be a hard flog the whole way.
As you approach La Mongie 2km or so from the top there is a brief respite, but then it gets steeper. And the cold rain starts to turn to ice, then snow and it is so cold I start to shiver despite working flat out. In that 2km I completely blow a gasket and crawl to the summit, being passed by people I rode by further down.
Over the top without much ceremony and descend the two horrible hairpins at the top in blinding conditions, but once off the top 2km it warms slightly and I am hitting 50mph on the way down, time enough to recover before Luz Ardiden.
Yes it should be ridden, like all the classic climbs. I have so many more I’d love to do, but the Tourmalet is pretty special. Enjoy them all in your own way, you certainly won’t have freezing rain on the simulator.
Kevin – how brilliant! I was reliving your experience quite vividly there. Well described. My goal is to ride them for real eventually. The trainer is merely a means to an end. A way to remain in shape in a slightly more interesting way than pedaling like a mad man in front of another inane sitcom. Here in Montreal I have no choice but to move indoors for at least three months, and so this is the best formula I have discovered.
Thanks for stopping by the blog, and if I happen to describe any more climbs that you have done in person I look forward to your version of events! Cheers!