Haute Route Day 1:
August 21st, 2022
Start: Nice, France.
Start: Nice, France.
Finish: Cuneo, Italy.
117 miles
8:10 riding time
14.3 mph average
13,947 ft elevation gain
Climbs: Col du Saint-Martin (7K), Col de la Lombarde (20K)
We woke up around 4:45am and ate as much as we could stomach around 5am. We were surrounded by other riders in the hotel breakfast room - and you could feel the nervous tension. I started my period that morning. Ugh, the worst timing. We packed up our gear, dropped our luggage off downstairs under the designated sign for our next accomodation (100+ miles away in Italy) and left our hotel around 6:10am. Because this was our first time at this event, we wanted to give ourselves extra time. We biked through the somewhat empty streets of Nice and arrived to the event venue a few minutes later. We dropped off our post race bags at the designated truck and lined ourselves up near the front of the corral around 6:20am. The energy was positive and the music was pumping. We ran into Matt Dixon from Purple Patch and it was nice to see a familiar face in the crowd. With over 400 riders ready to go, I was feeling extremely nervous.
At 6:45am, it was time to roll out of Nice and start our long journey to Italy. The first few kilometers through the town were a bit sketchy as we navigated round abouts and other road furniture. It was so cool to have the Mavic cars, motorcycles and other staff support around us - giving us the right of way. The first 11K was neutralized but even with the lead Mavic vehicle keeping the pace "slow" we were climbing out of Nice and Karel and I felt like our hearts were going to pop out of our chest. We both felt nauseous and anaerobic. It was not a comfortable feeling. But we felt like we needed to stay with the group as that is what you do in group rides. Once we reached the first timed segment of the day (11.2K to 21.7K), the reality hit that this was going to be way harder than I ever imagined. I couldn't keep up with anyone and I found myself riding alone - dropped from group after group after group. The next timed segment was 29K to 67.9K and finished at the top of Saint-Martin. I enjoyed the quick descend and really needed it to bring my heart rate down. I didn't stop at the first feed station but aited until I reached the top of the climb. I started the ride with 2 bottles of Skratch SuperFuel. Karel had 2 bottles of Never Second C90.
I was shocked how long the climbs were and how hard they were. Each kilometer marker would show the upcoming gradient, which was good and bad. Good to know what's coming next, bad to know what's coming next. After 20 miles and an hour and 40 minutes, I finally reached the top of the climb. Karel was there and we were both exhausted. We only covered 40 miles but accumulated over 6500 feet. I got my first taste of descending in the Alps and I loved it - 10 miles of descending on the narrow roads with switchbacks and incredible scenery. I have really improved my descending skills over the years so I welcomed the descend. Karel loved the descends as he has exceptional descending skills.
Before starting the next timing segment, I noticed that several of the top riders were waiting just before the timing segment. I was confused why they were doing this as there were strict cut-off times to meet. But later I learned that cyclists would wait before the timing segments to ride together in a group - ah, that made total sense! Here I am trying to do everything on my own when I could have been much more strategic. I would still get dropped on the climbs but in the flat segments, you could go so much faster in a group. It was neat going through so many tunnels (thus the required lights) and passing through the small towns and villages.
The next 23.7 miles were tough. Really really tough. For 2 hours and 36 minutes and 6000 feet, I climbed. Pedal stroke after pedal stroke, it was constant work. It was hard to control my heart rate, I was feeling yucky with the start of my menstrual cycle, I was getting into higher altitudes and I was tired. But I kept pedaling. When I finally got to the top and saw Karel, I was so relieved. This was hard. And it was only day 1.
Thankfully, that was the last climb of the day. We really took in the views before another amazing descend. I've never descended for 15 miles before and even though it took over 40 minutes, it went by really quickly.
Karel and I learned our lesson so we waited before the next timing segment for a group to gather. We joined a group of around 20 riders and the last 12 miles were fast and fun. I was the lone female in the group and we had our own motorcycle escort. The road we were on was rough and narrow so it was nice having a lead vehicle as the group was flying. We averaged 22 mph for for this last 30 min segment. After 7 hours and 18 minutes and 13,700 feet of elevation, we finally reached the finish line of stage 1. We couldn't believe what we just did. And it was only day 1. We just rode from France to Italy.
We had 11 miles of riding to reach the village of Cuneo and although we were ready to be done, it was nice to spin the legs (active recovery) and enjoy some of the sights. We made our way to the athlete village in the town of Cuneo, got our backpacks (and recovery drink), dropped off our bikes, walked to get a delicious meal and then checked out the map to see where we were staying for the evening. We skipped the post race massage as we were so ready to get to our hotel to cool off and recover.
After 8 hours of riding (and 10 hours of total time outside), we finally reached our hotel after 5:30pm. We were thankful for the AC in our room - and a refreshing shower. It was a hot, long day. Because we were a few miles out of the town, we were too exhausted to search for more food so the receptionist at the hotel (who spoke a little English) helped us find a delivery service so we could enjoy pizza - when in Italy! Little did I realize, this would of been one of many pizzas that I consumed over the next 7 days.
Our new nightly routine involved me downloading my Go Pro footage, charging our lights, charging (and downloading) our computers, pining our bib numbers on our jersey for the next stage, preparing bottles, preparing our recovery drink (and post even bag), eating as much as we could (and rehydrating) and trying to get into a good headspace to prepare ourselves for another day. We went to bed around 9:30pm, although it wasn't the most restful night of sleep.
At 6:45am, it was time to roll out of Nice and start our long journey to Italy. The first few kilometers through the town were a bit sketchy as we navigated round abouts and other road furniture. It was so cool to have the Mavic cars, motorcycles and other staff support around us - giving us the right of way. The first 11K was neutralized but even with the lead Mavic vehicle keeping the pace "slow" we were climbing out of Nice and Karel and I felt like our hearts were going to pop out of our chest. We both felt nauseous and anaerobic. It was not a comfortable feeling. But we felt like we needed to stay with the group as that is what you do in group rides. Once we reached the first timed segment of the day (11.2K to 21.7K), the reality hit that this was going to be way harder than I ever imagined. I couldn't keep up with anyone and I found myself riding alone - dropped from group after group after group. The next timed segment was 29K to 67.9K and finished at the top of Saint-Martin. I enjoyed the quick descend and really needed it to bring my heart rate down. I didn't stop at the first feed station but aited until I reached the top of the climb. I started the ride with 2 bottles of Skratch SuperFuel. Karel had 2 bottles of Never Second C90.
I was shocked how long the climbs were and how hard they were. Each kilometer marker would show the upcoming gradient, which was good and bad. Good to know what's coming next, bad to know what's coming next. After 20 miles and an hour and 40 minutes, I finally reached the top of the climb. Karel was there and we were both exhausted. We only covered 40 miles but accumulated over 6500 feet. I got my first taste of descending in the Alps and I loved it - 10 miles of descending on the narrow roads with switchbacks and incredible scenery. I have really improved my descending skills over the years so I welcomed the descend. Karel loved the descends as he has exceptional descending skills.
Before starting the next timing segment, I noticed that several of the top riders were waiting just before the timing segment. I was confused why they were doing this as there were strict cut-off times to meet. But later I learned that cyclists would wait before the timing segments to ride together in a group - ah, that made total sense! Here I am trying to do everything on my own when I could have been much more strategic. I would still get dropped on the climbs but in the flat segments, you could go so much faster in a group. It was neat going through so many tunnels (thus the required lights) and passing through the small towns and villages.
The next 23.7 miles were tough. Really really tough. For 2 hours and 36 minutes and 6000 feet, I climbed. Pedal stroke after pedal stroke, it was constant work. It was hard to control my heart rate, I was feeling yucky with the start of my menstrual cycle, I was getting into higher altitudes and I was tired. But I kept pedaling. When I finally got to the top and saw Karel, I was so relieved. This was hard. And it was only day 1.
Thankfully, that was the last climb of the day. We really took in the views before another amazing descend. I've never descended for 15 miles before and even though it took over 40 minutes, it went by really quickly.
Karel and I learned our lesson so we waited before the next timing segment for a group to gather. We joined a group of around 20 riders and the last 12 miles were fast and fun. I was the lone female in the group and we had our own motorcycle escort. The road we were on was rough and narrow so it was nice having a lead vehicle as the group was flying. We averaged 22 mph for for this last 30 min segment. After 7 hours and 18 minutes and 13,700 feet of elevation, we finally reached the finish line of stage 1. We couldn't believe what we just did. And it was only day 1. We just rode from France to Italy.
We had 11 miles of riding to reach the village of Cuneo and although we were ready to be done, it was nice to spin the legs (active recovery) and enjoy some of the sights. We made our way to the athlete village in the town of Cuneo, got our backpacks (and recovery drink), dropped off our bikes, walked to get a delicious meal and then checked out the map to see where we were staying for the evening. We skipped the post race massage as we were so ready to get to our hotel to cool off and recover.
After 8 hours of riding (and 10 hours of total time outside), we finally reached our hotel after 5:30pm. We were thankful for the AC in our room - and a refreshing shower. It was a hot, long day. Because we were a few miles out of the town, we were too exhausted to search for more food so the receptionist at the hotel (who spoke a little English) helped us find a delivery service so we could enjoy pizza - when in Italy! Little did I realize, this would of been one of many pizzas that I consumed over the next 7 days.
Our new nightly routine involved me downloading my Go Pro footage, charging our lights, charging (and downloading) our computers, pining our bib numbers on our jersey for the next stage, preparing bottles, preparing our recovery drink (and post even bag), eating as much as we could (and rehydrating) and trying to get into a good headspace to prepare ourselves for another day. We went to bed around 9:30pm, although it wasn't the most restful night of sleep.
We were exhausted, sore, tired and depleted. And we were about to do it all again tomorrow.
.heic)
Lessons Learned
We quickly learned that we went out way too hard to try to keep up with a group. We also learned that it's important to find a group that is your fitness level as you will overcook yourself trying to stay with a group that is way too fast. Our bike handling skills allowed us to ride safely and confidently on the descends, as well as in a group. We also learned to be more strategic with the timing sections and to really take it easy in the neutralized sections. We enjoyed the feed stations, especially the food and the scenery. It was really cool to meet new people from all over the world. Having your name on your bib number and front bike plate was so nice as you got cheers and encouragement from so many people. Also having the American flag on our bib numbers let other people know what language we spoke. I needed to be more prepared with our post event food. Perhaps stocking up the stage prior for the next stage as we were just so exhausted to try to find food and eat.