STAGE 6
August 26th, 2022
Start: Meribel, France
Finish: Megeve, France
85.45 miles
6:10 riding time
11.0 mph average
12,086 feet
Climbs: TRA (9.7K), Cormet de Roselend (19.2K), Saisies (16.3K)
Climbs: TRA (9.7K), Cormet de Roselend (19.2K), Saisies (16.3K)
By this point in the event, we had our morning routine nailed down and we started to become a bit more relaxed in the morning. Whereas we had stuck to a strict 2-hour before the event wake-up, we gave ourselves a bit more time to sleep in and woke up at 5:45am instead of 5:30am. We walked across the street to get breakfast and then packed up our room. At this point I was out of Skratch Super Fuel (which I used for the first 4 stages in my first two bottles). I used 2 heaping scoops C30 from Never Second and 1 packet of EFS Salty Watermelon (which was really good) in my other bottle. I also had some chews to give me a bit more calories since my other bottle only had 110 calories.
Since we didn't have far to go for the staging area (it was right next to our hotel), we made our way to the starting area around 7:15am. Although this stage was our 4th stage of climbing over 10,000 feet, it was also our second to last stage - and our last stage of climbing over 10,000 feet. Certainly knowing that we only had one day left made it a lot easier to look forward to this stage. In looking at the weather on the Epic Ride Weather app, it looked like we may get some rain later on the in the stage but overall, it would be a cool and cloudy day.
I wore my jacket to start because we had 21.7K neutralized with most of it downhill. After we started, we had a short climb out of the village of Meribel before starting our long descend down the Col de la Loze that we climbed to finish stage 4. After a few minutes of riding, I noticed that my computer wasn't picking up speed, mileage or cadence. The night prior my Garmin froze so I am not sure what happened but it was trouble picking up the satellite. I restarted the computer and still nothing. After a few minutes, Karel and I stopped on the side of the road to try to fix it up but after trying a few things, it was still not picking up the metrics. While I wasn't using power for pacing, it was extremely helpful to know what kilometer I was on as that helped with pacing. Plus, for this epic event, I wanted to make sure every mile was accounted for. Once we got started again, we were at the very back of the group (behind the last vehicle) but after a kilometer of descending, we were back up toward the front of the group. Eventually my computer started working (somewhere in the beginning of the first timed climb) so that was a relief that I finally knew where I was in the climb.
Once we got a few kilometers away from the first timed section, I stopped to go pee on the side of the road and stuffed my jacket in my jersey pocket. I picked back up with a group just before the first timed section.
The TRA climb was a great first climb of the day. The road condition, grade and switchbacks reminded me of home and I felt really strong. I was able to stay in a small group and I found myself ahead of a few girls that were always ahead of me in the previous stages. Karel was feeling a bit stronger than in the past few stages thanks to the rest day. It really helped him to have the afternoon off where he could rest and refuel and get a good night of sleep. Karel ended up in a group near the front (not the front front but near the front) and he was really surprised to be in the company of some of the top GC (general classification) riders.
This stage was a bit different than the first four stages in that much more of the stage was timed, including the downhills. From 21.7 until 75, we made our way up the TRA climb, down the TRA climb, along a rolling/flat section before starting the Roselend climb. Finally at the top of the Roselend climb, the timing stopped and I regrouped with Karel. I decided to refill one bottle at the top of TRA just to ensure that I had enough for the next 45 kilometers.
The 25K Roseland descend was not timed and Karel went ahead. We didn't spend too much time at the top of Roseland as it was a bit cool and cloudy and we wanted to try to beat the rain. We went through a lot of villages and tunnels on this route and the scenery was amazing. It was becoming much more green and the blue color of the lake took my breathe away - it was incredibly beautiful.
Although I was tired, I felt like I rode really well on this stage and I was able to stay with groups much more than in the past few stages. I could tell that many of the riders were getting tired and probably went out too hard for the first few stages. It was fun to ride with some new people in the group.
My favorite part of the day was being so close to the cows and enjoying their company as they enjoyed their grassy field.
Since we didn't have far to go for the staging area (it was right next to our hotel), we made our way to the starting area around 7:15am. Although this stage was our 4th stage of climbing over 10,000 feet, it was also our second to last stage - and our last stage of climbing over 10,000 feet. Certainly knowing that we only had one day left made it a lot easier to look forward to this stage. In looking at the weather on the Epic Ride Weather app, it looked like we may get some rain later on the in the stage but overall, it would be a cool and cloudy day.
I wore my jacket to start because we had 21.7K neutralized with most of it downhill. After we started, we had a short climb out of the village of Meribel before starting our long descend down the Col de la Loze that we climbed to finish stage 4. After a few minutes of riding, I noticed that my computer wasn't picking up speed, mileage or cadence. The night prior my Garmin froze so I am not sure what happened but it was trouble picking up the satellite. I restarted the computer and still nothing. After a few minutes, Karel and I stopped on the side of the road to try to fix it up but after trying a few things, it was still not picking up the metrics. While I wasn't using power for pacing, it was extremely helpful to know what kilometer I was on as that helped with pacing. Plus, for this epic event, I wanted to make sure every mile was accounted for. Once we got started again, we were at the very back of the group (behind the last vehicle) but after a kilometer of descending, we were back up toward the front of the group. Eventually my computer started working (somewhere in the beginning of the first timed climb) so that was a relief that I finally knew where I was in the climb.
Once we got a few kilometers away from the first timed section, I stopped to go pee on the side of the road and stuffed my jacket in my jersey pocket. I picked back up with a group just before the first timed section.
The TRA climb was a great first climb of the day. The road condition, grade and switchbacks reminded me of home and I felt really strong. I was able to stay in a small group and I found myself ahead of a few girls that were always ahead of me in the previous stages. Karel was feeling a bit stronger than in the past few stages thanks to the rest day. It really helped him to have the afternoon off where he could rest and refuel and get a good night of sleep. Karel ended up in a group near the front (not the front front but near the front) and he was really surprised to be in the company of some of the top GC (general classification) riders.
This stage was a bit different than the first four stages in that much more of the stage was timed, including the downhills. From 21.7 until 75, we made our way up the TRA climb, down the TRA climb, along a rolling/flat section before starting the Roselend climb. Finally at the top of the Roselend climb, the timing stopped and I regrouped with Karel. I decided to refill one bottle at the top of TRA just to ensure that I had enough for the next 45 kilometers.
The 25K Roseland descend was not timed and Karel went ahead. We didn't spend too much time at the top of Roseland as it was a bit cool and cloudy and we wanted to try to beat the rain. We went through a lot of villages and tunnels on this route and the scenery was amazing. It was becoming much more green and the blue color of the lake took my breathe away - it was incredibly beautiful.
Although I was tired, I felt like I rode really well on this stage and I was able to stay with groups much more than in the past few stages. I could tell that many of the riders were getting tired and probably went out too hard for the first few stages. It was fun to ride with some new people in the group.
My favorite part of the day was being so close to the cows and enjoying their company as they enjoyed their grassy field.
The last climb was Saisies and it was challenging. It was a lot more pitchy than Roselend without much relief. We started off on a super steep incline just after the timing section, before it eventually settled into a 7-12% grade for the next 12K. There was a short drop in the grade (~3%) for a few kilometers before the grade picked up aagain to the top of the climb.
Karel rode the Saisies climb with our Australian friend Clay (who had nice music jamming from his phone) and while I tried to stay with them for a few kilometers, eventually I needed to drop back. However, I was able to link up with a few other solo riders to keep myself riding strong. I made a quick stop at the last aid station on top of Saisies before making my way down the descend and into Megeve.
For this stage, we went through a lot more towns and the roads were a bit more busy at times but there was plenty of support staff keeping us safe. The final 10K was a gradual climb into Megeve and I was thankful to be around a few other riders to finish off strong. I have no idea how we missed the rain but I never got wet. Karel said he got a little rained on but it didn't last long. It felt like we were chasing the rain all day. The cooler weather felt great. It was a much more windy day, which made it tough on the top of the climbs.
After I finished, Karel and I dropped our bikes off with Jeremy at France Bike Rentals to give them a charge (electronic shifting) before the final day. Karel got a massage while I showered and then we went to get some food. The post event meal was the best meal that we had had all week. It was sooo good. It was so great knowing that we only had one more stage and we would be staying in the same hotel for the next two nights.
We rode a few minutes to our hotel and I instantly fell in love with it. I could not have asked for a better accomodation for our final stay in Megeve. The hotel was super cute and since we had a little more time in the afternoon (with it being just around 3pm), Karel enjoyed a cappuccino at the hotel while I editted my Go Pro footage. We then walked to the nearby grocery store for some food for dinner.
The rain helped to cool things off which made for a comfortable evening in our room. Although I felt like we had already finished the event and tomorrow was a bonus stage, Karel was exhausted and continued to question how he would finish the last stage. We both slept great in the evening and looked forward to one last ride. Only 62 miles and 7500+ feet between us and the finish line!
One more day to go!!
.heic)
Lessons Learned
There's something about not giving up. You never know what you are capable of doing unless you try. In a 7-day event, there are going to be bad days. There are going to be tough moments. But if you give up, you don't put yourself in a position to experience the good moments and good days. We never thought we would feel good in any stage but we both had good days throughout this event. Stage 6 was a good stage for us (for the most part) and we rode stronger than we had in the days past. This stage also involved a lot of self-talk. At any point we could have just eased up but we both wanted to give our best, in every stage. That's all you can ask for from your body. Just give your best.