STAGE 7 
August 27th, 2022
Start: Megeve, France
Finish: Megeve, France
62 miles
4:21 riding time
14.2 mph average
7628 feet
Climbs: Epine (6.9K), Croix Fry (11.3K), Aravis (4.4K)
After 6 days, we didn't think we would make it this far. The final day. All that was between us and becoming an official Haute Route finisher was 62 miles. On any day in Greenville, riding 7600 feet would be a big climbing day but for stage 7, it was a "light" day. Besides the time trial, every stage involed over 10,000 feet of climbing. I was really looking forward to completing this event and I wore my Haute Route jersey (included in our race packet) as a celebration for making it to the last stage.
At breakfast, I looked at the results and I was safely sitting in 2nd place in my age group. Unless something extreme happened (ex. mechanical or crash), I felt like I could remain 2nd in my age group (40-44). I felt like that was a big accomplishment and I brought that motivation to the stage. I wanted to remain competitive but also enjoy this last day. Karel was very tired and was still a bit worried about not having the energy to get through the stage but he knew he would finish, he just didn't know how much he would suffer.
With the majority of this stage being timed, I knew it wouldn't be like the previous stages. This would be much more like a group ride with quick stops to refill bottles. Planning for a little over 4 hours of riding, I planned to refill two bottles somewhere half way. Karel didn't refill his bottles throughout the stage. The weather was a bit cool (60) so I started off with my arm warmers but took them off before the start as I knew I would warm up quickly.
After 14.4k of neutralized riding, we made our way passed the timing system and that was it. From that point until 99k, this would be our last timed segment of the Haute Route Alps.
Aside from the lead riders, there was a big pack of riders and I was able to stay in the group. But then the road picked up and I could feel myself struggling. I was ok with getting dropped but then Karel rode up to me and said "Marni, don't give up. Just push until the top of the hill and then there is a downhill." I was so thankful that he told me that because all I needed was to make a few hard pedal strokes to get back to the group and even though my legs were burning and my heart was beating out of my chest, I was able to stay with the big group to the top of the climb and recover on the downhill.
One of the early climbs was a bit rough with loose gravel. I wanted to be extra careful as I didn't want to crash or have a mechanical but I also trusted my skills. I was able to descend safely and made my way to a strong group, with a few strong females. It was a lot of fun to feel like I was finally riding to my potential on the last two stages. I really enjoyed being able to stay with bigger groups and sit on the wheel of strong riders. The middle climb took an hour so I still needed to pace myself.
Although the climbs were not as long as previous days (thank goodness we didn't have to climb 3+ hours again!), they were still punchy and the legs felt the accumulation of climbing over the past 7 days. Even though the finish line was near, I didn't focus on the finish but instead, just stayed focused on the kilometer that I was in.
Once again, the scenery was incredible and I really tried to take it all in. My favorite part was the last hour. It reminded me of one of my favorite climbs in our area (Saluda Grade) and I was behind a guy from Canada who was riding really strong. He was not as comfortable descending but super strong on the climbs and flats so we made a good team. I stayed on his wheel for the climbs (he really made me push) and then he told me that he trusted my wheel on the downhills so I would take the lead. I made one pull to give him a break so I was glad that I could contribute. The final 10K was windy and a gradual incline into Megeve but we stayed strong. It was just me and this guy from Canada and we worked really well to get each other to the finish line.
Once we saw the 1K to go, I felt such relief. We gave each other a fist bump before making the final turn toward the finish line chute.
When I crossed the finish line, I saw Karel and I couldn't believe we did it. By far, this was the hardest athletic feat that we have ever attempted.
After 7 days of riding, we were so happy to not have to ride our bikes on Sunday. Although, I was very sad to return my Pinarello as I had fallen in love with my bike over 7 days and I was sad to let it go. Karel took off my crank, saddle and pedals and we returned our bikes back to Jeremey with France Bike Rentals.
We picked up our finisher polo shirt and then walked back to our hotel (a few minutes away). After taking a shower, we relaxed in bed for an hour - just enoying the moment of knowing that we didn't have to ride our bikes on Sunday. I turned on the TV and could pick from watching cycling, UTMB and Mountain biking - all in French. It was nice to feel like we could finally relax.
Shortly after, we walked through the cute town of Megeve (which was my favorite town that we visited throughout the Haute Route) and had an amazing meal in the afternoon. It ended up pouring outside during our meal and we couldn't help but think how great weather we had throughout the event. After we ate, we walked around and then back to our hotel to collapse in bed before heading to the athlete award ceremony at 7pm.
Prior to the awards, we received a notification on our Haute Route app that the top three in each age group would be recognized. That came as a big surprise to us so I was so honored to get on the stage to celebrate. Since the overall winner of the female division was also in my age group, she received a different prize so her prize rolled down to me, which was unexpected.
Dinner was amazing, especially dessert. After the ceremony, went back to our hotel, ready for bed.
Even though we were so tired, it was hard to sleep as our bodies were completely empty and sore. But being able to go to sleep knowing that we had nothing to do the next day was a great feeling.
We ended up going for an easy swim the next day at the swim center (behind our hotel) and it felt really good to float a few laps in the long course pool. We were both extremely tired (and it had been over a week since we swam) so it wasn't a productive swim for fitness but very productive to move some blood.
We had a great lunch (burgers - veggie for me, it was amazing!!) and then around 3pm we checked out of our hotel and walked next door to the bus stop to board our shuttle bus to take us to the Geneva Airport in Switzerland.
Although we struggled throughout this event and found it very humbling, we do feel that our long distance triathlon training contributed to a great amount of endurance needed for this event. However, having been through this 7-day experience, we now know how to prepare better and what is needed mentally and physically, to be a bit more competitive throughout this event.
Thank you for following us along. We really appreciate it. We hope that we have inspired you to step out of your comfort zone to challenge yourself as you explore your capabilities.
Results
At breakfast, I looked at the results and I was safely sitting in 2nd place in my age group. Unless something extreme happened (ex. mechanical or crash), I felt like I could remain 2nd in my age group (40-44). I felt like that was a big accomplishment and I brought that motivation to the stage. I wanted to remain competitive but also enjoy this last day. Karel was very tired and was still a bit worried about not having the energy to get through the stage but he knew he would finish, he just didn't know how much he would suffer.
With the majority of this stage being timed, I knew it wouldn't be like the previous stages. This would be much more like a group ride with quick stops to refill bottles. Planning for a little over 4 hours of riding, I planned to refill two bottles somewhere half way. Karel didn't refill his bottles throughout the stage. The weather was a bit cool (60) so I started off with my arm warmers but took them off before the start as I knew I would warm up quickly.
After 14.4k of neutralized riding, we made our way passed the timing system and that was it. From that point until 99k, this would be our last timed segment of the Haute Route Alps.
Aside from the lead riders, there was a big pack of riders and I was able to stay in the group. But then the road picked up and I could feel myself struggling. I was ok with getting dropped but then Karel rode up to me and said "Marni, don't give up. Just push until the top of the hill and then there is a downhill." I was so thankful that he told me that because all I needed was to make a few hard pedal strokes to get back to the group and even though my legs were burning and my heart was beating out of my chest, I was able to stay with the big group to the top of the climb and recover on the downhill.
One of the early climbs was a bit rough with loose gravel. I wanted to be extra careful as I didn't want to crash or have a mechanical but I also trusted my skills. I was able to descend safely and made my way to a strong group, with a few strong females. It was a lot of fun to feel like I was finally riding to my potential on the last two stages. I really enjoyed being able to stay with bigger groups and sit on the wheel of strong riders. The middle climb took an hour so I still needed to pace myself.
Although the climbs were not as long as previous days (thank goodness we didn't have to climb 3+ hours again!), they were still punchy and the legs felt the accumulation of climbing over the past 7 days. Even though the finish line was near, I didn't focus on the finish but instead, just stayed focused on the kilometer that I was in.
Once again, the scenery was incredible and I really tried to take it all in. My favorite part was the last hour. It reminded me of one of my favorite climbs in our area (Saluda Grade) and I was behind a guy from Canada who was riding really strong. He was not as comfortable descending but super strong on the climbs and flats so we made a good team. I stayed on his wheel for the climbs (he really made me push) and then he told me that he trusted my wheel on the downhills so I would take the lead. I made one pull to give him a break so I was glad that I could contribute. The final 10K was windy and a gradual incline into Megeve but we stayed strong. It was just me and this guy from Canada and we worked really well to get each other to the finish line.
Once we saw the 1K to go, I felt such relief. We gave each other a fist bump before making the final turn toward the finish line chute.
When I crossed the finish line, I saw Karel and I couldn't believe we did it. By far, this was the hardest athletic feat that we have ever attempted.
After 7 days of riding, we were so happy to not have to ride our bikes on Sunday. Although, I was very sad to return my Pinarello as I had fallen in love with my bike over 7 days and I was sad to let it go. Karel took off my crank, saddle and pedals and we returned our bikes back to Jeremey with France Bike Rentals.
We picked up our finisher polo shirt and then walked back to our hotel (a few minutes away). After taking a shower, we relaxed in bed for an hour - just enoying the moment of knowing that we didn't have to ride our bikes on Sunday. I turned on the TV and could pick from watching cycling, UTMB and Mountain biking - all in French. It was nice to feel like we could finally relax.
Shortly after, we walked through the cute town of Megeve (which was my favorite town that we visited throughout the Haute Route) and had an amazing meal in the afternoon. It ended up pouring outside during our meal and we couldn't help but think how great weather we had throughout the event. After we ate, we walked around and then back to our hotel to collapse in bed before heading to the athlete award ceremony at 7pm.
Prior to the awards, we received a notification on our Haute Route app that the top three in each age group would be recognized. That came as a big surprise to us so I was so honored to get on the stage to celebrate. Since the overall winner of the female division was also in my age group, she received a different prize so her prize rolled down to me, which was unexpected.
Dinner was amazing, especially dessert. After the ceremony, went back to our hotel, ready for bed.
Even though we were so tired, it was hard to sleep as our bodies were completely empty and sore. But being able to go to sleep knowing that we had nothing to do the next day was a great feeling.
We ended up going for an easy swim the next day at the swim center (behind our hotel) and it felt really good to float a few laps in the long course pool. We were both extremely tired (and it had been over a week since we swam) so it wasn't a productive swim for fitness but very productive to move some blood.
We had a great lunch (burgers - veggie for me, it was amazing!!) and then around 3pm we checked out of our hotel and walked next door to the bus stop to board our shuttle bus to take us to the Geneva Airport in Switzerland.
Although we struggled throughout this event and found it very humbling, we do feel that our long distance triathlon training contributed to a great amount of endurance needed for this event. However, having been through this 7-day experience, we now know how to prepare better and what is needed mentally and physically, to be a bit more competitive throughout this event.
Thank you for following us along. We really appreciate it. We hope that we have inspired you to step out of your comfort zone to challenge yourself as you explore your capabilities.
Results
