14/07/2018

The marathon stage lives up to expectations

Riding downhill for 18.5 kilometres in a secured convoy with the panoramic views over the oisans Valley from the Pas de la Confession route, riders crossed the timing mat by the Verney dam, at the foot of the climb to Croix de Fer.

This first 27.4-kilometre climb of the day at a 5.4% average could be broken down into three sections with two plateaus in between: a first steep section through the forest leading to a plateau at Rivier d’Allemont followed by a quick descent, a second section with many hairpins up to the Grand Maison Lake, and then a final push to the summit on a softer and more consistent gradient.

At 2 kilometres from the summit, riders passed by the Col du Glandon that they would climb later on in the day, to reach the summit of the Croix de Fer at 2,067 metres of altitude. All riders enjoyed the end of the timed section at the top to take in the amazing views and rest before the untimed descent to the Maurienne Valley. “It’s wonderful”, said French rider Arnaud Lefranc atop the Croix de Fer. “Earlier, I took a small video and now it’s simply breath-taking. I recovered well between yesterday and today with a good massage. My goal is to have a great time and for now this is a case because I’m smiling!”

Fellow rider Jérôme Cassagnes, member of the Ne Jetez Plus team who make sure that the peloton respects the environment, also shared his thoughts with us: “This climb is very nice from this side; we took the opposite way compared to last year. This is a good way to warm up for a first ascent. However, I’m a bit afraid by the Glandon so it was great to begin with an easy ascent.”

After crossing the timing mat again at the entrance to Pontamafrey-Montpascal, riders headed to Sainte-Etienne-de-Cuines to take on the mighty Col du Glandon. With 1,433 metres of ascent over 20 kilometres, the ascent of the Glandon offered little respite to the riders, especially with the steepest gradients in the last three kilometres.

Taking the time to fill their bottles and refuel atop the Glandon, Haute Route participants then made their way back to the Verney dam to take on the third and last climb of the day: the ascent up to Alpe d’Huez via Villard-Reculas.

Back in Alpe d’Huez, Rui Fernandes from Portugal was happy to have completed the second stage: “I liked the beginning of the first climb and also the middle when you see the dam and the lake too. It provided a marvellous photo opportunity with the reflection of the mountains in the lake, it was amazing. And it was interesting because today I understood why Alpe d’Huez is so mythical.”

“I am going to have a massage now”, he added. “I had a great lunch when I arrived, I sent some pictures to my family from the hotel and I have done a cryotherapy session. I am not a pro and I don’t train like a pro but I am definitely treated like a pro on the Haute Route.”

At the front of the race, Julien Sauvigné from France won the stage in the men’s category and Sharon Bird from Ireland was the fastest female rider over the finish line in the women’s category. But both Jonas Ellingsen from Norway and Brooke Mead from USA managed to keep their leader’s jerseys. After crossing the finish line, Brooke said: “It was a tough stage today but it is done and we are lucky for the weather so I can’t complain. I preferred the beginning when you have better legs and for the last part I was in a no man’s land looking for friends. I have done the best I could do today, I ride as fast as I can, it was a great day.”

In the Duo division, both teams Lux Cycle Club and Team Apricot maintained their lead and are leading the GC in the Duo Men and Duo Mixed categories.

Tomorrow, every participant will live the race of truth on the famous 21 hairpins of Alpe d’Huez before becoming finishers of the second edition of the Haute Route Alpe d’Huez.