After a massive day two days
previously everyone was glad to be setting off at a far more civilised time of
day – 7.30am. Not exactly a lie-in, but an improvement.
Added to the ‘late’ rise, it
was a glorious day. The perfect day for cycling through Provence. It was also a
much more relaxed atmosphere amongst the group – the apprehension of Stage 15
and Ventoux had gone and a rest day spent relaxing by the pool had clearly
worked its magic.
The more relaxed atmosphere
meant a gentle pace and plenty of stopping to take in the views. It really felt
like we were on holiday as we rolled up and over a couple of categorised climbs
with stunning scenery on either side.
The route took us out of
Bedion and back over the Col de la Madeleine. Not quite the same route as the
Tour itself, which would be leaving from Vaison-la-Romaine, but after passing
through Malaucene we were quickly on the official route.
As we rode away from
Malaucene and up the Col de Macuegne we were treated to a stunning view looking
back at Ventoux. Another opportunity to stop and take it all in.
 |
| Ventoux, I think I love you... |
Dropping down the valley we
passed through the small town of Sederon, where road works were underway in
preparation for the Tour itself. We had been warned that we could ignore the
diversion signs and roll through the road works as they only lasted a few
hundred metres.
As I approached I recognised
the familiar sight of wet/melting tar and decided to walk my bike round. Others
were not so lucky and spent a fair amount of time at the next feed stop trying
to clean their wheels of tar. Using wet wipes for this task seemed a little odd
though.
Luke was amongst those
faffing about the tar on his tyres. He was convinced he was about to get a
puncture, but after some pressure decided to roll out again with a big group
heading off.
We had barely gone 4km when
Luke’s front wheel let out a large hiss. A puncture.
Luke then proceeded to try
and change his inner tube. We pulled a tack out of the tyre and then on trying
to inflate the tyre, realised that Luke had unthreaded gas canisters for his
threaded valve adaptor. Just as we were chiding him, a random dude rode past.
“My wife is in a car just
behind me with a track pump if you want”
The guy looked like a pretty
serious cyclist. He was as it turned out. He is cycling the route of all three
Grand Tours this year a week ahead of the pros – solo! His wife was following
him in a car for the whole trip, washing his kit, sterilising his bottles and
giving him sports massages each night. Mental!
It turns out she was a little
bit mental (the nice type of mental), and after a slightly bizarre conversation we were off again (Luke
puncturing again not too far down the road).
We sat and had lunch as the
storm clouds gathered over the mountains. The chances of getting wet were
increasing.
Once on the road again it
wasn’t long before the relaxed attitude of the day was evident again as we
dived into a café for a quick espresso. Then an ice cream. And then a round of
cokes. The Tour was on the TV and the mood was jovial – it was pretty hard to
get back on the bike again.
A couple of the Lifers who
had been chilling at the back of the peloton for the day suddenly were having a
bit of a jours sans, fatigue sweeping over them. Transition days can be hard,
and after such a big day to Ventoux and a the Alps looming, the mental side of
things can often be more difficult than the physical. It reminded me a lot of
how I felt riding through the artificial forests of Bordeaux in 2010.
We had a fast decent into Gap
before starting the final ascent of the day, the Col de Manse. Just as we hit
the base of the climb the heavens opened. Hail stones and lightening. The hail
was hurting and being on a metal bike was a little concerning. As the
torrential rain and streams of water sweeping down the road got heavier and
more intense my only thought was to get back into Gap as quickly as possible. Mark
T, Luke and I pushed perhaps a little harder than we needed with the dry and
warmth firmly in our minds.
Going over the top it was
just a narrow step and technical descent to contend with before we were back at
the lovely Gapotel…
