A day of two halves really. We started off in Belgium (Wanze) in the pissing rain again and continued along some rolling countryside for the first 100km. But as we approached France the sun began to creep out and the day ended in glorious sunshine.
Generally today was a flatter stage than yesterday, but the harder part came at the end of the day with 7 sections of cobblestone roads totalling over 13km.
The Pave was really the main feature of today’s stage; roads really only fit for tractors with cobblestones all over the place, loose, uneven, cambered and generally just a mess. They really were challenging and shook us all to the bones – a challenge to hold onto the handlebars.
Even though they came at the end of a long day I really enjoyed the experience. Certainly put Paris-Roubaix in to some perspective; how the pros can race on those things is beyond me.
Unfortunately Beard was the first casualty of the Tour. His knee was giving him problems from yesterday and he started the day in some discomfort. The pain got progressively worse and by the time he rolled in for lunch we all decided (for him) that is was probably best not to continue and attempt the Pave and perhaps have a rest tomorrow so that he could recover and hope for the best. Hopefully some good news will follow.
I expected the days to be dominated by cycling, naturally... but with approx 12hrs a day out on the roads (incl. the feeding stops) and the level of bike admin necessary as soon as you arrive at the hotel. There is barely a minute to even think about anything else. My day is dominated by cycling, eating and sleeping. I am not doing enough of the third, but plenty of the first two. In fact the amount of food consumed is verging on the obscene... more on this tomorrow I think.
Tomorrow is another 5am rise. Joy! It is a shorter and easier day than the three previous days though.
S
Distance: 220.5km
Av Speed: 24km/h
Total Ascent: 1255m
Av HR: 125bpm
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