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The 2006 Etape du Tour and then some... Starting in Opio on the Cote d'Azur and finishing six days later with the Etape du Tour cyclosportif that follows the July 18 stage 187km of the Tour de France from Gap to Alpe d'Huez via the col d'Isoard, col de Lautaret and of course the epic finish up the 21 hairpins to Alpe d'Huez, this was the 2006 "Etape du Tour and then some..." Day 1 - Opio
to Lac St. Croix
From Opio we hit the hills and climbed from 200m above sea level straight up for a detour to the summit of the Haute Montet at 1350m before heading west to Lac St. Croix via one of France's most scenic roads along the Gorge du Verdon. 135km with a strong tail wind and a little kitesurfing in the evening on Lac St. Croix - first time anyone's done that! A great day. Day 2 - Lac St. Croix to Mont Ventoux
From Lac St. Croix we wound our way through the lavender fields ov the plateau de Valensole and the hills between Forcalquier and Sault to arrive at our B&B at Crillon-le-Brave at the foot of Mont Ventoux - with a quick detour to the summit of the Giant of Provence, meaning a 21km descent down on of the funnest descents you can do on a bicycle, into the village of Bedoin. Look for the marble line as you leave town to spot the "official" start of the climb up Ventoux. 190km, all tail wind, a few drops of rain near Sault, and a fine dinner at La Vielle Four in Crillon-le-Brave. Another great day! Day 3 - Mont Ventoux to Savines-le-Lac
Unlike previous years (2004: 450km of headwinds over 3 days...), on this year's trip we enjoyed perfect conditions - tail wind every day through some of France's most scenic cycling terrain. So on Day 3 as our route swung back east around the west flank of Ventoux, the wind generously shifted and blew us steadily towards our goal in Savines-le-Lac on beautiful Lac Serre-Poncon, near Embrun. In the morning the group split up and a friendly competition ensued between two groups: Those who wanted to ride via the Col de Perty and Orpierre to Laragne-Monteglin, and those who preferred the less hilly route (though 4.5km longer) via the D942. End result: The riders on the flat route arrived in Laragne about 30 seconds ahead of the col riders, despite their valiant attempt at speeds up to 57kph on the final 5km (flat roads with tail wind) to make it to lunch first. The rest of the day was spent recovering from the effort and another hearty lunch of sandwiches and cold drinks under the plane trees of Laragne. 180km, tail wind all the way, and happy to arrive for three days of accommodations lakeside in Savines.
As you can see in the map above, the area around Lake Serre-Poncon offers a wide selection of long climbs up some of the Hors Categorie climbs in the southern Alpes. We didn't do any of them. Instead, we tuned down a bit with a few short rides in the local hills. Some went kitesurfing, others rented a catamaran and sailed, others had a short run and some enjoyed a nice nap. Another fine day, great weather with sun and temperatures in the 30's, stunning lakeside views from the hotel restaurant's lakefront terrace. No complaints.
This was it - July 10, race day! 191km following the route of the July 18 stage of the 2006 Tour de France. From Gap to Alpe d'Huez via the col d'Isoard, col de Lautaret and the final climb up Alpe d'Huez, about 4000m of climbing in 35 degrees of heat. A little wind and no clouds meant a hot day and a tough final climb, but the group all made it without incident. Congratulations to John, Graham, Matt, Rhod, Ted, Rob, James and Andrew. Particular congrats to James and Andrew who made the Gold Qualification cutoff - both trained by toursdefrance.com's owner/operator Marc Becker, himself a two-time top-twenty finisher in the Etape du Tour. |
