Cyc'd European Tour 2014 - Day 7 Col de la Madeleine (and a lot of rule#9)

Odds were it was going to happen eventually, but our run of perfect weather ended abruptly at 3am when the heavens opened and the valley was engulfed in cloud. 

This awaking certainly dampened the spirits of the group,after a weeks worth of climbing most of us were probably just content to stay snuggled under the blankets rather than tackle another 2 cols. 

But in the Cyc'd spirit we donned our wet weather gear and saddled up for a cold (10oC) and rather wet trip out to our first Climb of the Day Col de la Madeleine. We decided to head out a little later, hoping that the weather would clear up for the climb. 

Sadly before we hit the base if the climb we got our second puncture of the tour with a massive slice to one of Matt's tyres. Bruce was very quick to lend a hand, with the section of tyre to patch up the slice. Unfortunately he'd slightly misunderstood the article on using a broken tyre, by keeping the broken section rather than the good section of the tyre. 

We all huddled for shelter under on overpass while we waited for the van and a new tyre. Once that was sorted we headed back onto the road headed for the Madeleine. 

With such an iconic climb the GoPros were the order of the day to ensure every moment was captured. The wet weather however made it difficult to tell if the cameras were actually working or not. 

The base of the climb found us at our rest stop and the van for a quick refuel before the road began to ascend. The feelings were mixed on how the climb would play out. I for one had tried a few to many attacks and chases to this point and my legs had waved the white flag. Many wanted to take it easy in the wet conditions and stopped for a few more photos than usual. Jason however saw this as a chance to pounce and attacked early sprinting away from the rest of the field. 

Matt and Craig soon gave chase (under the veiled disguise of "riding at my own pace"). 

Being a mountain that shares the name of my little one (at least phonetically) I posed for a photo before riding up with Stephen. 

Both nursing injuries we were happy to ride at an easier pace than previous Cols but still maintained some effort as we quickly gained some of the other climbers. 

The mountain was eerie with the mist rolling in over the mountains edge and spilling onto the road, often obscuring the view of the next turn. 

Everyone was in good spirits, despite the cold and the wet, happy to wave for the odd photo or two. 

Before long we'd managed to catch sight of the chasers Matt and Craig, but keen to keep their distance they upped the pace and neither Stephen nor I had the mental strength to start a chase, and they quickly disappeared. 

The gradients seemed to endlessly increase and we found ourselves grinding up the hill more with every mile marker that passed. The only thing that was keeping us rolling was the company and the stunning mist covered views as we rolled on. 

The 4km marker came around and we finally caught sight of Jason as he valiantly fought to keep his chasers at bay. In what seemed like an eternity we came with 2 km to go , yet the summit seemed an eternity away. Keen to stretch my now aching back I rose out of the saddle to finish the climb, which proved just too much for Stephen and despite cheering him on to catch my wheel we drifted apart. 

The last kilometre finally flattened out and we could roll easy to the finish line. Line honours today to Matt and Craig but with an amazing effort by the Dark Horse Jason for holding them off until the 4km mark to claim 3rd.

All happy to the at the top we retreated to the warmth of the coffee shop to await the other riders and to feed our unwavering caffeine additions, with the best yet to come. 

Over a few espressos we discussed the weather situation and decided that no one was in the mental (or physical) space to attack the Croix de la Fer in this weather. So it was agreed that we would tackle the descent in the wet conditions and from there to the hotel for some hot showers!

Descending the other side of Madeleine was sheer joy with more elevation lost in a shorter distance than the way we'd climbed and even with the wet and slippery corners brought a smile from ear to ear. 

We regrouped at the bottom for a bite to eat and for some impromptu bike washing in the nearby fountain.  

Our stay tonight is in the cycling friendly town of Saint Jean de Maurienne, where even the hotels are cycling specific. 

Despite cutting our ride short today we still covered 100km with over 3000m of climbing and the shorter route is a welcomed rest for some tired legs looking to tackle the Galibier at over 2600m followed by the most iconic of climbs Alpe d'huez. 

Strava

Galibier via Télégraphe

Saint Martin D'Arc, Rhône-Alpes, France

• Distance
   34.4 km
 
• Elevation
   1,919 m
 
• Grade
   6%

Men's Leaderboard

			Speed	Power	VAM	Time
	1	Aurélien gay	20.3km/h	290	1,134.1	1:41:31
	1	Loïc Ruffaut	20.3km/h	327	1,134.1	1:41:31
	3	Armand A	20.0km/h	83	1,117.0	1:43:04
	4	Bart Bury	19.9km/h	-	1,109.5	1:43:46
	5	Frederic Glorieux	19.9km/h	-	1,109.3	1:43:47
	6	rich velo	19.7km/h	247	1,100.5	1:44:37
	7	Mike Simpson	19.7km/h	-	1,098.0	1:44:51
	8	kristof houben	19.6km/h	272	1,094.4	1:45:12
	9	Enrico Zaina	19.3km/h	-	1,075.0	1:47:06
	10	POLVERONI DAVID	19.2km/h	251	1,074.1	1:47:11

Women's Leaderboard

			Speed	Power	VAM	Time
	1	Erica Magnaldi	15.9km/h	179	890.4	2:09:18
	2	Margriet de Beus	15.3km/h	204	853.4	2:14:54
	3	Peta McSharry	14.7km/h	178	818.2	2:20:43
	4	묘 묘	14.3km/h	207	796.7	2:24:30
	5	Karen Poole	14.0km/h	221	780.4	2:27:31
	6	Tanya Stawicki	13.9km/h	185	773.5	2:28:50
	7	Helen Bennett	13.7km/h	-	767.0	2:30:06
	8	Céline S	13.6km/h	138	761.2	2:31:15
	9	Rosamund Bradbury	13.3km/h	250	744.4	2:34:39
	10	Catharina Berge	13.1km/h	176	732.8	2:37:07

Strava

Alpe d'Huez "Vieil Alpe"

Le Bourg D'Oisans, Rhône-Alpes, France

• Distance
   11.9 km
 
• Elevation
   1,031 m
 
• Grade
   9%

Men's Leaderboard

			Speed	Power	VAM	Time
	1	Peter Pouly	18.6km/h	364	1,603.7	38:34
	2	Laurens ten Dam	18.2km/h	391	1,574.4	39:17
	3	Thibaut Pinot	18.1km/h	386	1,565.8	39:30
	4	Dean Murdoch	17.7km/h	408	1,530.9	40:24
	5	Mark Jong	17.4km/h	393	1,500.6	41:13
	6	Diego Van Looy	17.0km/h	353	1,467.3	42:09
	7	POLVERONI DAVID	16.9km/h	244	1,458.7	42:24
	7	Paul Oldham	16.9km/h	361	1,458.7	42:24
	9	Mike Simpson	16.9km/h	-	1,457.0	42:27
	10	Joris Ronflet	16.8km/h	350	1,450.7	42:38

Women's Leaderboard

			Speed	Power	VAM	Time
	1	Emmie the Poo	15.6km/h	-	1,348.9	45:51
	2	Lydia Boylan	13.4km/h	221	1,158.9	53:22
	3	Margriet de Beus	13.1km/h	172	1,127.9	54:50
	4	Rachael Elliott	13.0km/h	235	1,125.9	54:56
	5	Clare Miller	12.9km/h	-	1,114.7	55:29
	6	Call Your Mom	12.9km/h	209	1,111.4	55:39
	7	Louise Wong Min	12.6km/h	-	1,091.1	56:41
	8	Sarah McLachlan	12.6km/h	205	1,088.9	56:48
	9	Catharina Berge	12.5km/h	214	1,082.5	57:08
	10	PETITGIRARD Marlene	12.5km/h	167	1,081.3	57:12

Sunday: 

Green Socks -> Neil (from embrace) for making Eric climb the mountain while he drove the van and then taking the descent on the bike for the way down

Pink Socks -> James for taking on the descent of Madeleine even when only able to brake one handed.