I felt fit and strong throughout the weekend except I now appear to be taking a long time to recover as my legs have turned to jelly since my return 2 weeks ago. Haute Route Alps 2019. ( Log Out /  A lovely swooping descent into Serre Chevalier valley followed. And sure enough they did – what then followed was the most fun part of the HR so far – being in fast and cooperative chain gang and overtaking other groups in the valley. Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), VTT en Oisans / MTB in Oisans Translated (2019), The Plateau d’Albion: Missiles and Michelin Stars, Trophée du Muveran 2019 (8 Lessons from a Ski-Mo Newbie), 3 Peaks Cyclocross Race (5 things I wish I’d known), Directeur Sportif (Haute Route Dolomites 2018), Wilson Trail / Outdoor Hong Kong (Part 5), The X Files (Lessons learned in my first season of racing cyclo-cross), Granfondo Gassin Golfe de Saint-Tropez 2016, Rock Climbing in Switzerland (Practical Information), Tour de Mont Blanc (Practical Information). The views from the top were spectacular however! About. Because the first 8km was narrow and gravelly in places the organisers started separating us into pens of about 100 people for a staggered start, much to the consternation of those who arrived late, those who wanted to be in the “front group”, and those who had been separated from their friends. Wash kit, wash bottles. However as it’s for bikes only, the road builders dispensed with niceties such as the need for hairpin corners – what followed were ramps of up to 16%, an absolute killer with 3000m of climbing in the legs already. Prepare kit and bottles for the next day. Food consumed – 7 bottles, 3 Raw Velo bars, half a packet of Percy Pigs, several potatoes and cubes of cheese, a few bits of salami,4 crackers and 2 gels. Change ). “Just” the Cime de la Bonette and a few other lumps and bumps between us and the finish line on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice tomorrow. My legs were so trashed by now after the valley riding that I wondered several times how slow I could spin without falling over. Some years you’ll come across minimal snow, however, in others you’d be better on skis. It was a nice short day – we were finished by 1230. The Chamonix to Zermatt Haute Route Ski Tour The Alps' (okay, the world's) most famous ski tour. Next it’s off to the hotel (you have to find it first; I’ve been lucky in that my hotels have been within a kilometre of the race village; one some days people have had to ride another several kms), find your bag, check in. A 3am alarm to catch the early flight to Geneva meant that I was fast asleep by 1945 yesterday evening. The biggie. I finally managed to have my first decent night’s sleep since Stage 1. So this final blog installment is as much a recollection of events before our demented and glycogen depleted brains forget everything that happened, as it is to write home and tell everyone how much fun we had…. And finally, tomorrow is the “rest day” – just an ITT up the Izoard after breakfast. Tip for anyone doing a HR in the future – everyone turns up first thing in the morning to register and pick up their kit bags and jerseys resulting in long queues practically stretching out of the sports centre. At a gradient of only 3-5% for most of it (it steepens 6-7% towards the top) I knew that being in a group would make a huge difference. Stage 1 started with a neutralised start to the bottom of Bettex, the first climb. This is the 3rd time I’ve worked the kit check at a HR. The altitude was such at the summit that most riders resembled 2-pack-a-day smokers late for the bus. Nine hours on the bike today. Haute Route, the world’s leading cycling event series, and Colnago, the most storied cycling brand in the world, have announced an exciting new partnership. Unlike the rest of the week I even enjoyed this part. This year's edition will run north-south from Megève to Nice over seven timed stages on some of cycling's most famous Alpine climbs. Then it’s the 1830 briefing, dinner, repack bag and sleep ASAP before the alarm goes off at 5am. It’s a busy road that links Bourg d’oisans with Briancon. As we started down the ramp in reverse GC order, as an extra bonus we got to see the faster guys TTing up whilst descending back to the race village in Briancon. Think about that rider we all know with an ill-fitting high-viz jersey from Rebel Sports, crooked helmet, hairy legs, and an ungainly pedal stroke that says “my knees are entities unto themselves, and will go wherever, and whenever they choose in the act of motivating a push bike”. Haute Route Alps 2019. My main goal over the next few days is to try to adjust my body clock in order to be ready for Friday’s 630am flight from Gatwick! Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. For some time during this wet descent it was a reunion of the HR riders from Norway from just over months ago – Caroline, Amandine, Anders and myself. Geneva August 2017. Haute Route Alps 2019. Riders filtered into familiar groupings on the main climb. Preparing for a HR is obviously a lot of time on the bike for the several months leading up to it. Choosing to start the Walker’s Haute Route trail in late June is usually a safe bet … Luckily I managed to stay rubber side down on all the descents and manic group riding for 7 stages…but thanks to a lapse of concentration on the way to the hotel after the finish line in Nice, I fell off my bike whilst trying to mount the pavement to avoid being run down over by a tram! Starting in Megève in the Northern Alps the event covers over 8ookm in 8 stages over 7 days to finish on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice. There were a few more lumps and bumps along the way but no more significant climbs. 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