(To avoid confusion note that the above profile is stage 18, not 17)
Yesterday I entered the TdF. In order to compensate for the weight of my panniers (have I mentioned that yet?), the lack of team mates, and other handicaps (talent?) I started 2/3 of the way through the race, midway on stage 17, at the base of the 1st category climb from Cesana to Sestrierre.
It was 3.30 pm before I rose from my park bench to start the race official, having already climbed 2 Cols and ridden 80ks to that point yesterday. With Chorizo and Camembert sandwiches fuelling me I made it up the 700m, 12k climb feeling a little fatigued.
At the feed stop at the top, instead of being passed a bag with everything in it, I popped into a supermarket and bought provisions including beer and wine. Such was the brilliance off my climb to Sestrierre I also had time to visit the Gelateria for a picolo cafe and chololati copo (the Tour is visiting Italy).
I then flew down the descent towards the finish of stage 17 in Pinerolo about 45ks away. With a decent gap to the chasing pack - they were on a rest day awaiting the start of stage 10 - I decided to soft pedal for a while, and take an overnight stop in Fenestrelle.
I continued Stage 17 this morning towards Pinerolo. It's a steady and long descent from Sestrierre, relatively easy for a chasing group to close to any successful climbing attacks. Luckily, I had a good lead of about 8 days, and I took this onto the 2nd category climb only 14k from the finish.
It's only a 400m, 7k climb, but I found it really tough. The gradient keeps changing, the road surface is rubbish and it's very steep in parts. And then the descent.... It's similarly badly surfaced for the first couple of k, and tight and twisty throughout. This climb, Col la Pra Martino, is where someone could do some damage to my lead when they come through in just over a week. A lead which would have been bigger today if they had bothered to put the finishing signs out for me in Pinerolo. I must have lost a good 10 mins in the GC looking for the finish...
Anyway, like a martyr, rather than take an overnight break in Pinerolo like the TdF boys will, I had an espresso and kicked on to stage 18, perhaps three most brutal and decisive of the TdF 2011.
Remembering too late that shops shut for most of the afternoonin Italy, I also went into stage 18 on an empty stomach! Ice cream, coffee and coke kept me going for the afternoon, but it massively affected my chances in the overall race, meaning that I took probably 4 hours (with stops) to do the 75ks to Sempeyre that my competitors will probably do in not much more than 1.5.
I stopped in Sepmpeyre, ready to tackle tomorrow the 2000m climb from here to the top of the Col d'Angello and then the 1000m climb of the Col d'Izoard. Believe it or not, despite the fact that I will probably take an overnight rest at that point, this still isn't the end of stage 18. I'll tackle that the day after, the climb to the finish in Galibier Serre Chevalier.
So to prepare for this daunting stage, I chose to forego the massage and pasta on offer and instead took up a kindly Italian couple's hospitality of wine, genapi, and more coffee. Then at 9pm I remembered to eat and here I am at 11.30 still typing away.
I think I need the attention of a team of strategists, nutritionists, masseurs, sports scientists and a mattress. That is surely the only thing holding me back from converting this massive lead into a race win. Oh, that and the panniers. Did I mention those?
Bon note (good night in Italian I think), James
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