Tour de France, Day 2 – Le Chazelet and TDF Stage 18
Day 2: Col du Lautaret to Le Chazelet return. 20 miles. Total ascent: 4,721 ft
Today we had our first encounter with the Tour de France. Stage 18 came right by our hotel, which sits at the top of Col du Lauteret and at the base of Col du Galibier. As a result, we needed to finish our ride before noon, when the roads were due to close. The route, therefore, was shorter and steeper than yesterday.
The morning was cold, 30s or 40s. We are in the mountains and the weather can shift quite a bit. Knowing the uncertainty involved, I had packed a variety of clothing including a base layer and my Castelli wool jersey. Only one wool jersey, unfortunately, and I think I will be wearing it every day. The descents can be extremely chilly and last for many miles. Even the climbs are subject to some cold winds, though overheating is a more usual problem. I have brought along my saddlebag, which is large enough to hold my windbreaker, and switched between windbreaker on/off and long finger gloves on/off, it is not perfect but works fairly well.
Our mountain was already crowded by 9am. People and cars were all over the road and getting through them was a challenge. The pedestrians were the worst, they would meander around the roads without even looking. Eventually we got through and began the descent to La Grave. I wish I’d had a helmet camera. It was an amazing scene with RVs from every country lining the road.
Descending to La Grave.
After reaching La Grave, we made a left turn and began the climb to Le Chazelet. This went along a balcony road, the ones that zig zag up along the side of the mountain. Once again, stunning views, and I took a large number of photos. The gradients were steeper than yesterday, getting into 10-11% for large amounts of time. That is fairly similar to Alpe d’Huez (I think) so it was good to get some practice. Overall very manageable, though I did not set any speed records.
View from Le Chazelet balcony road.
Once again, most of the group turned around early — not sure why they keep doing this! — but I pushed on to Le Chazelet and met up with a few others. Had an enjoyable cup of tea with Jenny and Gerald at an outdoor cafe.
At Le Chazelet with Jenny and Gerald.
We came back by reversing our route. This meant that we did the same climb from La Grave that we did yesterday. It felt much easier today. I had finally gotten some good sleep last night and the jet lag is over. By this time people were walking up the mountain to find a place to view the peloton, and many bikers were heading up as well. Thankfully the road was now closed to cars, though some would still come through now and then, plus the occasional bus would lurch into view and force everyone off to the side. Near the end I found a vendor with children’s bike shirts and I was able to buy two of them with team designs for my girls.
After taking a shower it was time for lunch. This was a buffet provided by the hotel, which did an outstanding job here and for today’s breakfast. Hotel Bonnabel was also the best location to see this stage of the tour. My room faces a field behind the hotel and helicopters were landing a few dozen feet in front of my window all day. Most of them were marked official “Tour de France” and one was labelled “VIP 1” but I never saw the celebrities they carried.
VIP helicopters at Tour de France landing at our hotel.
Stage 18 was a decisive one in the Tour this year. Andy Schleck broke away from the pack and gained a large lead over his rivals. The route they took included the climb from Briancon to Col du Lauteret that we had done yesterday. Unlike us, they then continued up Galibier (which we will tackle on Saturday). There were several options for watching the riders go by. There was a large teleprompter set up outside, so it was possible to watch the television coverage of the Tour (in French) while waiting out there. There were drummers, flags, people in funny costumes, and a general party atmosphere. At first I found a spot right on the road, behind one of the metal barricades. Something I had not appreciated from the television coverage at home, this event is a big advertising opportunity for French companies. They had cars drive by us with floats and people throwing swag into the crowd.
Waiting for the Stage 18 climb of Col du Galibier.
I stayed out here for an hour, but decided that the Trek viewing site would be better. It was a few feet back from the road but high up, so no one could block the view. And that is where I saw Andy Schleck fly by to begin his triumphant solo climb up Galibier. (If you can’t see the video below, click here.)
I also saw Cadel Evans, a few minutes later. Alas. I had hoped that Cadel might win this year. (Which is exactly what he went on to do. But at the time, with such a large gap and Alpe d’Huez seeming likely to increase it, I thought he was doomed.)
After the first sets of riders had come by, I went into the Trek tent to watch the TV coverage in slightly warmer air. The president of Trek, John Burke, was there. He was cheering on Andy Schleck quite heartily, as Andy is a member of the Leopard Trek team. Frank Schleck also had a memorable performance.
Inside the Trek viewing tent.
Trek Travel certainly came through on their promise to get us to the heart of the action for the Tour.
Bonus: After dinner, John Burke and Ben Coates (the head mechanic at Trek) stopped by to answer questions. This was pretty interesting. Among the topics: DI2 electronic shifting will get more affordable, major changes in road bike tech are coming in the next 3 years, aero road bikes are not worth it, best power to weight numbers are/were Cancellara and Armstrong. Tom Boonen has one of the highest power numbers overall but he weighs a lot. Tour winners need to be able to do 6.5-7 watts/kg for 30 minutes.
Tomorrow we get up bright and early for Alpe d’Huez, which we will be riding ahead of the peloton. Now that will be a crazy scene. I can’t wait.