Web log created by the Foyle Cycling Club. The club aims to promote safe cycling in the North West of Ireland.
Wednesday, December 28, 2005
FCC - Trips abroad
Forum for all information relating to the planned trip by FCC to Italy, France etc..
2 comments:
Anonymous
said...
Gran Fondos are mass participation cycling events held in Italy. Officially they are races with numbers being worn etc. However with 3000 riders on the start line it’s impossible for everyone to race for the win! In fact the top riders are ex professionals and elites, this particular event even had Miguel Indurain riding as a guest. For the vast majority of riders the event is ridden at a somewhat slower pace covering 208km (125miles) and 4 major mountain climbs.
The event was first held on 25th June 1995, the day after the unveiling of the memorial statue of Tulio Campagnolo at the summit of the Croce d’Aune pass, the very pass that inspired him to create the quick release mechanism. This would also be the final climb of the event.
We flew out from the UK to Venice Marco Polo airport where we met up with the rest of the guys from the Graham Baxter Sporting Tours group, around 35 people in all. Bike boxes were loaded into a separate vehicle and we got onto a coach for the one and a half hour transfer to our base in the mountain town of Feltre. We arrived at the 4 star Hotel Casagrande. The location was fantastic, spectacular mountain scenery behind us, a supermarket right behind and a bike shop next door. The hotel was really clean and comfortable and apart from us bikies there were very few other guests.
First order of the day was to assemble the bikes and go for a short ride. Fortunately none of the bikes were damaged by the baggage handlers, but a few of the guys weren’t happy with how their bikes running. They later took them to the bike shop for a quick adjustment and everyone was really impressed with the speed and professionalism of the proprietor. One of the guys got a new spring put in his rear mech (Campagnolo of course) and then got the mech properly bolted onto his frame (prior to going to the bike shop it looked like it was going to cross thread). Cost? 2Euros! We found out that the bike shop owner was going to be helping out in the race doing bike servicing. We joked around that they would probably leave stranded any riders with Shimano well this was Italy and Campagnolo were the main sponsors of the event.
We assembled for the ride and it was agreed that we would go to what would be the first climb of the Gran Fondo, the Cima Campo. A few of the guys had ridden the event the previous year and so we followed their lead through town. Once out of town we blasted along at about 25mph for 10 miles to the bottom of the climb. It felt good to be in a fast moving bunch as it had been over a year since I last raced. My preparation for this event had been very short, a 4 week block of base miles, followed by a second 4 weeks of hill/strength training, pretty much all done on my own with only a heart rate monitor for company. It felt good to be back to the real world of following wheels and being surrounded by riders!
We got onto the climb and almost immediately a tractor pulled out in front of us not dangerous but it broke up the rhythm of the group. It wasn’t going that fast and it stank of exhaust fumes behind it so I decided to jump past, a couple of other riders also came past it. The first to catch up was my room-mate, Phil, a former marathon runner, he had only been riding for a couple of years but he looks so comfortable on the bike that you would think he had been riding a lot longer.
The climb was 19km long and took us to an altitude of 1410m. Phil rode away from me then another guy, Blair, from New Zealand, came up. We rode together for a few kilometres & I said he may as well chase after Phil. They waited at a water stop about 5km from the summit and after a while the rest of the boys came up. We decided to push on to the summit and after about 3km we came to a sign it wasn’t the top but most of the guys said they didn’t want to go any further and decided to back. I must admit that I was tempted to turn also, but Phil convinced me to carry on. As it turned out the last couple of kilometres were really easy, the climb opening up into a broad Alpine meadow, with spectacular views and the sound of cow bells in the air.
Now I’ve got to admit that I thought I was a good descender, but Phil was taking about 20 yards out of me on every hairpin and I couldn’t understand why! With his hands on the hoods, he seemed to lean the bike over in the direction of the bend, but at the same time move his body in the opposite direction to keep his centre of gravity over the tyre tread that was in contact with the ground. He later told me that it is a technique used in mountain biking, and when going round a bend you also slightly countersteer with the front wheel. Awesome! I had a practice using this technique in subsequent rides, but I couldn’t always co-ordinate myself properly, however when I did get it together I could actually feel the difference in speed and control.
Please note that the official Campagnolo website recommends that braking should be done on the drops, and that failure to use the proper braking technique can lead to serious injury or death! So use any other technique at your own risk!
Phil and I shared the pace-making on the ride back into town, it was slightly uphill and we kept the pace really high, my legs were killing me! Phil won the sprint for the town sign. A great little ride today.
The day before the Grand Fondo we went to the Sports Centre to collect our race numbers. For our 40 euro entry fee (around $40US) we got a goody bag containing magazines, coupons, a Campagnolo nylon shoe bag, an Enervit wet gear bag, power gels, race number, bike number, and best of all a Gran Fondo Campagnolo race jersey. Great value, the jersey alone must be worth 40 euros. If the jersey issued was the wrong size, you could swap it for a correctly fitting one at the Campagnolo stand.
The actual event was going to be timed overall, as well as the second and last climbs being individually timed also. The electronic transponders to record all this data for each individual rider was actually built into the race number! When it comes to cycle race organisation I reckon it must be hard to beat the Italians.
The sports centre had exhibition stands from a number of companies including Pinarello, Sportful (clothing), Selle Italia, Enervit etc. We all spent some cash buying up clothing at a bargain price.
Later that day Phil, Blair and I rode out to climb the Croce d’Aune. We’d agreed that we would ride very slowly as we wanted to save our energy for the next day. So we took it really easily, stopping to take photographs and generally having a good time. Of course we’d heard about the Tulio Campagnolo monument but we weren’t sure where it actually was on the climb. We were to find it right at the summit on the right hand side. My friend, Rob, who should have been on this trip, but had been badly injured by a car the week before, told me that he had never seen the monument, even though he had ridden the event for the previous 2 years. We took our photos in front of the monument and then headed back down. The descent was really smooth and fast and took us right into the cobbled roads of the town centre. We joined in for half a lap with hundreds of kids and families who were riding the MiniFondo fun event. We hung around and the organisers had Miguel Indurain talking to the kids on the podium. It was a really great atmosphere the town clearly made a big deal of this event.
I woke up on the morning of the big ride after about 6 hours sleep. That was apparently 6 more than Phil had as he told me he just couldn’t get to sleep, and this was a common problem for him on the eve of a big event. We went down to breakfast to find that we were the only people there! It seemed that everyone else must have got up really early. I wasn’t that hungry so just ate what I could.
It looked like it was going to be a hot day again. It had been in the 90s all week so it was going to be very important to keep well hydrated. We rode down as a bunch to the town centre and, after a bit of a delay, were lined up in groups according to our race numbers. We were in the 1500s which meant there were a similar number of riders both in front and behind us. It was an incredible feeling to be in a group of 3000 riders and it helped to detract from the nerves that I felt. Eventually we were able to set off it took us 10 minutes to get across the start line.
Heading out of town in the biggest bunch I’ve ever been in was something of an experience. Of course riding with so many strangers meant that I was a bit cautious about everyone’s bike handling skills, so I made sure I left an extra couple of feet space from the wheel in front. It was a bit dangerous in that already there were some riders on the road going quite slowly, whilst the riders around me were going quite fast. Already one or two riders were at the side of the road fixing punctures I kind of felt sorry for them having trouble so early on. A few kilometres later the road widened out and I got on the wheel of a really big guy. Suddenly there was a crash in front and everyone fanned out to avoid it. Only one guy came down and he was just sitting up in the road as I went past. Some of the guys on our trip, who passed the fallen rider a minute or two after me, said that he had blood all over his face his ride was over.
I’d become separated from Phil, I assumed he was behind me, and decided to slow down to wait for him. By this time I had started the climb of the Cima Campo and after a couple of kilometres decided to have a “comfort break”. I soon got going again and had hooked up with Phil. We rode really steady (“piano” as the Italians say) and a lot of riders were overtaking us, but we had our plan which was to take it very easy for the first half of the ride, and were going to stick to it. In fact we rode so easily that we were talking to each other most of the time and had an occasional chat with other English speaking riders as they came past us. We stopped at the water fountain about 5km from the summit for another comfort break and to fill up our bottles. At the top of the climb we stopped to take photos, much to the surprise of the other riders. We saw one of the guys from our group, Sean, go past and we hooked up with him for the descent. The first part was quite narrow and a couple of cars were in the way. We eventually got past and later the road widened out. On a false flat we came to a village and the first feed station. We stopped for drinks and to get whatever food we could. The organisers put on fantastic feed stations. There was always plenty to eat and drink and the people working at the stations were really friendly and helpful. I don’t speak much Italian but they really seemed pleased when they found out you were a foreigner. The water & feed stations were spaced out along the route so that the riders would be able to avoid de-hydration and keep well fed.
We met up with another of our guys, Dane, and had a chat with him too. By the time we left the first feed we had spent 17 minutes there. Well, we wanted to enjoy the day! The descent continued and we were passed by another of our guys, Stuart I think his name was, from Twickenham CC/Stairmaster. He was a pretty fast descender and I decided not to follow him. We came round a bend a few moments later and the road was full of goats being shepherded into the side. When we later spoke to Stuart he told us that he nearly crashed into them!
At the bottom of the descent the road split if you wanted to ride the medio-fondo (a shorter route) then you could turn right. For us of course it was straight on for the Gran- Fondo. More descending and I noticed that there was very heavy traffic coming the other way. I realised that, because of our relaxed attitude to time, taking photos, comfort breaks, talking, etc, the roads had been opened up to normal traffic we’d missed the road closure. Also, I think that we must have been pretty near the back of the field now for the Gran Fondo route.
There is virtually no valley work between the descent of the Cima Campo and the start of the Passe de Manghen. We passed under an electronic timer at the bottom of the climb as there is a classification just for this mountain. At first I was a bit angry with myself for dropping so far back down the field and was riding maybe 1 or 2 kph faster than I should have been. We started to pass a few riders and, reckoning we were quite near the back, I made a mental note to count the number of riders who overtook us. Phil told me to slow down a couple of times. The climb is 24km and there is no point in going too fast lower down as it is important to save energy for the top. On a cycloclimbing website, www.salite.ch, the climb is given a difficulty rating (based on length and steepness) of 141, harder than the Galibier at 128 and only a little easier than the Zoncolan (143) that was used in this year’s tour of Italy. We’d studied the profile the previous day and remembered what people had told us the last 8km is the steepest. So we kept in bottom gear (39x28) and just spun along. Around half way up we caught up another of the guys from our group, Oliver. The climb actually levels out a bit here and you can go quite fast for a kilometre or so. We chose to keep it steady and I had a bit of a stretch in the saddle I wish I hadn’t as I felt a twinge in the back of my right calf maybe it was going to cramp up later?
I’ve read elsewhere that the Dolomites have been described as the best (natural) architecture in Europe and, looking at the scenery around me I could see why. We were riding through beautiful pine forests, with tumbling streams on our left. To our right I could see the steep sided peaks of snow capped mountains thrusting towards the deep blue sky, like giant cathedral steeples rising up to heaven. I believe that this is the Marmolada. Spectacular is the only word to describe it. The road here was steep and unrelenting. Lower down the mountain I was pretty much spinning the bottom gear but on the final 8km I was certainly working hard to keep on top of it. If I’d had a lower ratio then I would certainly have used it. Despite its steepness, this area presented perhaps the best views of the ride, as our continued climbing around the hairpins revealed more and more mountain peaks in the distance.
After about another kilometre Phil told me to look up. I was expecting another fantastic Alpine panorama to have opened out, however that wasn’t what he was referring to. At what seemed about 500metres almost vertically in front of us, I could see a string of cyclists toiling their way up the climb. I couldn’t believe that anyone could be so much higher than us whilst remaining at such a close horizontal distance. I half expected to have to get off and do some rock climbing when we got around the next bend! Needless to say the road got even steeper.
Eventually we got to the top of the Manghen, 2047m, and stopped for the customary photographs. There was a feed station on a piece of false flat about 500m down the descent. We fuelled up and started on the main descent. I’ve already forgotten whether it was this decent or the next but at one point I was following a car downhill into a small town. I think he knew I was behind him and I left a safe space between us. However, a driver coming the opposite way decided to drive right up the middle of the road, heading straight for the car I was following. The driver in front of me had no choice but to slam his brakes on and that left me with about a second to react. Luckily I was able to jump the bike onto the pedestrian pavement on my right side and avoid a collision. After about 50 yards I rode back onto the road. Needless to say I was shouting out a few AngloSaxon profanities directed at the moron who’d been coming up the centre of the road.
At the bottom of the descent Phil was waiting for me and we hooked up for the valley section before the next climb. We’d been warned that this main road stretch was very hard to ride alone and it was best to form a group. Also, now that we’d come into the valley we’d lost the cooling effect of the altitude. It was absolutely boiling down here. Phil had brought a small spray on sun cream and we rubbed it over our arms and legs quite an interesting task when you are still riding. Eventually we picked up a few riders and had a group of about 10. It would have been better for everyone if each person did about 1 minute on the front and then swung off a few of the guys were on the front for far too long and the group split a bit before the end of the valley.
We turned off the main road, back into the lanes, and eventually got to a sign that said the Rolle summit (1970m) was 24km away. I must admit that I had a bad patch here I think it was to do with the fact that I wasn’t expecting the climb to be so long, also Phil wondered whether the sign was actually correct or not. Actually the first part of the climb wasn’t so steep but the second half was much harder than I expected. It was more of a main road drag with few variations in gradient and few hairpins. I guess it was more psychologically difficult due to the lack of variation, rather than being physically harder, but it is said that 80% of bike race suffering is in the mind well, I suffered. I was sick of the climb long before I got to the top. Phil was riding better than me at this stage and rode off with a few kilometres to go however the advantage of that was that he took my photo as I made the summit…cheers fella!
Another feedstop at the summit. We’d been advised the descent would take an hour(!) and that it was important to get well fuelled up to have sufficient energy for the final climb of the Croce d’Aune. We followed this advice to the letter. One old Italian guy said to take it easy for the first kilometre of the descent because there were a few hairpins, then after that it was all straightforward. I shook his hand and said thanks then we set off. Well he was pretty much correct. About halfway down, the descent gets less steep and starts to go through a few towns. On this side of the mountain there were a lot of rain clouds and some light rain. For a while I thought we would get a real soaking but it never came to anything. In fact I was glad of the rain as it helped to cool me down a bit as it had been so hot all day. We hooked up with a few riders and ended up with a bunch of about 15 guys. I did a spell on the front for a few kilometres then swung off. Phil did a massive spell, swung off and then all the Italians just looked at each other, unwilling to go to the front. Phil went back on the front and a headwind started I thought that he would really struggle. Luckily the road started to pass through a series of tunnels and they were protected from the wind. In fact we were really flying along, later Phil said we were doing over 40mph!
At the bottom of the descent there was a left turn and this took us straight on to the final climb, the legendary Croce d’Aune. Remember, it was the difficulties experienced by Tulio Campagnolo on this climb that inspired him to invent the quick release mechanism. Straight away there was a timing point to pass under, as this climb is separately classified too. We’d had it in mind to save some energy for this climb and to go up it at something like race speed. Remember though that we had already ridden 180km (112 miles) including 3 big climbs so we weren’t exactly fresh, there again neither was anybody else. We straightaway dropped the guys we had been riding with, and the first 7km of the climb weren’t too hard. Shortly after a drinks station, where the girls actually handed up the cups of drink as we rode by, the road got a lot steeper. We’d been told that the final 4kms were hard and they weren’t joking. Pretty soon it was obvious that Phil was chomping at the bit, raring to go over this final section, and we agreed to meet up at the finish. The top of the Croce d’Aune was, for me, a bit like the top of the Manghen being so steep all I could do was ride it at a steady pace. I didn’t really have the power to go any faster, but I certainly wasn’t shattered or blown. Life was made a little more pleasant a couple of kilometres from the top when a slim young woman, wearing the sexiest hot pants I’d seen for a long time, offered to pour water over my head. Of course the answer was yes.
I reached the summit (1015m) and put my helmet back on for the descent. Only 9 riders had passed me since I started counting at the bottom of the Manghen, mind you I was probably almost at the back when I started counting. I had taken 47 minutes to do the final climb and was 845th on the split, out of 2847 riders, which included all those who had done the shorter route. The descent is really pretty fast and well surfaced and takes the riders straight back into the cobbled town centre. I’d caught up with another guy but let him win the sprint after all I think I would have been pretty embarrassed sprinting for 995th place!
Phil was there and I found out later that he had taken my photo crossing the line. We waited a few more minutes for Stuart to cross the line, then we rode steadily back to the hotel where Stuart bought a round of celebratory beers. (The beers are on me next year mate!). For the record, I had taken 10 ¼ hours and finished 996th out of 1272 riders that completed the long route. However, my main objective had been achieved, which was to have a safe ride and to enjoy the day. I was also pretty satisfied with how I’d done given that I’d only trained for two months.
One of the great things about the weekend is that cyclists in Italy aren’t treated like second-class citizens. Also the whole focus of the area for that weekend is the Gran Fondo, so you feel really special being part of it. The organisation was fantastic and the sponsors were very supportive. The hotel put on a gourmet dinner that night and we all had a great time exchanging our stories of the day. Almost everyone said that they had enjoyed the ride so much that they would be back next year. Perhaps I’ll see you there?
FCC Trips Abroad I couldn't recommed these trips highly enough. Not only do you spend 6-8 months getting yourself ready but once there you realise that cycling on the continent is another world. The roads are stunning, the level of support is stunning, the weather is usually stunning (it beats January at the Complex anyway). PeterM and myself are setting off to do the Raid Pyrenean on the 21st of June and have to do 5 days back to back which will be very tough, obviously. I've never cycled there before and the magic of the names makes me dead excited - Tourmalet, Aubisque, Peyresourde... Am I sad?
2 comments:
Gran Fondos are mass participation cycling events held in Italy. Officially they are races with numbers being worn etc. However with 3000 riders on the start line it’s impossible for everyone to race for the win! In fact the top riders are ex professionals and elites, this particular event even had Miguel Indurain riding as a guest. For the vast majority of riders the event is ridden at a somewhat slower pace covering 208km (125miles) and 4 major mountain climbs.
The event was first held on 25th June 1995, the day after the unveiling of the memorial statue of Tulio Campagnolo at the summit of the Croce d’Aune pass, the very pass that inspired him to create the quick release mechanism. This would also be the final climb of the event.
We flew out from the UK to Venice Marco Polo airport where we met up with the rest of the guys from the Graham Baxter Sporting Tours group, around 35 people in all. Bike boxes were loaded into a separate vehicle and we got onto a coach for the one and a half hour transfer to our base in the mountain town of Feltre. We arrived at the 4 star Hotel Casagrande. The location was fantastic, spectacular mountain scenery behind us, a supermarket right behind and a bike shop next door. The hotel was really clean and comfortable and apart from us bikies there were very few other guests.
First order of the day was to assemble the bikes and go for a short ride. Fortunately none of the bikes were damaged by the baggage handlers, but a few of the guys weren’t happy with how their bikes running. They later took them to the bike shop for a quick adjustment and everyone was really impressed with the speed and professionalism of the proprietor. One of the guys got a new spring put in his rear mech (Campagnolo of course) and then got the mech properly bolted onto his frame (prior to going to the bike shop it looked like it was going to cross thread). Cost? 2Euros! We found out that the bike shop owner was going to be helping out in the race doing bike servicing. We joked around that they would probably leave stranded any riders with Shimano well this was Italy and Campagnolo were the main sponsors of the event.
We assembled for the ride and it was agreed that we would go to what would be the first climb of the Gran Fondo, the Cima Campo. A few of the guys had ridden the event the previous year and so we followed their lead through town. Once out of town we blasted along at about 25mph for 10 miles to the bottom of the climb. It felt good to be in a fast moving bunch as it had been over a year since I last raced. My preparation for this event had been very short, a 4 week block of base miles, followed by a second 4 weeks of hill/strength training, pretty much all done on my own with only a heart rate monitor for company. It felt good to be back to the real world of following wheels and being surrounded by riders!
We got onto the climb and almost immediately a tractor pulled out in front of us not dangerous but it broke up the rhythm of the group. It wasn’t going that fast and it stank of exhaust fumes behind it so I decided to jump past, a couple of other riders also came past it. The first to catch up was my room-mate, Phil, a former marathon runner, he had only been riding for a couple of years but he looks so comfortable on the bike that you would think he had been riding a lot longer.
The climb was 19km long and took us to an altitude of 1410m. Phil rode away from me then another guy, Blair, from New Zealand, came up. We rode together for a few kilometres & I said he may as well chase after Phil. They waited at a water stop about 5km from the summit and after a while the rest of the boys came up. We decided to push on to the summit and after about 3km we came to a sign it wasn’t the top but most of the guys said they didn’t want to go any further and decided to back. I must admit that I was tempted to turn also, but Phil convinced me to carry on. As it turned out the last couple of kilometres were really easy, the climb opening up into a broad Alpine meadow, with spectacular views and the sound of cow bells in the air.
Now I’ve got to admit that I thought I was a good descender, but Phil was taking about 20 yards out of me on every hairpin and I couldn’t understand why! With his hands on the hoods, he seemed to lean the bike over in the direction of the bend, but at the same time move his body in the opposite direction to keep his centre of gravity over the tyre tread that was in contact with the ground. He later told me that it is a technique used in mountain biking, and when going round a bend you also slightly countersteer with the front wheel. Awesome! I had a practice using this technique in subsequent rides, but I couldn’t always co-ordinate myself properly, however when I did get it together I could actually feel the difference in speed and control.
Please note that the official Campagnolo website recommends that braking should be done on the drops, and that failure to use the proper braking technique can lead to serious injury or death! So use any other technique at your own risk!
Phil and I shared the pace-making on the ride back into town, it was slightly uphill and we kept the pace really high, my legs were killing me! Phil won the sprint for the town sign. A great little ride today.
The day before the Grand Fondo we went to the Sports Centre to collect our race numbers. For our 40 euro entry fee (around $40US) we got a goody bag containing magazines, coupons, a Campagnolo nylon shoe bag, an Enervit wet gear bag, power gels, race number, bike number, and best of all a Gran Fondo Campagnolo race jersey. Great value, the jersey alone must be worth 40 euros. If the jersey issued was the wrong size, you could swap it for a correctly fitting one at the Campagnolo stand.
The actual event was going to be timed overall, as well as the second and last climbs being individually timed also. The electronic transponders to record all this data for each individual rider was actually built into the race number! When it comes to cycle race organisation I reckon it must be hard to beat the Italians.
The sports centre had exhibition stands from a number of companies including Pinarello, Sportful (clothing), Selle Italia, Enervit etc. We all spent some cash buying up clothing at a bargain price.
Later that day Phil, Blair and I rode out to climb the Croce d’Aune. We’d agreed that we would ride very slowly as we wanted to save our energy for the next day. So we took it really easily, stopping to take photographs and generally having a good time. Of course we’d heard about the Tulio Campagnolo monument but we weren’t sure where it actually was on the climb. We were to find it right at the summit on the right hand side. My friend, Rob, who should have been on this trip, but had been badly injured by a car the week before, told me that he had never seen the monument, even though he had ridden the event for the previous 2 years. We took our photos in front of the monument and then headed back down. The descent was really smooth and fast and took us right into the cobbled roads of the town centre. We joined in for half a lap with hundreds of kids and families who were riding the MiniFondo fun event. We hung around and the organisers had Miguel Indurain talking to the kids on the podium. It was a really great atmosphere the town clearly made a big deal of this event.
I woke up on the morning of the big ride after about 6 hours sleep. That was apparently 6 more than Phil had as he told me he just couldn’t get to sleep, and this was a common problem for him on the eve of a big event. We went down to breakfast to find that we were the only people there! It seemed that everyone else must have got up really early. I wasn’t that hungry so just ate what I could.
It looked like it was going to be a hot day again. It had been in the 90s all week so it was going to be very important to keep well hydrated. We rode down as a bunch to the town centre and, after a bit of a delay, were lined up in groups according to our race numbers. We were in the 1500s which meant there were a similar number of riders both in front and behind us. It was an incredible feeling to be in a group of 3000 riders and it helped to detract from the nerves that I felt. Eventually we were able to set off it took us 10 minutes to get across the start line.
Heading out of town in the biggest bunch I’ve ever been in was something of an experience. Of course riding with so many strangers meant that I was a bit cautious about everyone’s bike handling skills, so I made sure I left an extra couple of feet space from the wheel in front. It was a bit dangerous in that already there were some riders on the road going quite slowly, whilst the riders around me were going quite fast. Already one or two riders were at the side of the road fixing punctures I kind of felt sorry for them having trouble so early on. A few kilometres later the road widened out and I got on the wheel of a really big guy. Suddenly there was a crash in front and everyone fanned out to avoid it. Only one guy came down and he was just sitting up in the road as I went past. Some of the guys on our trip, who passed the fallen rider a minute or two after me, said that he had blood all over his face his ride was over.
I’d become separated from Phil, I assumed he was behind me, and decided to slow down to wait for him. By this time I had started the climb of the Cima Campo and after a couple of kilometres decided to have a “comfort break”. I soon got going again and had hooked up with Phil. We rode really steady (“piano” as the Italians say) and a lot of riders were overtaking us, but we had our plan which was to take it very easy for the first half of the ride, and were going to stick to it. In fact we rode so easily that we were talking to each other most of the time and had an occasional chat with other English speaking riders as they came past us. We stopped at the water fountain about 5km from the summit for another comfort break and to fill up our bottles. At the top of the climb we stopped to take photos, much to the surprise of the other riders. We saw one of the guys from our group, Sean, go past and we hooked up with him for the descent. The first part was quite narrow and a couple of cars were in the way. We eventually got past and later the road widened out. On a false flat we came to a village and the first feed station. We stopped for drinks and to get whatever food we could. The organisers put on fantastic feed stations. There was always plenty to eat and drink and the people working at the stations were really friendly and helpful. I don’t speak much Italian but they really seemed pleased when they found out you were a foreigner. The water & feed stations were spaced out along the route so that the riders would be able to avoid de-hydration and keep well fed.
We met up with another of our guys, Dane, and had a chat with him too. By the time we left the first feed we had spent 17 minutes there. Well, we wanted to enjoy the day! The descent continued and we were passed by another of our guys, Stuart I think his name was, from Twickenham CC/Stairmaster. He was a pretty fast descender and I decided not to follow him. We came round a bend a few moments later and the road was full of goats being shepherded into the side. When we later spoke to Stuart he told us that he nearly crashed into them!
At the bottom of the descent the road split if you wanted to ride the medio-fondo (a shorter route) then you could turn right. For us of course it was straight on for the Gran- Fondo. More descending and I noticed that there was very heavy traffic coming the other way. I realised that, because of our relaxed attitude to time, taking photos, comfort breaks, talking, etc, the roads had been opened up to normal traffic we’d missed the road closure. Also, I think that we must have been pretty near the back of the field now for the Gran Fondo route.
There is virtually no valley work between the descent of the Cima Campo and the start of the Passe de Manghen. We passed under an electronic timer at the bottom of the climb as there is a classification just for this mountain. At first I was a bit angry with myself for dropping so far back down the field and was riding maybe 1 or 2 kph faster than I should have been. We started to pass a few riders and, reckoning we were quite near the back, I made a mental note to count the number of riders who overtook us. Phil told me to slow down a couple of times. The climb is 24km and there is no point in going too fast lower down as it is important to save energy for the top. On a cycloclimbing website, www.salite.ch, the climb is given a difficulty rating (based on length and steepness) of 141, harder than the Galibier at 128 and only a little easier than the Zoncolan (143) that was used in this year’s tour of Italy. We’d studied the profile the previous day and remembered what people had told us the last 8km is the steepest. So we kept in bottom gear (39x28) and just spun along. Around half way up we caught up another of the guys from our group, Oliver. The climb actually levels out a bit here and you can go quite fast for a kilometre or so. We chose to keep it steady and I had a bit of a stretch in the saddle I wish I hadn’t as I felt a twinge in the back of my right calf maybe it was going to cramp up later?
I’ve read elsewhere that the Dolomites have been described as the best (natural) architecture in Europe and, looking at the scenery around me I could see why. We were riding through beautiful pine forests, with tumbling streams on our left. To our right I could see the steep sided peaks of snow capped mountains thrusting towards the deep blue sky, like giant cathedral steeples rising up to heaven. I believe that this is the Marmolada. Spectacular is the only word to describe it.
The road here was steep and unrelenting. Lower down the mountain I was pretty much spinning the bottom gear but on the final 8km I was certainly working hard to keep on top of it. If I’d had a lower ratio then I would certainly have used it. Despite its steepness, this area presented perhaps the best views of the ride, as our continued climbing around the hairpins revealed more and more mountain peaks in the distance.
After about another kilometre Phil told me to look up. I was expecting another fantastic Alpine panorama to have opened out, however that wasn’t what he was referring to. At what seemed about 500metres almost vertically in front of us, I could see a string of cyclists toiling their way up the climb. I couldn’t believe that anyone could be so much higher than us whilst remaining at such a close horizontal distance. I half expected to have to get off and do some rock climbing when we got around the next bend! Needless to say the road got even steeper.
Eventually we got to the top of the Manghen, 2047m, and stopped for the customary photographs. There was a feed station on a piece of false flat about 500m down the descent. We fuelled up and started on the main descent. I’ve already forgotten whether it was this decent or the next but at one point I was following a car downhill into a small town. I think he knew I was behind him and I left a safe space between us. However, a driver coming the opposite way decided to drive right up the middle of the road, heading straight for the car I was following. The driver in front of me had no choice but to slam his brakes on and that left me with about a second to react. Luckily I was able to jump the bike onto the pedestrian pavement on my right side and avoid a collision. After about 50 yards I rode back onto the road. Needless to say I was shouting out a few AngloSaxon profanities directed at the moron who’d been coming up the centre of the road.
At the bottom of the descent Phil was waiting for me and we hooked up for the valley section before the next climb. We’d been warned that this main road stretch was very hard to ride alone and it was best to form a group. Also, now that we’d come into the valley we’d lost the cooling effect of the altitude. It was absolutely boiling down here. Phil had brought a small spray on sun cream and we rubbed it over our arms and legs quite an interesting task when you are still riding. Eventually we picked up a few riders and had a group of about 10. It would have been better for everyone if each person did about 1 minute on the front and then swung off a few of the guys were on the front for far too long and the group split a bit before the end of the valley.
We turned off the main road, back into the lanes, and eventually got to a sign that said the Rolle summit (1970m) was 24km away. I must admit that I had a bad patch here I think it was to do with the fact that I wasn’t expecting the climb to be so long, also Phil wondered whether the sign was actually correct or not. Actually the first part of the climb wasn’t so steep but the second half was much harder than I expected. It was more of a main road drag with few variations in gradient and few hairpins. I guess it was more psychologically difficult due to the lack of variation, rather than being physically harder, but it is said that 80% of bike race suffering is in the mind well, I suffered. I was sick of the climb long before I got to the top. Phil was riding better than me at this stage and rode off with a few kilometres to go however the advantage of that was that he took my photo as I made the summit…cheers fella!
Another feedstop at the summit. We’d been advised the descent would take an hour(!) and that it was important to get well fuelled up to have sufficient energy for the final climb of the Croce d’Aune. We followed this advice to the letter. One old Italian guy said to take it easy for the first kilometre of the descent because there were a few hairpins, then after that it was all straightforward. I shook his hand and said thanks then we set off. Well he was pretty much correct. About halfway down, the descent gets less steep and starts to go through a few towns. On this side of the mountain there were a lot of rain clouds and some light rain. For a while I thought we would get a real soaking but it never came to anything. In fact I was glad of the rain as it helped to cool me down a bit as it had been so hot all day. We hooked up with a few riders and ended up with a bunch of about 15 guys. I did a spell on the front for a few kilometres then swung off. Phil did a massive spell, swung off and then all the Italians just looked at each other, unwilling to go to the front. Phil went back on the front and a headwind started I thought that he would really struggle. Luckily the road started to pass through a series of tunnels and they were protected from the wind. In fact we were really flying along, later Phil said we were doing over 40mph!
At the bottom of the descent there was a left turn and this took us straight on to the final climb, the legendary Croce d’Aune. Remember, it was the difficulties experienced by Tulio Campagnolo on this climb that inspired him to invent the quick release mechanism. Straight away there was a timing point to pass under, as this climb is separately classified too. We’d had it in mind to save some energy for this climb and to go up it at something like race speed. Remember though that we had already ridden 180km (112 miles) including 3 big climbs so we weren’t exactly fresh, there again neither was anybody else. We straightaway dropped the guys we had been riding with, and the first 7km of the climb weren’t too hard. Shortly after a drinks station, where the girls actually handed up the cups of drink as we rode by, the road got a lot steeper. We’d been told that the final 4kms were hard and they weren’t joking. Pretty soon it was obvious that Phil was chomping at the bit, raring to go over this final section, and we agreed to meet up at the finish. The top of the Croce d’Aune was, for me, a bit like the top of the Manghen being so steep all I could do was ride it at a steady pace. I didn’t really have the power to go any faster, but I certainly wasn’t shattered or blown. Life was made a little more pleasant a couple of kilometres from the top when a slim young woman, wearing the sexiest hot pants I’d seen for a long time, offered to pour water over my head. Of course the answer was yes.
I reached the summit (1015m) and put my helmet back on for the descent. Only 9 riders had passed me since I started counting at the bottom of the Manghen, mind you I was probably almost at the back when I started counting. I had taken 47 minutes to do the final climb and was 845th on the split, out of 2847 riders, which included all those who had done the shorter route. The descent is really pretty fast and well surfaced and takes the riders straight back into the cobbled town centre. I’d caught up with another guy but let him win the sprint after all I think I would have been pretty embarrassed sprinting for 995th place!
Phil was there and I found out later that he had taken my photo crossing the line. We waited a few more minutes for Stuart to cross the line, then we rode steadily back to the hotel where Stuart bought a round of celebratory beers. (The beers are on me next year mate!). For the record, I had taken 10 ¼ hours and finished 996th out of 1272 riders that completed the long route. However, my main objective had been achieved, which was to have a safe ride and to enjoy the day. I was also pretty satisfied with how I’d done given that I’d only trained for two months.
One of the great things about the weekend is that cyclists in Italy aren’t treated like second-class citizens. Also the whole focus of the area for that weekend is the Gran Fondo, so you feel really special being part of it. The organisation was fantastic and the sponsors were very supportive. The hotel put on a gourmet dinner that night and we all had a great time exchanging our stories of the day. Almost everyone said that they had enjoyed the ride so much that they would be back next year. Perhaps I’ll see you there?
FCC Trips Abroad
I couldn't recommed these trips highly enough. Not only do you spend 6-8 months getting yourself ready but once there you realise that cycling on the continent is another world. The roads are stunning, the level of support is stunning, the weather is usually stunning (it beats January at the Complex anyway).
PeterM and myself are setting off to do the Raid Pyrenean on the 21st of June and have to do 5 days back to back which will be very tough, obviously. I've never cycled there before and the magic of the names makes me dead excited - Tourmalet, Aubisque, Peyresourde... Am I sad?
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