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Peter O'Shea's L'Etape 2006 Page
26th August What have I done. I've read loads about this year's L'Etape du Tour and I get the feeling that I must have been on a different ride. Yes, I started at 07:00 (okay I crossed the start line at about 07:20), I rode with thousands of other cyclists going in the same direction, rode over the Col d'Izoard, Col du Lautaret and, finally up to L'Alpe d'Huez (what a stinker). It took me 8hrs 10mins and 22secs. It was hard, but was it that hard. I must have just got it right this year. It was bloody hot and starting the final climb at 14:00, the hottest part of the day, was not the best idea. The day started with a small disaster. I left my drinks bottles back at the camp site. You can imagine my panic when I realised that they were missing. Ah, I said, I'll ring Christine and she can bring them down. NO answer. Tried again, and the same result. It was about 06:35, I was in the starting pen and I was not in the best frame of mind. I knew that Christine and Colum were coming down to the start, so I was looking everywhere to see if I could see them. 15 minutes to go and my birthday just arrived. I spotted Christine and started to shout over across the other riders. I told her my fate and other riders started help to transmit the messages between us. Fortunately, Colum being Colum, he prepared two bottles for himself. He had no option but to help good auld Dad and give me his bottles. Thanks be to Jeasus. Now you can see how I don't see what all the fuss was about during the ride. On the road eventually and off up the valley to Guillestre and, the first and highest climb of the day, the Col d'Izoard. There was one minor problem. At the first feed station the road narrowed to about the width of a car. As you would expect when 7,500 cyclists try to cycle through at nearly the same time, everything grinds to a halt. And it did. A mad smash and grab session issues for about two minutes, you top up your bottles and off you go with stacks of litter left in your wake. Not just mine, I must add. After breaking fee, we started the ride up the first climb. The route took you through a fantastic gorge. It was still quite cool as we were out of the sun for a short while. This was soon to end and we broke out into blazing sunshine quite low down on the climb. The key element to the climb was to take it steady as it was about 25 miles and it climbed more than 4,500 feet. There were still plenty of riders about at this stage. I progressed nicely. As you gain height, the gradient started to steepen. Before you reach the summit, you leave a flat open plain and start zig zagging up on steeper roads to the top. The condition of the roads up to, and including this point, was good. Made it to the top and replenished by water supply. Now, the first descent of the day. What lay ahead was about 3,500 feet descent to Briancon over about 14 miles. It was fast, damn fast. Down and through Briancon in no time at all. I carried on up the Col du Lautaret without stopping at the feed in Briancon. I had not idea of time, so I couldn't get a feel how I was going. As I left Briancon, I noticed the British Track team taking a stop in the shade. Never saw them again. The climb up the Lautaret was long and one hell of a drag. The head wind didn't help one bit either. It must have been about midday and it was getting very hot. Plenty fluids were needed now as well as SIS Gels, Fig Rolls and Jelly Babies. By the time I reached the top of the Lautaret, I was boiling over. There was a fountain at the top, where you could top up your bottles. There were marshalls on hand to keep everything in order. People were starting crack at this stage. Now for the biggest descent of the day. I thought that this would be quick, but no. The bad road surface and the continuing head wind kept your speed right back. It was a long run down the valley. There were some long tunnels on the way as well. Eventually I arrived at the bottom of the Alpe. Stopped to top up on the fluids and continued. I had never seen the Alpe climb in real life before, so I could go on what I have read and seen on the telly. 21 bends and 14 kms to the top. I thought that the first bend was at the bottom, but no it is about 1km after you start climbing. The climb starts steeply, 12-13%. First bend, one down and 20 to go. The numbers on the bends count down as well as the height to climbed to the top. There are plaques on each bend with the names of previous winners of a TDF stage on the Alpe. Bend 20 comes soon after. It is hard. You've been riding for over 6 hours with more than 100 miles done. You hope you are not going to pop. All round you there are riders looking like they are about to explode. Bend 19 comes and goes. The bends are great, because you get some relief from the gradient as it flattens on the bends. It's still quite steep at this stage. It's hot, you need to drink all the time. Some riders take advantage of what little shade there is. There are rivers flowing across the road. At one point there was a light water spray. You just wanted to ride under it all the way to the top. Supporters were on hand to pour water over you. It was cold initially, but my God, it was good. I got to just over half way to the summit, bend 8, and decided to stop for a rest. I needed to top up my drinks bottles. I had no more water. A Swedish lady informed that there was a tap at the next bend. It was a miracle. Just what the doctor ordered. I was revived. From here I rode really steady and comfortably. 93 minutes after starting the climb, I arrived at the top. I even managed to beat another rider on a sprint to the line. He wasn't going to get past at all costs. 15:30. Finished a pretty tough day out. No picnic, but more importantly no cramp or ill affects from dehydration. The next bit was probably the trickiest of the whole. I had to ride back down the Alpe to Le Bourg d'Oisan. I had to dodge thousands of other riders coming up. I passed Nigel Armstrong, another Manx based entry, on the way down. I met up with the family at the bottom. It was just magical. I was shattered, but I was still able to hold myself up. Just as well, we had to do some food shopping and some walking as the van was some distance from the campsite. Tents were pitched and eventually, after cooking dinner, I was able to stop. We had two more days on the bikes after that. Colum and I rode up the Col de Croix de Fer two days after L'Etape. Great place for riding a bike, but you have to prepared for hills.
15th May With less than four weeks left until L'Etape, I have recorded my best 10 yet and broken into the 23s. If I could ride at that pace on L'Etape, wow. Be real here. I am looking to beat last year's time of 6hrs 56mins, although it is on a different route. Training is on-going and I managed quite well during TT to get some hilly miles in down south. I did attempt to ride a race across last weekend as I'm missing the races here due to commitments with Colum and Christine. I'm even missing the MTT. Bummer. This week we've had the 10. Did I mention that I recorded my PB of 23:59. The Bikestyle is this evening, so that'll be good, although I have no expectations. While in France next week, I will be riding the 110 mile route of Christine's Ironman. That'll be my last biggie before the big day on 10th July. Don't forget to sponsor me. I am riding on behalf of the charity, Get Kids Going (more details of the charity are available on www.getkidsgoing.com). I have left a sponsorship form in Bikestyle. You can also sponsor me through www.justgiving.com/pos-etape2006. I will keep you posted on developments.
8th May I have been very remiss about providing any updates for my lead up to L'Etape. Training has been quite different from last year since I actually started with a base from last year, whereas I began from ground zero after my knee op then. The winter has been pretty good with some excellent club runs, mainly with the younger riders, which has not been the easy option. I did venture out with the spudders on one occasion. Racing is going fairly well with 11th being my best relative position in the tens league so far with a time of 24:23. I have ridden in two road races, Tour of the Middle and the Roy Killey, as well as the 2up 25 MTT. In early March, Christine and I went to Lanzarote for some warm weather training. Unexpectedly, it included some quality resistance training as well, since it was very breezy most days. To add to the resistance training, a lot of the road surfaces were very rough and it's quite lumpy over there as well. No rain thankfully. We were there for 10 full days and with only one rest day, I managed 510 tough miles. Christine was out for 8 days riding and completing 320 miles. Christine is training for an Ironman event in Nice in June. The first real long distance training ride of the year, was the Fred Whitton Challenge in the Lake District, on Sunday May 7, 2006. The route must be one of the toughest for a Sportive Event in the UK. It goes over all the passes in the Lakes including the two nasties, Hard Knott and Wrynose. Christine and I completed the route without (?) all our body parts intact. The ascents are steep and require some tenacity, low gears or a good pair of legs for walking uphill. You would think, though, that when you got to the summit your troubles were over. Not a chance. On Honister, there were two nasty accidents. This wet conditions made some of the corners a touch slippy. That wouldn't be so bad except the descents are damn steep. Holding your brakes is quite difficult when it's steep. My hands were nearly locked in position by the time I had completed the descent of Wrynose. A tough day out, taking nearly 9½ hours. Slow, but it's not a race and in these events it is important to pace them correctly, so you have something left in the tank for the hard bits at the end. A bit of rest for a day or so, and then back to training. Just two months, now, to the big event. I've just received my number and it's around 5,500. That'll give me something to chase to ensure that I don't get stuck behind other riders at the tops of the climbs. Keep watching. I will be reporting more later. Regards, Peter J O'Shea
22nd February It's about time I launched my fundraising for 2006 on this year's Etape. It's a daunting one this year with L'Alpe D'Huez to finish you off. Total distance this year is 187kms. In conjunction with this onerous task, I am collecting money for a UK based charity, "Get Kids Going". Details about this charity can be found on www.getkidsgoing.com. I have set-up a web page again if you feel you wish to donate any money to help me on my way. This can be found on www.justgiving.com/pos-etape2006. Money by any other means is also welcome. Training is on-going. I'm just back from some altitude training in the Wicklow Mountains just south of Dublin. The misty conditions added atmosphere to the ride. You may remember I attempted to get some "warm weather training" this time last year. I failed then, but this year, I'm travelling further south to Lanzarote. I should have a better chance of finding some warmer weather there. I will have my personal cheer leader with me as well. The training, this year, will include the Fred Whitton Challenge in the Lakes in May. Other events have not been finalised. The Gorey 3 Day may be on the cards, but the travel to and from Ireland is rubbish this year. The local calendar is pretty full, so I should be kept busy. More dispatches as the weeks and months progress |
