September 19, 2014 (Biarritz, Spain) – Another seven-day Haute Route Stage Race completed! I admit, the excitement of racing in these epic events keeps luring me to come back. The Haute Route Pyrenees road cycling stage race was Sept. 1-7, 2014 – a seven-day point-to-point event across the Pyrenees from Ripoll (100 km north of Barcelona) to Biarritz on the Anglet Coast of Spain. The total course distance was 790 km gaining over 19,500 elevation metres.
This event provided a great way to satisfy my competitive spirit by getting to ride up and down epic Cols in Europe on a set course with other racers.
The Pyrenees event was the 3rd stage race of three Haute Route events that OC Sport organized which were held in a 3-week period.
- The 1st stage race was in the Dolomites/Swiss Alps Aug. 16-22 from Venice to Geneva.
- The 2nd stage race was in the French Alps Aug. 24-30 from Geneva to Nice.
- The 3rd stage race was in the Pyrenees Sep. 1-7 from Ripoll to Anglet.
With the intrigue of the new course in the Dolomites event (344 riders) and the popularity of the annual Alps event (396 riders), the Pyrenees event had a smaller crowd (201 riders) – this final group included 15 women.
A total 11 riders took on the Triple Crown challenge attempting to complete all three Haute Route events in a row – 10 of these riders started the Pyrenees event.
At the Pyrenees event, the majority of the riders were from the UK – 28%, Canada – 14% and France – 12%. The rest, almost half the riders were from 26 different countries. There was good representation from Canada with 27 riders – 23 men, 4 women.
Along with cycling on average 130 km with 3,000 metres elevation gain per day (excluding the shorter time trial day), there was not a moment to spare with either prepping for the next stage or joining in on post-race activities with fellow riders… lunch meal, awards ceremony, briefing, massage, travel to hotel, and the aperitif party.
The wheeled bags provided to each rider were transported to the rider’s accommodation. Massage and osteopath care was available post-race daily. Mavic support, which included the yellow cars following the race, were ready for any bike issues.
The bibs provided that riders pinned on their backs showed their race number, country flag and name. Seeing these helped me know who I was riding with.
Each night, the race briefing was given in both English and French. The general briefing of the race course was provided as well as warnings on dangerous road sections and construction.
The lure to go to the race briefing was the aperitif party held afterwards. French hors d’oeuvres, meats and cheese were offered along with free Heineken beer.
Day 1 – Ripoll to Font-Romeu 93 km / 2500 m+ / 1400 m-
The early morning began with a 7:15 a.m. bus ride from the race hotel to the race start in Ripoll, 100 km north of Barcelona. At registration the prior day, bikes were loaded onto a truck and transported overnight to Ripoll. Upon arrival, riders picked up their bikes from the secured gymnasium with time to relax in the village centre before the 10:30 a.m. start.
The atmosphere amongst the riders was quite calm, while a few new riders exchanged nervous smiles.
OC Sport’s organization at this event gave a real pro feel to it. The race was lead out by motorcycles and a pace car for a neutralized loop around the village. The route was well marked with yellow signs with directional arrows.
At any village intersection, a local volunteer, or sometimes police, controlled traffic. The number of cars on the roads was minimal unlike the busier roads in the Alps.
During the first two days of racing, the peloton was anxious while riders figured out where they belonged. The angst for position resolved quickly by the 3rd day when the legs were heavier and the effort seemed greater!
Myself, I had a brilliant Day 1 racing as the grading was reminiscent of my Okanagan training rides prior to the event. I broke away early and finished as the top woman. This was unexpected as a couple strong women were in the front peloton. I was awarded with the red Leader’s jersey, with Caroline Kopietz from Germany only 4 minutes back.
It was impressive to have two Triple challenge riders, Paul Hamblett and Nicolas Raybaud, in 1st and 2nd overall, respectively. The top seven men were 36 seconds apart.
Day 2 – Font-Romeu to Ax 3 Domaines 120 km / 3000 m+ / 3400 m-
As the Haute Route event is claimed as the “Highest and Toughest Cyclosportives in the World”, the organizer planned each day’s course to include at least a few epic Cols, some well-known in the Tour de France. While the grading might not be too bad to climb one Col with fresh legs, cumulatively riding a few Cols in a row took its toll by the last climb in the day.
The start was early in the cool morning air with a 9 km neutral section descent. An official race car and a few motorcycles lead out the peloton at a controlled pace.
Once all riders squeezed over to the right hand side of the road to go over the narrow timing mat, each rider’s official timing began. It looked similar to a herd of cattle getting funneled into a chute as racers were temporarily bottle-necked.
The racer plate attached on the front of the bike was time chipped. Timing mats were situated along the course, usually at the bottom and top of major Cols. The results ended up very Strava-like with overall individual timings and rankings, as well as separate timings up each of the epic Cols. Fun to scour over the results to see who had a better day up a certain Col.
A few select roads had non-timed sections. The timing was stopped by racer time-chip at the top of a Col, with the timing restarted after a descent. This was generally for safety concerns and allowed the rider a more leisure descent.
For the first half of the stage, three of the women stuck together: me, Caroline Kopietz from Germany and Amy Brice from UK who is the only Triple Crown challenge rider.
Around the 90-km mark and into the most epic climb of the day Col du Port de Pailhères (1,207m over 14.9km) I rode off with Caroline as she pulled strongly into the wind. It was painful to cling onto her wheel though better than facing the wind alone if I dropped off her pace.
By the top, I was shattered and stopped to refuel at the feedzone. Caroline had support which passed her what she needed as she rode by.
I descended with a small group of riders. After we passed through a village at the bottom, I was in survival shuffle mode at the start of the last climb up to the ski resort Ax 3 Domaines.
By the end, I lost 10 minutes to Caroline with Amy finishing within 40 seconds after me. Bye-bye leader’s jersey!
The men had a change of finishing order which put Cyril Tiné from France in the leader’s jersey. Five Canadian riders finished within 6 minutes of each other placing 29th to 33rd (Geoff Watts, Marg Fedyna, Bevan Hughes, Jon Bula, Ronald Murray).
Day 3 – Ax Les Thermes to Bagnères-de-Luchon 162 km / 2550 m+ / 2600 m-
Riders placing in the top 75 Global or General Classification (GC) time were allowed entrance into the 1st wave. It was usually easy to find a good starting spot in the wave. This day, I decided to start at the back of the 1st wave of riders with a relaxed pace. My intention was to allow my body recovery time, especially to help get over my cough that crept up at night.
It was great to ride within a new group of riders and meet new people. My heavy legs at the start began to loosen up during the ride. Bonus with the relaxed pace was I felt strong on the last two climbs of the day.
The last climb was epic Col de Menté (449m over 6 km) with its many tight switchbacks and steep gradient. With my relaxed pace strategy, I lost over 9 minutes in GC time to Caroline though it was well worth it for my recovery time.
Day 4 – Bagnères-de-Luchon to Angelès-Gazost 119 km / 3600 m+ / 3800 m-
The amount of elevation gain had me concerned, yet I took off like a rabbit and followed the lead group. The pace reminded me of a fast training group ride like I had been recently on at Kelowna’s Sunday ride.
Soon the logic that three big climbs were ahead, and that my breathing was heavy, had me drop back and hover alone. After I crested the summit and descended the tight corners, the peloton finally caught me on the flats, which brought along both women.
Next climb, the group broke up very quickly as we rode to the summit. Eventually, I was with a group of 7 guys as we rode to the base of Col du Tourmalet (1,270m over 17 km). This climb was epic, challenging, and super steep the last few km.
Summiting alone, with 38km to the finish I rode the descent fast and furious with the fear of a peloton bringing the women to me again!
Only one rider caught me with 13 km to go. I welcomed Triple Crown challenge rider Paul Donnelly from UK as we rode to the finish together. Well, he did most of the work as the grade was flatter.
Despite a crazy hard start, I had a solid day and was surprised to overcome the huge GC time from Caroline. Krzysztof Skupke of Germany won the stage. The next three riders finished together (Cyril Tiné FR, Tristan Cowie US, Andrea Nicosia IT) which allowed Cyril Tiné to keep his GC lead. It was a very tight men’s race.
Day 5 – Col du Tourmalet TIME TRIAL 18.5 km / 1500 m+ / 0 m-
Since the time trial event started in a nearby village, there was extra rest time as we stayed in the same hotel for 2 nights.
The time trial course was only 18.5 km. With the start in Luz-Saint-Sauveur there was an 18 km ride to get there. Total mileage for the day was deceivingly 73 km.
Riders were seeded from slowest to fastest GC times. Every rider started off 30 seconds apart from the starting ramp.
The course was up the side of Tourmalet that we descended the prior day. Most of the grade was a steady 7% until the steeper switchbacks in the last few kilometres.
At the top of the Col, it was like a party with riders from earlier start times all over the roadway. Photos were taken in front of the amazing background scenery and with the statue of Octave Lapize. The statue was put up in honour of Octave who was the first racer to the top of Col du Tourmalet held in the Tour de France in 1910.
Tristan Cowie from US was the only rider who broke 1 hour (59:12) with Paul Hamblett in 2nd just over 1 minute back. Top 4 men in the GC were within 4 minutes of each other while Cyril Tiné still held his GC lead.
Geoff Watts and Jon Bula from Canada both had good efforts finishing 17th and 20th, respectively. All 4 Canadian women put in solid efforts with Barb Sweeney 5th woman.
Day 6 – Argelès-Gazost to St-Jean-Pied-de-Port 150 km / 3350 m+ / 3600 m-
Much of the same course was ridden in 2013, though in foggy and rainy conditions. It seemed like a new course in the brilliant weather conditions.
The first climb started immediately upon leaving the village. I was with a solid group of 18 riders who stayed together for the average 7% climb up Col du Soulor (967m altitude gain over 18.5km).
Short descent, then the group dwindled to nine riders as we had a short climb up Col d’Aubisque (240m altitude gain over 10km). Along the way we followed an awesome meandering ridge road before we summitted.
After the summit, I continued on the fast twisty descent on my own. Around a sharp corner, l quickly slowed to negotiate my way through a large herd of cows. Once safely past, I just had to avoid any slippery cow-patties on the narrow switchbacks on my fast descent.
By the bottom, 9 riders grouped up again and worked together through the next rolling 40 km stretch to the base of the 4th climb Col d’Ahusquy (833m altitude gain over 14.5km).
The road was rough and narrow, Canadian bike-path size, with a yellow line painted down the middle for guidance not so much that a car width actually fit on one side. The landscape was lush green with hills very close together. Looked like the Pyrenean back-country!
This climb was super steep! The grade ranged of 11% to 15% quite consistently, ouch! I hovered at the back of our group and eventually rode to the summit solo.
Fortunately, the descent was an untimed section. It was the narrowest bumpiest 11% grade on a road barely used. At the bottom, groups formed to ride the final 11-km timed section to the finish.
Paul Hamblett (UK) and Andrea Nicosia (IT) tied, with the Leader’s jersey passed over to Andrea.
Day 7 – St-Jean-Pied-de-Port to Anget Basque Coast 115 km / 1800 m+ / 1900 m-
As much as everyone was excited for the last day of racing, it was with sad feelings we knew life in the cycling bubble world was soon over – for now.
It was a tough day racing for the men as the top four men in GC were within 3:33 minutes of each other. Previous race leader Cyril Tiné was in a close 4th place GC and wanted a podium spot while the top three men hoped to keep their spots.
With an 8:30 a.m. start, it was a luxury to have that extra 1 hour sleep. The weather was warm and humid, with a feel of the ocean air already.
The course had three climbs relatively 400m of ascent each at around 5% grade over 7 km. Quite mild compared to the last six days! The course rolled through the countryside of Spain and France.
As I lead a few guys up the last climb of the day, it was awesome to get cheers from one of the guys following. Race timing officially ended at the top. Lots of hugs and kisses were shared amongst riders and support.
Riders made their way to the resort beach village of St-Jean-de-Luz, 15 km away, to wait for all the riders to congregate. After a few hours of beach time, lunch, and chilling we all rode another 25 km to the final destination in Biarritz in convoy at a controlled 20 kph. Although the day was long, the ride back gave time to socialize with the riders.
It was an exciting race for the men as Andrea Nicosia from Italy (1st) worked with Paul Hamblett from UK (2nd). They helped Cyril Tiné from France (3rd) regain a spot on the podium while he edged US rider Tristan Cowie out from 3rd GC spot the prior day. Triple Crown challenge rider Paul Hamblett finished an impressive 54 seconds after Nicosia in GC!
With the women’s leader jersey not in jeopardy, I worked with the guys, had fun though kept focused to stay upright.
Marg Fedyna from Canada in 1st, Amy Brice from Ireland finished 2nd and was the only woman to complete the Triple Crown challenge, with Pauline Sabine from France in 3rd.
A total of Triple Crown Challenge Riders finished! Nicolas Raybaud who was on target to place top three GC hurt his collarbone on the descent of Tourmalet Day 4. He is excited to contend the Triple Crown Challenge in 2015.
Conclusion Concluding feelings was the Pyrenees race had a real nice atmosphere about it. There was opportunity to meet most every rider at some point or another, and volunteer or staff. The groups of riders I rode with were great to work with!
The riding was superb with the epic climbs, fast descents and scenery. It really is a lot of climbing in a short period of time, though the riders manage it at their own pace and with the help of each other.
Even though I love climbs, I found the last 4 km to the summit of most of the Cols grueling. Physically I knew I would make it, where mentally it was a game to get there… likely due to the cumulative effort in the day.
Rider Recap • 190 riders completed Day 7 which included 13 women. • All 27 Canadian riders finished! • Jon Bula from Vancouver was the top Canadian (22nd GC in 25:08 hours). • 6 Canadian riders placed close together in the GC from 22nd to 34th with 5 Canadian riders finishing within 1 hour of Bula in the GC. • Canadian woman Kerrie Siemens made the final women’s podium in 5th, with Barb Sweeney 6th and Sylvie Sanschagrin 9th • Charles Martel from Montreal won his age category for 60+. • Marg Fedyna from Edmonton was women’s leader with a 26th place overall GC
2015 Event Dates
OC Sport is considering reversing the direction of routes for a totally different approach and aspect. The format will remain at 7 days with a distance of 800 km and vertical ascent 20,000m.
- Haute Route Pyrenees: Aug. 15-21, 2015
- Haute Route Alps: Aug. 23-29, 2015
- Haute Route Dolomites Swiss Alps: Aug. 31–Sep. 6, 2015
There may be a Compact 2-day version of each event announced later in the fall-time.
Early bird pricing ends soon Sep 15 and creeps up another 100€ each month. Details found here.
A good option is to enter a team of nine where the 9th entry is free and then pro-rate the free entry cost amongst the teammates.
Athletes can choose to purchase an accommodation package that the race arranges.
Information on the Haute Route races here. More in-depth perspective on my experience at the 2014 Haute Route Pyrenees found here.
