There exists a certain honesty to riding the high Alps. Nothing is handed to you, every view paid for and every coffee tastes that bit better.
In the crisp morning air we set off early, not in urgency, rather in anticipation of what is in store. Sharpness of mind meets the sharp alpine air, the distance and elevation gain are not negotiable, this is the Alps after all, where we start at 1900m and all routes lead inevitably back to that.
Cols that you’ve seen climbed by the pro peloton on television now become your personal targets; the rhythm, the hairpins, the welcome pain of these giants attacked in oxygen depleted air. Elevation gain accumulates quietly at first, then at times all at once. This region will do that to you, and your Strava can take note of the numbers to remind you later.
Rewards come in the form of honest and generously proportioned lunches, enjoyed as fuel for the hours of toil endured, plus what has yet to come. No day here finishes early, no rescue bus comes to your aid and completing the loop will require discipline, endurance and focus (and calories, lots of calories).
As one half of a day mimics another – false flats, categorised climbs, even diesel flat valleys and challenging descents all play a part until the light starts to fade on you and your thoughts of a welcome beer and a restorative shower creeping into the mind, as often as you’ll let them.
Then those cherished evenings bring a certain sense of satisfaction where the table becomes a post-ride training ground for analysis, laughter, modest celebration and quiet reflection on what has collectively been accomplished.
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Sometimes the circus comes to town
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With all of the Grand Tours bringing their own specific brand of celebratory days in a blur of ceremony, sweat and mass hysteria, the greatest to do it thread through the very routes you’ve ridden, but at speeds that almost defy logic.
We will always spectate from a carefully considered vantage point, where we can witness live battles between our heroes as they pass.
Then as the final support vehicles noisily declare the back of the race and the thousands of spectators begin to disperse, we saddle-up and continue on our calculated route with the excitement of the spectacle fresh in our minds.
There is something utterly spellbinding about days observing the Grand Tours after navigating by two wheels to the roadside venue of your choice. Crowds in wait line every kilometre as you climb before the pro’s who follow.
The experience becomes wholly immersive, as physically demanding as it is socially rewarding. A kind of cultural utopia if you will, which brings a humbling awareness that these landscapes you witness, battle with and play amongst deliver many times over.
A week with us isn’t softened or simplified, the fatigue is a welcome reminder of what marvels you’ve endured, without anything to numb the experience. As you lie down each night, the next day’s route forming in your head with a promise made that you’ll go that bit harder, you wish for more tomorrows.
A day in numbers above (Marmotte Reverse) – 178kms – 4101m elevation gain – 4500cals Strava Link
In the weeks and months that follow, you understand completely why hundreds of thousands visit this fantasy playground every year, because this is what true cycling is all about and you are and now always will be a collaborator.
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