This year’s L’Etape for me was my 5th as with each one it’s the logistics which is the greatest challenge. The start was in Nice and the finish on top of Col de la Couillole, 138 km with 4600 m of ascent.
We decided to stay at a campsite which was in a town located 6 km from the finish on top of the final Col. I booked a shuttle bus with the organisation when I registered for the event.
We arrived in the city of Nice on Thursday afternoon It was hot and very busy typical of any large European city. We managed to park our motorhome in a stadium car park which had been set up specifically for L’Etape camping cars. Once established I caught a local tram from the outskirts of Nice to the L’Etape village, where I collected my bib number and various other bits of tat.
The following morning I cycled into the city to secure my bike in the overnight storage area where I could collect the following morning prior to starting.
We then travelled 60 km away from Nice to a small mountain village of Beuil for our campsite over the next three days. This is the first village following a descent from the Col de la Couillole the final climb of this year’s race. During the evening I packed my bag ready for the early start the following morning then for an early night, which is unusual.
The following morning revallie was at 03:15 hrs to catch the 04:00 bus in the village, being in France the buses didn’t arrive until 04:40 hrs so a great start. However I managed a bit of shut eye as the trip was over an hour, we arrived in Nice a short walk to collect our bikes from the secure area. Although it was 06:00 in the morning there must have been around 5000 cyclists along the Nice promenade. I set my bike up and got changed French style, then had a petite dejouner then moved into pen 7 for the start. There are 16 pens, 1000 cyclists in each setting off at 10 mine intervals, a well rehearsed operation that worked perfectly. As I crossed the start line I high five diddi the tour devil who I had seen on Thursday afternoon.
I started at a real steady pace sitting comfortably in a peloton doing an average of 30 kph. Cycling through the valley away from Nice all I could see in front of me was mountains so I knew it was going to be another interesting day. So it was for the whole of the day up and down four tough challenging climbs, however the scenery in the surrounding area was simply stunning, which took my mind off things while completing the climbs.
The feed stations were crazy as usual but I got feed and watered at each one. The weather was a cool 28° along with two short rain showers as well. So the heat was not a major factor in this years L’Etape.
I completed the race in 8 hrs 45 mins my fastest time of five I have completed, if the 10506 who completed the course within the time limit I was the 5756 competitor to cross the finish line
Another memorable day which again will stay in my memory for a long time. If any members are interested in this event then let me know. I added a few photos from the day.
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Written by “Ali Bartlam”
