Tour De France 2014

I began to follow the Tour only in 2013 as I had got Dreamcatcher only in March that year. I used to return from work and watch whatever was remaining of the stage that day. And I was transfixed. This was true sport, at its brutal best. And these were Gods who chased the limits of human endurance.  Even though it was not eons ago that Lance Armstrong stunned the world by revealing his doping habits, I was thrilled to watch these athletes in action. There were so many vivid images through the tour. The flashes of the crowds and the many antics of the people are something to be seen and appreciated only in the Tour :) I starkly remember the people going crazy cheering for the cyclists as this was something that I too have experienced, to some extent:)











This time the Tour began just as the FIFA World cup ended. One month of madness followed by another :) So I got a subscription and decided to watch all stages of the Tour. The idea was to understand the sport more deeply. At around Stage 7 I was hit with a brainwave of blogging about it, as I was anyway spending a lot of time watching the Tour :) The objective was manifold , to hone my sports writing skills being one of them :) I have tried to cover the stages with some key moments, with some fun thrown in as well :) The photos outweigh the words this time, I hope going further I can capture the essence of each stage with less photos and more words :) So here goes, from stage 8, the Tour de France 2014!!




*I do not own any of these images. All pictures courtesy nbcsports.com*











Stage 8:

Chasing the leaders

The polka - dotted Jersey

The local farmers put in a lot of effort to make their towns leave a mark on le Tour!

She is the one who shows riders how far ahead / behind they are from the leading pack/ the peloton and I have a mini-crush on her now :)

:)

A warm welcome by the local farmers

One of the many memorials for the fallen heroes of WW1

Astana doing 100% of the pace making until this point

Atom Heart Mother

The rains caught up with the group, with around 50 Km to go. The breakaway group was kissing a 11 minutes lead from the peloton, with the flying 7 going strong still. Yates seemed to be struggling, though, with the medic spraying the magic spray on his back. The peloton did not seem excited to gulp them down.

The rains at around 50 Km to go!

Rain clouds over the finish line

As we hit the first climb - , the leading group split, with Chavanel and Kadri leaving the rest behind, as the peloton inches towards the leaders, pulling the lead down to 4:36. Nibali and Contador's teams were responsible for this, as they want to place their leaders ahead of the pack when the hit the base of the climb. Kadri conquers this climb.







Kadri led and conquered the second climb Col de Grosse pierre which gets to a 16% gradient, with Chavanel and the peloton blazing in the rains.

Mickey Rogers launches him over climb 2

And Nibali locks to Contador's back wheel as they thunder down the descent in brutal conditions of rain and fog!

Kadri launches onto climb three with 2 Km to the finish - the Cote de La Mauselaine. With a 3:29 lead it is still uncertain as the climb goes to 10.3% gradient.

Kadri conquers stage 8!

Kadri wins stage 8 in the pain and rain to conquer. Glory for France! Chavanel is gobbled up by the peloton remnants and it is a head to head strike between Nibali and Contador, which Contador finally wins. Porte is 4th.



Standings for Stage 8:

Stage 9. Gerardmer to Mulhouse. 170 Km. 6 climbs. One Sprint.

Welcome to the Hills

Defying gravity ,friction, and everything else in between

At 106 Km to go, the group is split, thanks to the hills :

Cote des Cinq Chateaux, the third climb for the day. 4.1 Km at a 6.15 gradient. De Marchi and Tony Martin lead the assault.

And they go over the top

And over the top of the Cote de Gueberschwihr too

Next climb: The Le Markstein, at 1183m and 5.4 % gradient. Tony Martin and di Marchi led the assault, and Tony broke away, a few Km into the climb :)

Breaking away

And conquering the last peak for the day

Rodriguez overtakes di Marchi to take second place over the climb

And Tony Gallopin launched his assault at around the 25 Km to go mark. The man is aiming for glory, to be a Frenchman wearing the Yellow jersey on the eve of Bastille day (he was around 3 min behind the current Yellow Jersey, Nibali.





At 10Km to go, Gallopin was consumed by the chase group consisting of around 18 men. So Martin, the time trial champion of the world, rolls into the finish on stage 9.

Victory is sweet

Stage 10.
        With 4 category 1 climbs, this is the real - deal day. The finish, too is atop a mountain (last 5 Km at a staggering 20% gradient!!!). The second time that the wheat will be separated from the chaff, after stage 5!



Sagan broke away from everyone towards the top of climb 1, and rocketed down in flooded roads at terrifying speeds!! Truly legendary cycle handling skills.

Voeckler and Rodrigues dash to the top of climb one, amidst pouring rain! Voeckler won this contest by a hair's breadth

Climb two, the petit ballon. 2nd category climb, tops at 1163 msl.

Battle between Voeckler and Rodriguez again, Rodrigues gets it this time.

 Going downhill from climb two, Contador has a very bad crash as his frame snaps!

Getting treated for the fall

Climb 3 is the Col du Platzerwasel, 1st category climb at 1193 msl.

And Rodrigues and Voeckler square off for climb 3 as well! Rodrigues gets this one as well.

Contador could not continue after his team nursed him towards the rear of the peloton and had to give up. One of the saddest moment of the tour for me.

Another sad moment in the Tour :/

The next climb is the Col d' Orderen, at 884 msl. A 2nd category climb.

Rodrigues gets it again

Climb 6 - the Col des Croix.

And again

Martin was pulling the front of the race ahead phenomenally, while Astana led the chasers group. Next was the penultimate climb of the day, the Col des Chevreres, at 915 msl and gradients reaching up to 18%!! Martin delivers Kwitowski till a point in the penultimate climb in a mind blowing effort, considering he broke away to the end on stage 9.






Final climb of the day! The La Planche des Belles Filles. 5.9 Km and 1035 msl. With 3 Km to the summit, Niballi made his move :)

Nibali wins the stage and re claims the yellow jersey :)

Stage 11. Besancon to Oyonnax. 187 Km. 4 climbs. One Sprint.

Stage 11 elevation profile

The tour is always interesting. Expect the unexpected :)

The breakaway

As we reached the final climb of the day, Gallopin took the lead, with Sagan's team pulling him ahead in third place just behind.

Gallopin wins in style :)

 Stage 12. Bourg-en-Bresse to Saint Etienne. 185 Km.One Sprint and three climbs.

Stage 12 elevation profile

At around 90Km to go, David de la Cruz of Netapp has a very bad crash, and had to abandon.

A beautiful Chateaux on the way. This dates back to the 12th century!

I would love to travel these parts of the world for a variety of reasons. There is so much history and trivia associated with everything :) The Matrix creates another angle of interest. Does the tour pass close to the MIND BLOWING Rennes Les Chateaux? I have to check.

It is really hot today and we see many riders place ice packs on their necks. With 40 Km to go, we have Clark and Langeveld in the breakaway, with the peloton chasing 2 minutes away

The art of  descending

Everyone expected Sagans team to deliver him to the front. Sagan has been among the top 5 in five occasions till today, but has not managed a stage win.





With 30 Km to go, Gautier and Quemeneur from Europcar breakaway from the peloton to chase the leaders.





With 25 Km to go, Clarke attacks at the front and leads. We are in the final climb for the day.

Clarke gets gobbled by the Europcar team

At 10 Km to go, the peloton is snapping the heels of the leaders, at just 19 seconds behind! A little while ahead, the engine loses power as Clarke is unable to take his turn in the front and pull.


Griepel crashes! Sagans team forms the train pulling him ahead.

Kristoff wins, Sagan second

Stage 13. Saint Etienne to Chamrousse. 197.5 Km. Three climbs. One Sprint. Hilltop finish.

Stage 13 elevation profile

At 60 km to go, the 9 man breakaway loses organisation for some reason and splits into smaller groups. The peloton closes in from a gap of 1:42





The col de Palaquit. 1154 msl and a 15 km climb

Bakelants summits and changes his cycle at the top :)

A fort perched in an amazing place

The mountain finish for today, Montee de Chamrousse. 1730 msl and 18.2 Km to climb. Bakelants gets taken by the peloton along the climb. Nibali's teammates drop off from around him. At 14 Km to go, the peloton take d Marchi too. Porte begins to fall off from the peloton at 12 Km to go. The commentators feel that the person to stand on the podium in Paris is one among this select group in front of this climb.

of daring plans and of youth

In one of the best accelerations I have seen till now, Niballi closes 17 seconds between him and the two leaders in like a minute :) He just gets up and switches on  the afterburners!! A few Km ahead, he switches on stage two and loses everyone :)

Niballi wins! And this is his expression always, poker faced.

Stage 14: 177 Km,3 climbs. Mountain finish.
Today will feature the biggest climb of this years tour.

Stage 14 elevation profile

16 man breakaway includes Sagan, looking for the sprint points? He is slated to join Tinkoff-Saxon next year. The first climb is 34 Km long! The ascent is long and gradual and the peloton keeps a steady pace, with them being behind the leading group by 5 min, by the time the summit is conquered. The descent too, is a long one!





The highest climb! The Col d'Lzoard. It tops at 2360 msl and is a 16 Km climb. Along this, Sagan begins to fall back towards the peloton. Sprint points in his kitty, this is a good move.

At 50 Km to the finish, Sagan joins the peloton

Awesome switchbacks of the Col d'Lzoard. Flashbacks of Gata Loops galore.

Rodriguez takes the mountain points from the highest point of this years tour.

With 10Km to go, di Marchi and Serpa attack from the front of the leading group. The chasers are just a minute behind!





Fulsang begins to drop. What a performance from the man, to deliver Nibali to the base of the last climb! All this after a bad crash yesterday! Serpa drops as Majka gets ahead of di  Marchi now. Attacks galore as Nibali switches on his afterburners at 3.6 Km to go.

Majka's first tour and a stage win!

Stage 15: 222 Km, No categorised climbs. 1 intermediate sprint.

Stage 15 elevation profile

Bauer and Elmiger in the breakaway

Extreme descending by Bauer. Is this a stoppie? :P

At around 70 Km to go, the peloton begins to apply pressure to bring down the gap to around 4 minutes. The commentators observe how the crosswinds can play havoc, even on a stage as flat as today.

With 50 Km to go, the rain greets the Tour. Kwiatkowski makes his move from the peloton at 20 Km. It is now tour de water, with the rain pouring down. With 10 Km to go, the gap between the leaders and the peloton has fallen to 40 Seconds. This will be a sprinters finish. Will it be a German affair today? Tony Martin attacks as the sprinters teams prance to deliver their leaders to the finish.

With a Km to go,Bauer and Elmiger have led for 220 Km and the peloton is still snapping at their heels :)

A frantic dash

It i cruel. After leading for 221 Km, Bauer and Elmiger lose the finish in the final few meters to Kristoff! A stage win is elusive to Sagan, who comes in at third.








Stage 16. Carcassone to Bagneres de Lunchon. The longest stage of this years tour at 237 Km. 5 climbs and 1 sprint finish.





Somewhere between Carcassone and Belpech we  reach a point closest to the legendary Rennes Les Chateaux. Madness is imminent!!!

Stage 16 elevation profile

At 100 Km to go, we have a breakaway group is clear from the peloton by 7:43.

:):):):):):):)

Treatment on the move. That is the medical car.

The third climb of the day, the Col de Portet d Aspet. 2nd category, at 1069 msl.

Voeckler collects the polka-dot points

The Fabio Casartelli memorial 

This will be a finish after the downhill from the last climb of the day.

Rogers wins a stage of the tour for the first timetour defranmce 

Stage 17. Saint-Gaudens - Saint-Lary-Soulan Pla d'Adet. 124.5km. 4 climbs and 1 sprint. Mountain top finish.

Stage 17 elevation profile

Rodriguez is the first over the second climb of the day

Kiryienka over the top and leading at climb 2

Kiryinka gets overtaken on climb 3

Rodriguez gets climb 3

Majka wins :)

Stage 18: Pau to Hautacam. 4 climbs. One sprint. Mountain top finish. 145 Km.

A 20-man group of leaders has formed, and they lead the peloton by 3:25 with 100 Km to go.

Kadri takes the third climb of the day

At the beginning of the last climb of the day, the peloton is behind the leaders by just 1:20. At 10Km to go, Horner attacks and Nibali follows him! One of the most powerful bursts of acceleration I have seen, as he goes past Nievi of sky and continues this amazing momentum till the finish! Nibali is untouchable.

The shark nails it!

Standings after stage 18

I could not get to watch the last three stages of the Tour this time :/ Next time I vow to plan better and write better :)

 

The shark eats all.

"I pointed to my heart because I raced with my heart today," 
- Nibali

“Now that I find myself on the highest step on the Champs-Élysées podium, it’s more beautiful than I ever imagined,”

-Nibali




*I do not own any of these images. All pictures courtesy nbcsports.com*



 

Mind over matter

With the Manali - Leh cycling trip done, fitness level was at an all-time high. In fact, during Dussera - 2013, I broke the 30- minute barrier to betta (what a lovely feeling that was!). This, in the evening, when traffic was dense. I constructed illusions of hilltop finishes in le Tour, and the crowds going berzerk. A few weeks later, I managed to do this in 28 minutes and ten seconds, getting even better. News about a 'brevet' began doing the rounds. This was to be Mysore's first. Having no idea what that meant, I spoke to a few friends to understand. So basically it was an endurance event (not a race). Complete the given distance in stipulated time, do what you want in between. So I decided to train and do this.

Ride training
       I somehow managed to convince Arun to train together :) Which meant the customary betta rides would be replaced by rides on the Hunsur road, which would be the actual route for the brevet. The aim was to do three rides. One 100 Km, one 150 Km and the last one, 200 Km. The aim was also to scout the route for pit stops, pinpoint places for food/ drink, and to study the elevation.

Beyond Hunsur - Practice ride 1

Due to various reasons, we ended up doing two practice rides, one 100 Km and another one, around 130 Km. For the practice rides, we stuck to timings, and maintaining average speeds, to simulate the brevet as much as possible. It was great to gulp many tender coconuts on the pit stops. And it is always great to speak to folks who ride by you and ask you questions :) As always, there would be full support from the kids, as cycling is very much a part of kids lives. And that is what connects us with childhood :)

I had picked up a pair of Geax Street runners specifically for the event. Bharath told me that they flew like hot cake, with many participants buying them in pairs, for the brevet. But we practiced with the MTB tyres, as they would offer more resistance, and the actual event would be slightly better with the Geax(1.25"). Because of the lesser width, I could not use my tyre liners here. All prayers were on not getting a flat!

Pre-ride preparations and training.
   The big day was close, and we had a list of things to take along, for nutrition. We decided to take chapati's, peanut butter, cheese, boiled eggs, boiled potatoes, tang packets, electrol, dry fruits, chikki, small chocolates. These items were based on the diet and experiences from previous long rides, largely attributed to Mr Pandey's excellent diet designed for the Manali - Leh ride.

Apart from these, there were spare tubes, tools, puncture kits, reflective vests. I did a dry round around home, loaded as I would ride in the brevet.

Mys 038! Dreamcatcher looks so different in the Geax's!

Brevet day
       Come Brevet day, I reached Cyclopedia, where there was a buzz for registrations, brevet card stamping, cycle check, handing over of chocolates and a sandwich. There was a good mix of young blood and experience in the group. The organisers provided sandwiches and some good chocolates to the contestants.

Come 06:00 Hrs, we flagged off from Cyclopedia and headed towards Hunsur road. The weather was amazing for cycling! Although we knew that the sun could get merciless towards noon. Most of the participants had formed groups, which is a good idea, as doing an event like this alone would be harrowing. The hybrid tyres were great, and we rolled along effortlessly on the beautiful Hunsur road, speaking to fellow cyclists on the way. There was no real need to watch the average, as we reached Hunsur at 08:15 Hrs. A few kilometres past Hunsur, we stopped for break 1, where I had the sandwich provided, a banana, and a few sips of water. Met Bharath here, who was doing this on his fixie. An unimaginable feat, for a novice like me! "Eat before you are hungry, drink before you are thirsty" was Bharath's advice, and we stuck to that.

We went on, and this is when the groups split up into sub-groups. Arun had gone ahead, and I tried to cycle keeping someone as reference. It is extremely difficult to not do this. Having someone in sight gives you a frame of reference and the much-needed motivation to go on. The terrain is pretty much rolling till we reach Bylakuppe. Just before Bylakuppe we stopped for tender coconuts and I had a few chikkis as well. At around the 80 Km mark, we are almost at the halfway point. This was new territory as we had not reached till here on our practice rides. You go on, mentally picturing the halfway mark.

Halfway mark
       Past Bylakuppe, we pass through Kushalnagar town which is quite bustling. After this it is a run to Suntikoppa, with some steep gradient. The weather changed dramatically past Kushalnagar, it became very cool and slightly overcast. Good conditions as it was almost noon. I executed a few manoeuvres of unwrapping chocolates and conquering the slopes, while managing not to tumble down. The slopes were pretty ok to do, after being accustomed to the betta rides frequently

Incoming :)

.

Checkpoint
Just past Suntikoppa town was a petrol bunk which was the halfway point and I met Arun, who had reached, rested and was on his way back. I asked him to stop somewhere down the line, so we could team up as planned.

Arun reaches the checkpoint!

 I reached the checkpoint at 11:45 and gorged on the boiled potato and some juice. The organisers signed our brevet cards. And I could not escape them clicking these pics of mine :P (smeared in sunscreen)

The Paparazzi got this :P

After the checkpoint, I headed back and encountered Arun lounging near a fruit stall. We ate up some awesome oranges and continued. Going down the slope was fun! The real challenge began when the flats arrived. It was now around 1:00, and the sun was out in full glory. The temperature increased as we went on. Bylakuppe was challenge point one, when we stopped for a round of tender coconuts, and doubts start creeping into your mind :)

Mind Games
Bylakuppe to Periyapatna was the beginning of the mind game. All through this stretch in my mind ran formulae for average speed, distance covered, time remaining (and how many vada sambars we would gobble upon completion) This was the tricky part, and the sun was blazing! The average over the past hour or so had dropped dramatically.

At Periyapatna, we randomly chose a spot on the road and sat, on the bushes and all. The passer by's would have had a tough time deciphering cyclists just sitting there. Around 65 Km remained, and we were too tired to even eat. I shoved half a boiled egg down my throat and gulped that down with some juice. Arun had half a boiled potato.We set out. Encouraging each other, we acknowledged that it would be insane to try this alone. Somewhere beyond this point I lost Arun again :)

With the sun dipping from its peak, I made my way to my pit stop in Hunsur, gulped down an orange juice and left the hotel in record time in its history, I think :) It was now close to 4:00 P.M and it was now a pure mind game. With every truck that passed by, the urge to stop the madness and haul yourself and your cycle on it (flashbacks) increased :) But I drove this thought away from my mind and promised myself that I would complete this, no matter what. I imagined telling people that I had let them(and myself) down and that visual propelled me greatly!!

Discovery
I discovered some new muscles that day I guess, as all of them ached wonderfully! The brevet is played in your mind. Beyond one point, it does not matter how strong you are, physically. It's all in your mind, as in many things in life, I guess. The quest forever should be to discover this and surpass yourself. It is always You Vs Yourself. True story.

Past this tipping point (and profound discovery :P), I saw Arun in some bus stop :P some stupid motorist cut him off abruptly and his front wheel was slightly bent. But both he and the cycle were safe, so that was a good thing. We gulped whatever juice was left and launched the last leg of the raid.

I was approaching 10 hours of saddle time. Then there was another discovery - how much ever your butt hurts, keep cycling. If you stand up to get a breather, it will hurt more :) With this wisdom I just kept going.

Somewhere close to Ilvala, a sadist trucker decided to push me off the road for no reason at all. Fumed, I sprinted for a couple of kilometres so I would get him and deliver an earful, but the bugger got away. For what pleasure people do such things is beyond my imagination. I caught up with Arun and got into a bakery in Ilvala for a break. The body was not accepting solid food so I downed a bottle of Minute maid :)

Destination
With this we rolled the home run, back to familiar sights, sounds and smells. The outline of betta in the  long rays of evening calmed the frayed minds. We ganged up with a couple of riders from out of town, and rolled together into the heart of the royal city, into the most royal of Palaces, which was the finish point.

The joy on reaching was immeasurable and immaculate. The sense of accomplishment was supreme. And yes, the pain was so much that I could not help but roll a couple of times in the ground :)

So the takeaways are, go with a bunch. Enjoy the ride. And just keep going :)

Mission Possible

Trip Stats: 
Saddle time:  10 Hrs 15 Minutes
Total time   :   11 Hrs 50 Minutes
Fuel           :   Sandwich, bananas, chocolates, chikki, boiled potato, boiled egg, tender coconut, minute maid, water, electrol.

Loki, Arun and Me

Thanks a ton to Arun for putting up with me in all this !! You are a true sport, bro!