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30th Jun 2009 Bike 4 Cancer Blog 27th-30th June
Tuesday 30th June A relatively easy day for the Bike 4 Cancer team as the riders tackled the 40km team time trial around Montpellier. The heat continues to be the big challenge with the mercury reading 38°C by 11am. The course was again tricky to navigate but the riders knew they were on the right track when the professional Garmin team, including Brits David Millar and Bradley Wiggins, were seen out practicing the climbs. The team are spending the afternoon recharging the batteries in Cap D'Agde ahead of another long stage tomorrow. (Hang on guys, isn’t Cap d’Agde a naturist village? Not sure it’s the best place to recharge your batteries!! CJ)
Monday 29th June Stage 3 Marseille to La Grande-Motte 196.5 km 44°C is too hot to cycle! Another gruelling day in the saddle as the on road temp topped 40°C. Getting enough fluid on board became the biggest challenge along with the monotonous flat sections of the Camargue region. Plenty of incidents today including RG getting stung by a wasp and the entire team wasting an hour trying to navigate out of Arles - a city none of the team will want to revisit in a hurry. RMW seemed to relish the hot conditions and the climbs in the first half of the ride - clearly the double main course for dinner did the trick. The same could not be said for RG who really struggled in the heat. After 95km he was ready to quit feeling sick and in danger of getting sun stroke. Several showers out the back of the van, copious amounts of High 5 and with encouragement he finally found his legs and pedalled strongly with RMW to the finish of the seafront in le Grand Motte. Ride stats: 196km, 991m climbing, 9473kcal consumed
The South of France certainly turned up the heat for the first real stage of le Tour. After packing up camp the team were on the road before 9am to take on this tough stage. With four category 4 climbs and a category 3 along with temperatures over 35°C in the shade the riders were really tested. RMW set the pace all day whilst RG paid for the lack of preparation. Fortunately the knee held out but both riders suffered in the sweltering heat. The support team did a great job despite getting lost in the small French towns. Stage stats: 187km, ride time 7 hrs 36ins, 2155m climbed, 9000kcal consumed Tomorrow is 10km longer but fairly flat Saturday 27th June Having enjoyed a night under canvas over looking the Med, Team Bike 4 Cancer headed to Monaco for the Grand Depart. Starting at the harbour the two Richards climbed for 8 kms enjoying all the sights of the amazing principality. The roads have been resurfaced and the Tour signs in place. However on the sweeping descent the team had to take a detour to avoid some road works. The camera crew got to grips with the twisty streets but had
The rest of day will be spent relaxing - and trying to resolve the issue with the van which means it is having to be left pointing downhill
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