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19th Jul 2009 Bike 4 Cancer Blog 17th - 19th July
Sunday 19th July
The team have arrived in Paris finishing their Tour de France on the Champs-Elysées. Whilst spirits ran high for finally getting to the finish in one piece there are some regrets that the logistics of driving back from a late finish at Mt Ventoux in Southern France made it impossible to ride all 170km of the stage today. The traffic on the final laps also made cycling very difficult and it was more by luck than judgement that both riders made it back to the van unscathed. As Tom took the final shots the riders were mobbed by a large group of tourists who had clearly mistaken the boys for professional riders! RG had completed every stage of the tour until today and regrettably
Tour summary to follow.
Riding with the Richard's were Kingpins John Rodway and Dave Barson who had decided to show their support and ride l'Etape du Tour stage. The stage was not especially long at 169km but the final climb was likely to be tough.
Along the way the team passed through some stunning countryside and enjoyed throwing a rugby ball around at the lunch stop. As the stage unfolded the wind picked up and became the defining characteristic for the rest of the day. On the downhills the wind was brutal and at times knocked the riders sideways across the road.
The ascent of Mount Ventoux started into a ferocious headwind however this calmed down as the route went up through the trees. RMW set the pace which Dave attempted to match however the 3000km of training proved too much and RMW was the first to reach the summit having taken time to give his respects at the Tom Simpson memorial (a British rider who died on the 1967 tour). RG rode the final climb with John providing encouragement and the promise of a coffee at the cafe near the summit. Sadly the owners didn't need the business and had decided not to open however a German family kindly gave the riders some much needed chocolate.
The final push to the top was unbelievably tough with the wind making it hard to make any progress at all. John put in a huge effort and crossed the line but not before taking a small fall as the wind blew him clean off his bike. The team were all very happy to have put this stage to bed with all of the riders achieving their own goals. Friday 17th July After a disturbed night thanks to a huge thunder storm RG and the support team awoke late feeling tired and wet after the idea to pitch the inner tent under the van awning back fired.
Once the rain had died down the boys headed off for the 178km ride to Aubenas. They caught up with RMW after 40km - he had stayed the night in Annecy with his wife but had also been disturbed by the storm. The ride was largely uneventful apart from the weather which unleashed wind, rain and some sunshine.
The category 2 climb toward the end proved not to be too testing and the riders conserved their legs ahead of the big stage tomorrow to the summit of Mt Ventoux. The team are having dinner with Kingpin cyclists Dave Barson and John Rodway who have joined team Bike 4 Cancer for the final push. Blog 14th - 16th July For further information: |
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