Tour du Mont Blanc (330km)

The World's Toughest One Day Bike Race

330km, 3 countries, 8,000m ascent

03.30. The wake up call

05.00. Start under darkness. The first 16km are downhill. I always thought bike long to be seen. Not anymore. They are to see. And to see at speed.  

From Les Saisies to Megeve. A familiar road. Driven and cycled many times. The road then turns right to St Gervais. What follows is an awesome downhill section that I’ve been practiced. The corners are predictable and the traffic is light. I could afford to pedal harder than normal and move up the field. On reaching St Gervais, drop off on the bypass and head towards Passy. He road steepens with some sharp corners. Mindful for that familiarity getting the better of me, I kept Giles in sight so he could learn the corners. No one passed until we stopped for our second unscheduled break. 

The road to Chamonix to Col des Montets

Downhill over the Swiss border. Passports at hand. follow valley road until ascent of Col de Forclaz. This would be our first unfamiliar climb of the day  

descent to Martigney. Climb to Champex Lac. Descent to foot of Grande St Bernard. 

The climb. A climb like no other. Any comparison would be unfair.  

Giles. Wobbles. Coke. Keep pedalling. Calculations. What does it take. Decision to leave Giles in Switzerland. He can find his own way home. A few tears were shred.  

6 degrees with snow present. Descent to Aosta Valley. 36 degrees. Removing layers. Keeping up with motor cyclists. Buses no chance. Cars no chance in corners or downhills. Sit Bradley Wiggins used to train on this side. Carry memories. 

Pit stop. Pasta. Next up Petit St Bernard. Thule and ladies passing RB on hills. 

Dig deep. Jon setting the pace. Aching all over. Generally exhausted.