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The Conquered Giant

By Joe Hall • 22nd July 2009 12:39pm • Posted in Events

Congratulations to all those riders who participated in this year’s Etape du Tour. The roads and mountains of Provence provided for a spectacular 170km ride on Monday 20th July, with a climax on the gruelling slopes of Mt. Ventoux. Five of us from Rapha took part, some faster than others. Highlights included the beautiful climb up the Col d'Ey with stunning Provencal scenery, the speedy descent into Bedoin and the delicieux gateaux they provided at the feed stations. We are now eagerly awaiting the arrival of the pros on Ventoux for the penultimate stage of The Tour on Saturday. Let us know your thoughts on the Etape 2009.

See the profile of the route here.

The ‘Giant of Provence’ is a place of joy and despair, a legendary climb ridden and eulogised by cyclists and writers alike.

“There will always come that moment as you close with Ventoux, when you see the dominant, leprous, windswept summit of the Giant of Provence sprouting that sinister radio mast, thrust up out of the surrounding landscape, and shiver. Ride up there? You say to yourself.”
Graeme Fife, forthcoming book 'Great Road Climbs Vol. 2' published by Rapha

“The Ventoux has no in-itself. It’s the greatest revelation of your-self. It simply feeds back your fatigue and fear. It has total knowledge of the shape you’re in, your capacity for cycling happiness, and for happiness in general. It’s yourself you’re climbing. If you don’t want to know, stay at the bottom.”
From 'Need for the Bike' by Paul Fournel, published by University of Nebraska Press

“And then you’re at the summit. You look out over the land; you drink a bit; a ruddy sense of well-being courses through your whole body, and a great desire wells up in you to climb this mountain again some day.”
From 'The Rider' by Tim Krabbe, published by Bloomsbury

Comments

Neil Vickers

24th July 2009 02:41pm

My second Etape (my first was 2008) and it was definitely a ride of two halves. The first half was great I really enjoyed the route, the climbs and the riders the only low point was my friend Gerard who started way ahead of me crashed into some road furniture and had to wait 30 minutes for some Mavic assistance. Amazingly he finished and it was only on the decent from Ventoux we realised he had split the down tube of his trust old Robert steel frame, very lucky. Also luckily his new bike is already on order. My ride to the bottom of Ventoux was great and then the whole thing caught up with me. The heat, low blood sugar and the steepness of the middle of the climb and I just blew. I joined many riders hiding in the trees getting our temperatures and heart rates down. I felt sick and couldn’t take any more gel even though deep down I knew this is what I needed. The ride to the top took over 3 hours and discovering no water at the last feed almost finished me off. Thanks to the bar 4km from the top who was giving out free water to the desperate riders. If you had asked me at the top if I would do this again the answer would have been no. But 24 hours later I watched the tour descend the Col de Petit St Bernard and I know I will be back.

Chris Matthews

25th July 2009 06:37am

Nothing like an adventure, eh? My first L'Etape, this ride made it painfully apparent as to how a climb like Ventoux can crack a field into invisibly thin shards. If there were a hill that deserved to decide the fate of a Tour de France winner, this certainly qualifies for contention. In fact, it may win uncontested by sheer intimidation. Along it's neverending views across open turns, steep pitches, and sun-stained asphalt, Ventoux rewarded every bit of the effort. There is glory in this sport, racing or not, and cramps are merely reminders of my human-ness, and add renewed respect for the racers that do this for a living. Particular respect goes out doubly to those who make this particular mountain the difference between their mere contention, and their unassailable victory. This ride was nothing short of a conquest, and I'm lucky to have been able to enjoy such a grueling thrill.

I rode with Graham from Rapha for a few miles in the early stages, a pleasant bloke for sure, and I got ahead of him only by some lucky positioning on my part. He caught me later on, and as I found myself getting dropped, it was the stripes on his Rapha socks that I found myself thinking must have been the difference between his finishing time, and mine.

These are the kinds of things you can convince yourself on a ride such as this one. It's just that good.

Lee Shale

7th August 2009 06:46pm

The Silence! The Silence! which could have read The Horror! The Horror! That's what will remain with me when I recall that memorable hot day on Mont Ventoux July 20th 2009. 2 hours to glory…

All these riders, all with various abilities caught in their own suffering, trying to catch a breath in the vacuum, a 40 degree cauldron, at 11% incline, K after endless K and no respite,every tree looking exactly the same as another. But it was the quietness of it all that astounded me most. A collective shock was taking place!

I passed riders, they passed me and my monologue was "So this was how Tom died" ……"it ain't gonna be me", then stop! It was all I could do! no oxygen to fire my muscles to climb my way out of this "carnage". A minutes resuscitation, then set-off again, and again, and again…Then finally Chalet Reynard appeared where another scene was being acted out. Oxygen being administered to some in real need, meanwhile a stream of riders all on their own with their own monologues gnawing away…crawled round the bend and on to the summit towering above us all.

Mont Ventoux, The Great Internalizer!

Joe Hall

7th August 2009 11:12pm

Fantastically written, Mr. Shale.

Lee Shale

10th August 2009 04:41pm

Thank You Joe!

Lee

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