26.06.05 - L'Hexagonal Tour:
Down to France for 10 days of XC hard racing, from Paris Airport to Besse in the south-east...
Stage 1 - Charles de Gaulle Airport:
Paris was to be the scene of L'Hexagonal's start on the Saturday morning. After a team intro and briefing we started with a team time trial, in which we decided to hold back a bit and save our energy for the afternoon's stage. It was 15km and of bumpy and lumpy grass, which weaved around the network of roads surrounding Paris Airport.
Staying in the airport town wasn't exactly glamorous, especially being put up in a crappy Formule1 Hotel. We had 3 of us, including bags and bikes, crammed into a tiny plastic room. The view of the concrete wall outside our window and the stench from the chain smoking factory workers across the hall added to the atmosphere.
But we were there to race and we were ready to go for stage 1. From the gun everything went smoothly until Shaun had an altercation with a concrete barrier and a big fence, face planting into the ground and massaging some vital organs on his top tube. So that left Dan, Al and I to get to the finish safely. They only counted the first three across the line and we made it to finish 8th .
Stage 2 - Roissy:
The afternoon stage was a point-to-point leading into a great XC loop, of which we did 4 laps. It was 47km in total, with a mixture of all types of mountain biking - steep pinches (granny gear and running), fast open straights, bitumen sections, technical descents, and flowing single tracks.
Having saved some energy in the morning's stage, the legs felt good. We also had a good start position. This was quickly turned around though - I moved straight up to 4 th heading into the first single track (behind Martinez, Absalon and Dubau) only to have the whole field cut a whole section and put the front of the field at the back! We couldn't believe it. One minute we were at the front, then suddenly we were behind all the back-markers, including veterans and women. So we had plenty of work to do to get up there before the loops started.
By the time I made it to the front part of the race a couple of groups had gone off the front with the big names in them. I was left on my own with a lot of fast, open windy sections ahead. I had to decide whether to sit up and wait for the next group behind (and work with them) or flog myself to move up to the group ahead (and risk using too much energy on the first day of the tour). I decided not to hold back and smashed myself to get up there. Riders were dropping off the group ahead, so I gradually moved up the field. With a lap to go I could see a group of 6 ahead. They were swapping off, so I knew it would be tough to catch them before the end.
I tried my best and caught them right at the end, passing 2 of them. I ended up 8th in the stage, with the rest of the group of 4 guys only a few seconds just ahead. Another group finished a ways ahead. It was a good start to the tour.
Stage 3 - Montmartre, Paris:
Stage 3 was an individual time trial in the centre of Paris , on the famous Montmartre - a hill with a famous monument called Sacre Coeur. It was crazy! The crowd was huge, as there were thousands of tourists roaming the hill, and the vibe was special. The amount of steps we had to go up and down made it tough. We rode down about 450 steps and up about 500! It was 10 minutes of torture. Man those Euros can run with bikes on their shoulders! Absalon won the stage in style. My first crash for the week was while sightseeing in Paris afterwards. Treadly tyres don't mix with marble flooring!
Stage 4 - Romainville Corniche de Forts:
Stage 4 was a 40km race, with short loops in a park. It was damn hard, as part of the course just kept going up and down the same embankment/ridge and it was so steep you had to run up. I was going 100% just to not fall back down. And carrying the bike up made it worse.
I had a good start and ended up 4th behind the big guns, but as soon as we hit the run I went lactic and couldn't even use my legs. I didn't really warm up properly, so it hit me hard. I got passed by about 20 euros on the running sections, then had to spin out the lactic on the faster parts. Then I got going again and moved back up to 12th. The good thing was that it was meant to be 7 laps, then half way through the race they decided it should be 10 instead! So I only realised when I started what I though was my last lap. But the 3 laps after that were where I made up heaps of spots, so it worked out well. Most riders (and staff) were going off at the organisers after the race though. It was dodgy. After the race we were treated to a 4 hour drive to the next town, so we could stay in another crappy hotel. At least the food was good this round.
Stage 5 - La Souterraine:
On arriving at the course we were all raring to go, even though it was only 10 degrees and raining. This was a shock after 35 degrees every other day. The profile of the stage indicated lots of steep climbs and fast descents. Being a big loop though, we didn't have time to practise the course. So we'd have to rely on the first lap of three to get to know it.
On the start line riders who'd previewed the course said it was technical and muddy. This was confirmed when we got to the first single track, which had become a hub-high river filled with big rocks. So it was mayhem with a bunch of riders hammering though. Guys were sliding around, slipping around, going over the bars, and getting soaked. This went on for a few kilometres!
The race split into many small groups. Once the rain kicked in the climbs became slick, tyres clogged, gears and brakes suffered, and all the other typical things associated with mud. Dan had a blinder to finish fourth, taking the under-23 leaders jersey. I was set to finish in the top ten, till I took a wrong turn and lost a few spots.
After hosing down the bikes and getting changed we head back to the hotel. After that I came down with a cold and fever, coughing all night and getting hardly any sleep. Luckily it was a rest day the next day, as I woke up feeling even worse. I just stayed in bed all of the rest day, hardly being able to move all morning. I tried to do a roll in the afternoon, but could barely turn the cranks over. I thought my tour was overc
Stage 6 - Perignat les Sarlieve:
After a rest day I was anxious to wake up and see how I felt. It was hard to tell till I got out on the bike, but I wasn't going to pull out of the race. Warm-up was dodgy, then I started stage 6 and found I could hardly even get up the hills. The track had plenty of steep pinches, requiring lots of kick. This wasn't what I had. I could barely see straight, feeling plain weak. It was simply wrong. Rather than do damage I bailed, which was really disappointing. I hadn't pulled out of a race for as long as I can remember.
Stage 7 - La Bourboule:
Regardless of the previous day's dismal efforts, I decided I'd give the 2nd last stage a crack. I was worried, as it was a tough stage. It was like the old course in Mt Beauty, Victoria. We went up a big climb in one go, with an awesome descent, similar to the Mt Buller downhill course, back down to the finish of the lap. One section involved jumping into a rock-strewn river, running along the knee-high water for about 50 metres trying not to fall over, ducking under a bridge, and then running up a slippery steep embankment out onto the road again to the finish area. The crowd loved it!
I felt good in warm-up, had a good start, was up there with the big guns, kept feeling good, punctured, caught back up, then punctured again on the last lap, and rode the rear rim home. The Cross-Max SL held up fine, but my tyre came off and wrapped around my rear mech, ripping it up. So I ran the remaining few Ks to finish 14 th . Another would've, should've, could've race. But at least I felt healthy again. I was looking forward to the last day.
Stage 8 - Besse et Saint Anastaise:
The last stage was similar to stage 7, but it wasn't me that punctured. This time it was Dan M, who was still leading the u23 overall standings. We were both up there, but when he punctured I stopped while he fixed his flat with the intension of working him back up to the lead group again. It was a fast course, so I had to work my butt off on every section. But I felt awesome, so we were moving up. Unfortunately Dan just missed out on the overall. The puncture cost him the victory. But Dan showed awesome form and was noticed by many big Euro teams.