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| A view from the top! |
The third time they included the Col de la Bonette in the Tour de France in 1993, Paul Sherwen was quoted to have said it was 'the worst climb he had ever seen' and that he was 'rather pleased that they never included this climb during his years in the Tour.' It was these words that sat with me, right in the pit of my stomach early on Saturday morning as we psyched ourselves up for the giant climb out of Jausiers. Tour memorabilia still lies scattered all over the town; the jerseys hang from bedroom windows and a giant 'Bienvenue au Tour' still stands as a recent memory of when the riders rolled through in 2008. It felt momentous as we rolled out of our hotel driveway at 8am to tackle the Bonette.
It isn't the steepest climb, far from it. It averages 6.6% and includes a number of forgiving flatter stretches, which cannot be underestimated for their recovery powers. But, it is the highest road pass in Europe after planners added a loop around the Cime at the top of the mountain, and at 2802m you begin to feel the effects of altitude at the top. Not to mention the fact that it is a mammoth, strength sapping 23km from bottom to top.
Conditions on Day 5 were so much more favourable though. It was a cool, shady morning, with a touch of moisture still in the air. This allowed us to settle into a very smooth, relaxed early rhythm. There were also a huge number of cyclists out tackling the climb and it makes an immeasurable difference being able to ride rhythm alongside or behind other riders. The first 12km are conducive to strong tempo riding, never really going beyond 6-6.5% and keeping a steady gradient all the way. In fact I was shocked when I found that I'd got halfway up the climb in around an hour.
The second half though really put the skill, and the courage that it takes to climb mountain passes like the pros do in perspective. 8-12km can actually go by rather smoothly, even quickly. But at some point, no matter how much you've eaten, or drunk, or trained and prepared, your legs are simply going to want to stop. The front wheel of your bike begins to look for shallower gradients, almost instinctively. It begins to feel as though the bike is no longer rolling along the tarmac but ploughing straight into it, stubbornly and desperately trying to grind to a halt. Not to mention that the steepest sections come in this later part of the climb!
It is the length of the Bonette that really begins to tell, as km after km ticks by and still the top does not come as you climb at ever higher altitudes into thinning oxygen. At roughly 2k to go though comes perhaps the most rewarding and breathtaking parts of the climb itself. Here the road levels out completely into a procession up to the Col de la Bonette and finally the brutal 15% ramp up to the Cime itself. That stretch of tarmac is the most rewarding I have ridden. As I got my breath back for the final push, rolling along that plateau, I really looked around me, at the tops of the entire Southern Alpine range from 2800m above sea level. I became awash with the most incredible feeling of exhaustion and achievement, a whole body sensation that actually made me want to cry out and sprint to the top (I'm sure my legs would have mutinied if I'd tried). It was the absolute peak of my trip and I will always remember that moment.
We savoured the views for a long time before cruising the remaining 50 or so km to Isola, a really stunning alpine descent that soared downhill almost all the way. More of descents later.
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