Climb #3: Col de Sarenne

After a short descent the l’Alpe d’Huez continues into the Col de Sarenne. Not a very long climb and not very steep. This one looks like a nice addition to the l’Alpe d’Huez.

Climb #2: L’Alpe d’Huez

Probably the most famous climb in the world: l’Alpe d’Huez. It’s steep (maximum percentage of 14.8), but not very long and the end gets less steep. Still famous for its 21 bends and the fastest time of 37’35“ by Marco Pantani. That time will be out of reach for me, but a time of 1h30’ should be possible.

Climb #1: Oulles

The first day in the Alps we’ll climb to the village of Oulles. We start the climb in La Paute and from there it’s about 8 kilometers to the top. The climb starts at 729 meters and the top is at 1.413 meters. The climb is not very long, but overall the climb is fairly steep. 3.2 kilometers of the climb have an average of over 10% and practically the whole climb is over 5%. The diagram below shows the profile of the climb (profile from cyclingcols.com).

Trip to the French Alps

This Friday I’ll leave for the French Alps. Nothing permanent, just a short cycling trip. In 8 days we (my friends Edgard, Tijsbert, Bernard and Dina will accompany me) will face some of the toughest climbs in the Alps. We’re staying in a hotel in Les Ougiers. Right now, we have the following itinerary:

Friday, August 3rd:
Leaving for the French Alps with Bernard and Tijsbert.

Saturday, August 4th:
Les Ougiers – Oulles (from La Paute) – Les Ougiers (52 kilometers)
Rendez-vous with Edgard and Dina.

Sunday, August 5th:
Les Ougiers – l’Alpe d’Huez (from Bourg d’Oisans) – Col de Sarenne (from l’Alpe d’Huez) – Les Ougiers (64 kilometers)

Monday, August 6th:
Les Ougiers – Col de la Croix de Fer (from Rochetaillée) – Col du Glandon (from Saint-Etienne-de-Cuines) – Les Ougiers (154 kilometers)

Tuesday, August 7th:
Les Ougiers – Les Deux Alpes (from Clapiers) – La Berarde (from Les Ougiers) – Les Ougiers (104 kilometers)

Wednesday, August 8th:
Les Ougiers – Côte de Laffrey (from Vizille) – Col de la Morte (from Côte de Laffrey) – Col de Parquetout (from Pont-du-Prêtre) – Col d’Ornon (from Valbonnais) – Les Ougiers (150 kilometers)

Thursday, August 9th:
Les Ougiers – Col du Sabot (from Rochetaillée) – Les Ougiers (73 kilometers)

Friday, August 10th:
Les Ougiers – Villard-Notre-Dame (from from Bourg d’Oisans) – Les Ougiers (48 kilometers)
Dina leaves the group.

Saturday, August 11th:
Les Ougiers – Col du Galibier (from Les Clapiers, via Col du Lautaret) – Les Ougiers (106 kilometers)
Return to The Netherlands, Bernard leaves the group.

So that’s 14 cols (15 if you count Col du Lautaret) in 8 days. In total we’ll cycle 750 kilometers, that’s almost 94 kilometers a day. I know, we could do Col du Télégraphe on our way up the Col du Galibier, but it’s our first trip (as a group) and we’re not even sure we’ll do all the cols mentioned here.

I’ll try to bring my MacBook on the trip (first I’ve got to find out if the hotel has wireless internet) and report from the trip. That would also ease the uploading of photos, since I always find it too much hassle at the end.

Remembering Fabio Casartelli today

On July 18th 1995, the Italian rider Fabio Casartelli of the US Postal team (now Discovery team) crashes on the flanks of the Col de Portet d’Aspet. I can still remember the images of that day.

Let us all remember today a young man, who died during the thing he loved most: cycling.

Summer cycling trip

We (that means Tijsbert and Bernard) are planning our summer cycling trip to the French Alps. It looks like we’re going to be staying at this hotel. I’m still a bit worried about the heights and lengths of the climbs, but that is something to worry about after my trip to London next week.

When does it stop?

After the recent fallout at T-Mobile I thought we would have some nice quiet time without scandals. But today the Belgian police raided the homes of about a dozen riders, including members of the Quick-Step team.

Sure, professional cycling has a doping problem. But is that problem bigger than the steroid case in baseball? And what about other sports? I’m getting a bit tired of all these accusations, especially since none of the riders has tested positive in recent years. I’m all for a clean race, but we shouldn’t forget the health of the riders. Last Giro (and even more last year’s Giro) were very tough races, with lots of climbs. If we want to clean up cycling, we’ll have to start with reducing the length and intensity of the races.

Update: I just learned that Franck Vandenbroucke attempted suicide. Another dark episode to the already troubled career of VDB.

I’m back

I haven’t updated this site much in the past six months. I was too busy posting on my other blog. Oh, and I cycled also a bit. We participated in De Ronde van Vlaanderen and the Amstel Gold Race. Both rides were nice, I was in better shape in Vlaanderen than in the Gold Race.

Well, now the preparations start for our trip to the French Alps. Early August we’ll climb a number of cols. My good friend Tijsbert is organizing the trip, so I’m a little scared I’ll have to climb three nasty ones each day. But I’m sure it will be fun.

Trek Madone

I really shouldn’t watch sites like this one. Like any cycling enthusiast, I’m in love with beautiful bicycles. And this one is very pretty! It’s not fair to my Trek 5200, but if I had the money I would order a new one today…

Wintertime

Winter is finally approaching in The Netherlands, which means outdoor training will be reduced to a minimum. And with the fierce wind and rain we’re having this week, that minimum will be no outdoor training at all. Luckily I have a Tacx trainer at home, so I’m able to train inside.

And training I need. Due to a very busy period at work and in college my training regime reduced itself to practically none. Flanders is coming up (April 7th, 2007) and although the Koppenberg isn’t part of the ride this year, the ride will still be a challenge.