Alpe d'Huez

Road cycling: Le Vernis-Alpe d'Huez-Le Vernis
Distance/Climb: 40k/1120m
The most iconic of all Tour climbs - this was the predictable starting point for my brief assault on Alpine cycling. We drove towards Bourg d'Oisans in increasingly despondent mood, as it became clear that my good weather luck (which was lasted most of 2011) had run out. Torrential rain as we pitched the tent in Le Vernis, but the Alpe was on the (tight) schedule as my evening warm-up for the bigger climbs to come over the next four days, so had to be done come rain or shine. A short warm up to Bourg, then you turn the corner and hit the climb immediately. It is an electrifying moment for a long-term Tour fan, instantly recognisable as the road ramps up to the first hairpin. Remarkably, I was sharing the mountain with the Alpe d'Huez triathlon, so had crowd support all the way up! Inevitably, and understandably, the competitors were going slowly. I was taking it very gently too, but still overtook hundreds of them all the way up. The first few hairpins are the steepest of the famed '21', but as I'd suspected it was possible to maintain a comfortable rhythm in what was admittedly a small gear. The rain remained steady, the valley below shifting in and out of the mist as I climbed up. Each bend has the name of a former stage winner and the whole place feels like a huge shrine to cycling and the Tour. The angle eases as you enter the trees but there is very little real respite. Dutch corner was still bright orange, as the Tour was here just five days ago. The rain got heavier as I reached the village in 60m after an exposed but gentler section, and became very cold and torrential as I passed the triathletes and headed for the true 'summit' which I reached in a rather slow 72m. I felt I had to be reserved for this first climb, so I'm not too ashamed of taking 35m longer than Pantani's super-human record! Then, a slight problem. Despite 20 years Alpine mountaineering experience, my novice status on the bike showed as I had failed to realise the fairly obvious fact that descending steep slopes in wet, cold weather at 2000m will quickly replicate wind-chill conditions! Cue an extremely uncomfortable semi-hypothermic descent with just a soaked windproof for protection, shivering and almost unable to pull the brakes. Gradually, the pain of the cold subsided as I dropped towards the valley and warmer air. I had to take the descent cautiously as a result of my frozen hands and the now torrential icy rain and later found that I'd melted my brake blocks. It took a hot shower, several hours in a goosedown jacket, and a portion of tartiflette to warm up. Despite all this, Alpe d'Huez in these appalling conditions made a memorable start to proceedings.