The La Fuga Cycling Academy was run for the first time in Spring 2011. Our first 30 graduates left the Academy with improved skills, greater fitness and an ambition to achieve their 2011 goals. In this week’s newsletter we catch up with a few of them and check how their year of cycling panned out.

If you’d like to follow in their footsteps and improve your skills and fitness, places are still available on this March’s Cycling Academy. 

The Newbie

Name: Nicole Hergarten

Location: London

Season Aims: Pick up the basic skills

 ”In January of this year I started my road cycling, investing in a proper bike and joining my local cycling club. Through a friend I heard of La Fuga and decided to steepen my learning curve by joining the Cycling Academy in Mallorca.

From arrival to final day we were superbly taken care of by real cycle enthusiasts with abundance of experience and knowledge (cycling, fitness theory, nutrition and bike maintenance alike), in addition to great humour and contagious love for the sport.

Thanks to the La Fuga instructors I conquered the mountain climbs (even though I was overtaken by an old man with a long white beard) and I learned to master and love fast descents. And I am a champion at changing my tyres in record time now as well!!

We had a real fun group of riders and the hotel was ideally located and designed for cyclists. All rides were well prepared, abundance of food and drink ready before and during the ride and the rental bike was excellent (a real surprise high spec bike). I had a great time, really got the cycling bug despite some struggles and often arriving last. Thank you so much, La Fuga team!!”

Using the fitness and new skills picked up in Mallorca, Nicole comfortably completed a number of hilly sportives up to 120km and even tried her hand at time trialling.

The Racer
Name: Soren Jensen
Location: Copenhagen / New York
Season Aims: Move up a licence category, win a race

“I came to Mallorca to train hard and get some miles in before the start of the racing season. But I also had two specific issues that I asked the La Fuga crew to help me with. I wanted to improve my sprint and my descending skills.

I’ve been riding in mountains before, but never really felt comfortable descending. Before heading down Col du Soller the first time, we went through the basics, then one of the guides put on a helmet cam and we filmed the whole thing. Watching my self on video that evening was a big help and during the course of the week, not only my descending, but my bike handling skills in general improved dramatically.

One afternoon we made time for a one-to-one session to work on my sprint. We did a few exercises and once again the guys filmed me while doing this and after dinner we analysed the footage and discussed how I could improve my technique. That didn’t make me a mean super
sprinter overnight, but it gave me some great tools to work with after the camp.

Before leaving the island we also spoke about how to plan my training for the next 2 weeks leading up the first race of the season.”

After returning home to Denmark Soren finished 3rd, 2nd and then 1st in  his first 3 races and got his upgrade.

The Veteran

Name: Chris Pino

Location: Sonoma Valley, California

Season Aims: Prepare for the Rapha Randonnée Pyrénéenne

“I signed up for the La Fuga Majorca cycling academy with the expectation of just riding in a nice climate, well, what a surprise! The team leaders were incredible cyclists and great trainers.  We spent days riding and training and had evening post ride briefings during which we reviewed videos of the day and discussed the highs and lows.  Some of videos were pretty funny!

 I really appreciated the day spent working on downhill skills and the day we spent pace-lining. Those two days have really made a drastic improvement to my overall riding abilities.  My bike skills have improved tremendously and my confidence level is much higher.  The attention to detail from La Fuga is first rate from the moment I booked the trip.  I have since signed up for two more La Fuga trips!”

Chris went onto successfully complete the Rapha Randonnée Pyrénéenne in September 2011

La Fuga and Sigma Sport invite you to join Graham Watson at the launch of “The Best of Graham Watson” exhibition on Thursday 17th November 2011 at 6pm.

On Thursday 17th November “The Best of Graham Watson” exhibition will be opened at the Sigma Sport store in Hampton Wick by the man himself, Graham Watson, the worlds leading cycling photographer. In celebration of the 1 year anniversary of the opening of the new store, Sigma Sport is honored to have key pieces from Grahams collection on display from 17th November to 5th December. The launch of the show will give the cycling community an opportunity to view a range of Graham’s work from the past 20 years with a chance to meet the world famous photographer. The exhibition will be truly unique with Graham’s work displayed in the modern setting of the UK’s largest Road Cycling and Triathlon store for the first time.

Born in London, 1956. Graham studied at Stanley Technical High School until age 16, after which Graham joined society photographer, Lenare, for a period between 1972-1977. It was here that Graham learned the basics of photography before becoming involved in cycling whilst riding 20-kilometres into London and back each day. Following a weekend trip to the 1977 Tour de France in Paris, Graham won a small photographer’s competition organized by the British ‘Cycling Weekly’ magazine and his career as a cycling photographer was launched. During a year or so photographing British-based races, Graham still traveled to Europe to photograph the Tour de France, but also Classics like the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix – which he first saw after cycling to and from the channel port of Calais in 1980, a day’s mileage of over 200-kilometres.

Over the years Graham’s name has become synonymous with cycling photography, achieving recognition around the world. Graham’s ability to capture the emotion and feeling of competitive cycling communicatin this to the viewer through a single moment has earned him the reputation as one of the world best sport photographers. The drama of competition is clearly on display in this exclusive “Best Of” exhibition and the pieces take you on a journey of the key events in cycling over the past 20 years. The new Sigma Sport store provides an impressive and unique backdrop to these fantastic images.

The exhibition will include images from all the Grand Tours, Paris-Roubaix and many more of cycling’s key events. Running from 17th November to 5th December the show will be open to members of the public during normal Sigma Sport store hours, so if you can’t make a trip down to the store this Thursday there is plenty of time to come along and enjoy Grahams work. Not only will you be able to view this wonderful photography, there will also be the opportunity to purchase the pieces on display. And if you’re inspired by Graham’s images to explore some of these iconic places, we’ll be around all evening to help you plan travel to these wonderful places.

Sigma Sport will also be selling Graham’s highly sort after 2012 calendar and posters, there will also be copies of Graham’s new book authored with Cadel Evans that will be availble for purchase, signed by Graham. So why not join us on Thursday 17th November at 6:00pm for a great evening of fantastic photography, great bikes and some refreshments.

For directions to the Sigma Sport store click here

  

The Giro di Lombardia is one of cycling’s most historic races. Always held in the Autumn and known as the Race of the Falling Leaves, the event is one of cycling’s five monuments and, while the modern era has seen later races added to the calendar, Lombardia will always symbolise the end of the professional season. As such, for all but the few racers who aim to win the event, the atmosphere is incredibly relaxed with the riders and the event as a whole being very approachable and welcoming. It is the perfect setting to follow and experience the excitement of a professional bike race.

The tour began on a Friday with guests arriving into Milan and transferred up to Lake Como. The warm hospitality, wonderful food and stunning beauty surrounding La Fuga’s base in Bellagio, on the shores of the lake made it the perfect location for the weekend. Situated at the foot of the races’ iconic climb, the Madonna del Ghisallo, the luxury hotel used year after year by La Fuga made for the perfect location for guests to soak in the atmosphere that surrounds the lake and as a build up to the race the next day.

Saturday included a trip to the event start in Milan in order to experience the race village, pro bikes, team buses and get up close and personal with some of cycling’s greatest names. Courtesy of Garmin, a pre-arranged VIP visit to the Garmin Cervelo Pro Cycling Team bus made for a great experience for our guests. British professional Dan Lloyd provided some real insight into team race tactics plus the lifestyle and demands faced by a cycling professional. Dan performed some fantastic work early in the race to support and protect his team leader Dan Martin (who finished 2nd overall, their best result in the race to date). Sadly, Dan crashed late in the race and suffered a broken collar bone. We wish him a speedy recovery.

Later in the day the group rode to the summit of the Madonna del Ghisallo, often the key turning point in the overall outcome of the race, to watch the final stages. Hundreds of fans laced the roadside making for a truly electric atmosphere as the Italian Vicenzo Nibali led the race over the top of the climb. The group then enjoyed a descent back to the hotel for a delicious meal including fresh fish from Lake Como, caught that day by the restaurant owner.

On Sunday, the day was filled with riding the spectacular roads and climbs surrounding the lake plus a ferry journey across to the opposite shore. While this year’s race was routed up the Colma di Sormano climb, in earlier years, the hard men of cycling were sent up the Muro di Sormano – a ‘short cut’ that reduces the final 6 km segment of the climb to only 2 km and literally means Sormano’s Wall. The Muro rises more than 300m, averaging over 15% (max 26%) and for the majority of the group marked the hardest climb that any had ever ridden. At the top of the Muro the guests enjoyed a traditional lunch overlooking the lake.

   

Monday was departure day but not before Richard and Mark plus a few others took in an early morning ride before being taken to Milan to catch the flight home.
Overall, everyone had a fantastic experience taking in the breath-taking scenery, Italian country and the excitement that surrounds a Pro Tour cycle race.

Mark Williams and Richard Burrows, both from south-west London were the lucky winners of a competition held jointly by Sigma Sport, Garmin and La Fuga, and joined the other La Fuga guests for the weekend. To book your place on next year’s Giro di Lombardia Weekend contact us on info@lafuga.cc

         

Just in time for the Eroica which takes place in Tuscany in a couple of weeks time, some vintage bikes arrived at La Fuga HQ…

L’Eroica takes place every October on the strade bianche of Tuscany. It’s a cyclosportif event for vintage bikes and an annual mecca for lovers of old bikes. La Fuga runs a weekend package to the Eroica each year. For more information visit www.lafuga.cc

Watch a YouTube clip of La Fuga riding the roads of the Eroica here.

Thanks to Will Pearson of Pearson Cycles for supplying the bikes.

Ross takes on the challenge of the Ken Laidlaw Sportive and revisits some old training roads.

Ken Laidlaw was one of the first British riders to successfully complete the Tour de France, a fact that the Scottish Borders Sportive celebrates by naming the event in his honour. Starting and finishing in the Borders town of Hawick, famous for its rejuvenated knitwear brands of Pringle and Lyle and Scott, the challenge facing the riders on the 106 mile route is that of heavy, undulating roads across windblown moorland and traversing beautifully desolate hill tops. It’s not difficult to see how the towns two famous exports; Laidlaw and knitwear, are products of the areas landscape and climate.

The ride rolled out from the Hawick Rugby ground (another sporting tradition in these parts) as one mass peloton with all 500 riders enjoying some blustery sunshine. The mass start is a rare thing on the British sportive scene and I certainly enjoyed the camaraderie and memories of racing days past. The first climb came almost straight out of Hawick with local boy Cameron leading the way as we flicked left and right, picking our way through tiny rural lanes. My legs were tired after a long drive up from the South and I was happy to sit at the back of the forty strong group that had established itself and try to predict what the cloud laden skies overhead had in store for us.

Before long I was on familiar terrain, the northern part of the course intersecting the southern-most range of my training rides when based in Edinburgh. The Swire (which was known in Edinburgh circles as the Witchy Knowe) and the Berry Bush were both training regulars and also featured in the annual Gordon Arms hilly time trial, a stalwart of the Eastern Scotland early season calendar. With familiarity came slight over enthusiasm as I attacked on the lower slopes of the Swire and rode clear with Cameron for company. We let the group ride up to us on the climb but then distanced them again as we descended on rails down the gravelly, sheep strewn single track descent.

After the Berry Bush the threatening clouds started to deliver their promised rain. As we passed the Buddhist Monastery on the road to Eskdalemuir the heavens opened and the resulting deluge seemed to noticeably drain the enthusiasm from the group. Thankfully the rain turned out to be a passing shower and the roads slowly started to dry out. By now we were a group of about 30 and seemingly happy to enjoy safety in numbers given the difficulty still to come.

Cameron’s local tip was to beware the climb that would take us from Langholm over to Newcastleton, right on the English border. He described a vicious start out of the town, easing slightly until emerging onto the moorland and facing winds blowing unabated across the moorland. Born again cyclist and friend of La Fuga, Billy McCord had made it this far in the front group despite being a little short of his usual form and I urged him to the front as we sped through the pretty market town of Langholm. Exactly as described by Cameron, we turned right off the main road and faced a 15% gradient as we climbed away from the town. After a couple of switchbacks, the gradient eased back and allowed the group to find a regular rhythm.

On the lower slopes unity reined in the group until, as we emerged onto the purple heather clad hill side, the stronger climbs decided to make their presences felt and lifted the pace. I followed the wheels and by the top, three of us were clear. The road dipped down and soared up again to the horizon with the tree-less terrain giving us a clear view of the remainder of the group strung out in pursuit. With 35 miles still to ride we decided to wait for the group and enjoyed an amazing view over the border country as we descended at pace into the folk music stronghold of Newcastleton.

And it was on the road from Newcastleton to the final climb of the Gate that it crept up on me. Without notice, the strength drained from my legs and my recent lack of riding manifested itself as light headedness and the inability to turn the pedals with my previous force. The knock, the bonk, hitting the wall, whatever you want to call it, I was know crawling along and thoughts of a high position replaced by those of just making it back. A well placed feed station provided some relief and saw Cameron and myself join forces with an old friend, Hamish, from Edinburgh, to brave the last miles home.

And it was in those last few miles that the wild power of the Borders landscape made itself known. The heavy undulating roads, the windblown moorland and the desolate hilltops; these were the landscapes that had bestowed Ken Laidlaw with the legs to line up against Europe’s best riders and endure France’s own savage landscapes. The three of us worked together in silent team work that only the struggle home after a hard ride seems to endow. The strongest doing the lion’s share, the weakest holding on as if life depended on it and with roles reversed with every lump in the road and emergency jelly baby consumed.

At last we rolled back into the Rugby Club after almost 5 ½ hours on the bike and 106 miles under the wheels. We were eEncouraged over the line by announcer James Johnston, a voice I hadn’t heard in over 15 years since my days at the Meadowbank Track League in Edinburgh. The grassroots vibe of the event extended to the post-race catering with home made macaroni cheese or local dish of stovies the reward for a hard day on the bike.

The Ken Laidlaw Scottish Borders Sportive is organised each August by Hawick CC and offers a choice of three routes ranging from 22 to 106 miles. Sign up for next year’s event at http://www.hamishdsmith.co.uk/cycling/.

Cycling Academy  

Those of you who came with us on our Cycling Academy trips in the spring will know that we promised to be back this Autumn! Well after an extremely busy summer period we are now ready to gauge your interest for our next training camp.

This will take place on the French Riviera, near to our European HQ in Cannes from the 8th – 15th October, giving you a great chance to hone your skills on some great roads ready for the winter training period.

As an added bonus, Matt Roberts gyms are considering sending out their biomechanical expert. Using several advanced techniques they will help you to pinpoint muscle tightness, imbalances and weaknesses. Tailored advice will then be available to combat these problems so you can come out of your winter training in great shape.

Pricing is currently being finalised, but will be similar to that of our spring academy.

So if you think this trip could be for you, register your interest here  

Check out the photos from earlier this year on our Spring Cycling Academy here. 

Read more about Matt Roberts Gyms: http://www.mattroberts.co.uk/

After a seasons service we are selling our trusted fleet of hire bikes. All of these bikes have a great spec, minimal use and are in great condition after being serviced regularly by our professional mechanic. They will be serviced again before sale so you can guarantee a great ride.

The bulk of our fleet is made up of Specialized Tarmac SL3s with a limited edition ‘American Flyer’ red paint scheme. These come with a full Ultegra groupset and fulcrum 4 wheels with an original value of £2,849.99. We also have two Specialized Roubaix SL3s available in blue and white with the same spec also with a value of £2,849.99, as well as one Specialized womens specific Ruby in black and pink with shimano 105 with a value of £1,649.99.

For photos, full spec and sizes available click here:

Prices:

Specialized Tarmac Expert SL3 (red): £1500

Specialized Roubaix Expert SL3 (blue + white): £1500

Specialized womens specific Ruby (black + pink): £950

Delivery / Pick-up

These bikes will be available for pick-up/postage once they arrive in the UK at the end of October. If you are unable to pick-up from our offices at Sigma Sport we can offer a postage service at a cost of £25 for UK delivery. For Overseas postage prices please give us a call for a quote.

If you are very keen to have yours sooner we can offer a selection of sizes from our European HQ with an added postage cost to the UK (or wider world).

We will ask for a £250 returnable deposit on reservation.

Sigma Sport pages:

Tarmac Expert Sl3

Roubaix Expert Sl3

Ruby Elite

To reserve your very own Fuga Flyer call us on 0208 144 1441 or e-mail: info@lafuga.cc

Here we have compiled a compehensive list of the major carriers policies on taking your bike along for the ride. Just make sure your steed is well packed and you’ll be ready to join us on one of our tours

UK Airlines to Europe

British Airways

British Airways have a very helpful Bike policy in that you can take yours on free of charge as part of your free checked baggage allowance as long as it meets dimensions and weight restrictions. Only if your total number of bags is more than your free checked allowance, will you need to pay extra bag charges.

http://www.britishairways.com/travel/bagsport/public/en_gb

Easyjet

Easyjet charge a fee for each flight for yours bike which differ depending on when you declare it. When pre-paid the price is £25, when paid at the airport you pay £30. This fee gives you and extra 12kgs of weight allowance on top of your booked baggage, with a maximum of 50kg allowed per person, including your bike, subject to available space. So one passenger with a bag and a bike bag has a total of 32kg allowance which can be distributed amongst the two however you like.

The maximum weight or your bike bag or box can be 32kgs

Excess kilos: £10

http://www.easyjet.com/en/planning/baggage.html

http://www.easyjet.com/en/book/regulations.html#baggage

Ryanair

The largest discount airline in Europe will charge you £40 each way if you book your bike online with a charge of £50 if you pay for it on the day. Usually sports equipment can weigh up to 20kgs, but there’s a small line of text saying Bikes can weigh up to 30kgs so it’s worth packing as much as you can into your bike bag/box and taking the rest as hand luggage depending on the length of the trip.

http://www.ryanair.com/en/terms-and-conditions#regulations-tableoffees

Excess kilos: £20

Bmi Baby

When you book online with Bmi Baby you can expect to be charged £17.99 or €22.00 (£23 when booked on the phone or at the airport) per sector per item with a maximum weight of 18kgs. This is all subject to availability of space on the plane so best to check before hand.

Excess kilos: £12

http://www.bmibaby.com/bmibaby/faqs/baggage.aspx

Thomsonfly

Thomson charge £30 return for short and mid haul flights and £60 return for their long haul offerings. They do ask you to call ahead to pre-book you bike onto your flight on 0871 231 4787.

 http://www.thomson.co.uk/editorial/faqs/flights/luggage.html

Excess kilos: £10 short/mid haul £15 long haul

Intercontinental flights

Virgin Atlantic

Virgin also offer a great service in that you can take along your bike at no extra cost, that’s as long as it doesn’t weigh more than 23kg. That’s in addition to your free baggage allowance.

http://www.virgin-atlantic.com/gb/en/travel-information/baggage/sports-equipment.html

Lufthansa

The biggest German carrier charges a fee for you to take your bike along. Flights within Europe cost 70€ with intercontinental flights costing 150€. You also have to call their reservation hotline in order to register your bike after booking your flight and they can’t definitely guarantee that sports equipment will be accepted.

http://www.lufthansa.com/online/portal/lh/de/info_and_services/baggage?nodeid=3331156&l=en&cid=18002

Lufthansa Special Baggage pricing

Swiss

Swiss airlines have a similar policy to Lufthansa, a bike comes in their ‘Medium’ sports equipment tariff which means that it’s between 16 kg and 30 kg and/or is between 1.41m and 2m in length.

As with Lufthansa, Swiss charge 70€ ($100) for flights within Europe, with intercontinental flights costing 150€ ($200).

http://www.swiss.com/web/en/services/baggage/pages/sporting_equipment.aspx

Air France

If you want to book your bike with Air France, you’ll need to call their sales department for confirmation. But bikes are treated as baggage items and their transport is included in your baggage allowance.  This allowance is 23kg per item and for anything beyond this a fixed-rate fee is charged. This fee depends on the amount and can be found out by taking a look at their checked baggage section.

http://www.airfrance.co.uk/GB/en/common/guidevoyageur/pratique/bagage_equipement_sport_airfrance.htm

Qantas

Another major international carrier, Qantas includes your bike in your check baggage allowance (economy 23kg, business 32kg, first 40kg) as long as it doesn’t exceed 1.40m in length. You can also purchase and additional baggage allowance to save on airport excess baggage rates. Nice and simple!

 http://www.qantas.com.au/travel/airlines/sporting-equipment/global/en#jump0

American Airlines

This airline’s bike policy depends on the size and weight of your bike. If it doesn’t exceed 62 dimensional inches (157.5cm) or 50lbs (22.7kg) then the bike is charged the applicable baggage charge for the 1^st checked bag. If it exceeds this then the bike is charged a fee of $150 regardless of the number of checked bags.

http://www.aa.com/i18n/travelInformation/baggage/baggageAllowance.jsp

As an interesting side note, AA also offers a special option to fly with antlers. They must be as free of residue as possible and the skull must be wrapped and tips protected. You’ll have to remember that when you’re transporting any extravagant cycling trophies home!

United Airlines

Bike’s with United travel for an extra fee as special luggage at £130 (150€/$150) each way. This makes it pretty simple to work out, if not slightly pricey.

http://www.united.com/page/article/1,,53403,00.html

http://www.united.com/page/article/1,,50773,00.html#bicycle

Air Canada

The major Canadian airline doesn’t apply an oversize luggage charge to your bike, but a handling charge of $50 CAD/USD (plus applicable taxes) is applied for each leg of the journey. If you have a few more bags then you thought you might then you will be charged and additional checked baggage fee in addition to the handling fee. This will vary depending on the weight so check it out before hand.

http://www.aircanada.com/en/travelinfo/airport/baggage/sports_equip.html#-bike

It’s early…too early. Any sane person probably wouldn’t consider getting up at four in the morning to do anything, let alone ride a sixty mile sportive event over three mountains. But we cyclists don’t tend to be of the sane variety; in fact we appear to be quite the opposite.

But today wasn’t my turn to ride, today was about support, about getting our hardy souls through the event by providing strategically placed feeds stations along the way. This didn’t make breakfast any easier though as I forced down a croissant and shovelled in some cereal. All our riders had a similar look, that of dazed apprehension as to what they were doing and what they were about to put themselves through. The breakfast tables were quiet, only witty remarks about making it through the day were acceptable conversation. It would soon be time to embark on the journey to the race start town of the Etape du Tour Act I in Modane.

Our preparation had been done the day before, the notorious ‘feed station shop’ had been completed, each van was packed with the required equipment for our two feed stations… the calm before the storm. As we arrived in Modane the riders quickly disembarked as we unloaded the accompanying bike shuttle. The tension was palpable as our guests made their final preparations to their steeds and decided on last minute clothing changes. We were on hand to assist with any final issues before we too had to rush off to get ahead of the race.

The scene reminded me of the hundreds of races I’ve competed in, pre-event rituals, making use of the nearest vertical object as a toilet, and general nerves. As a full time racer you could never admit your fears or weaknesses. To do this would lose you your edge, your psychological advantage, your wall of defiance. But this is a different kind of event, these lumps are genuinely massive and people are scared. We provide council as to the best way to tackle the difficulties, stats to busy the mind and an experienced mechanical hand to ease bike related fears.

As we raced ahead we began to realise that we had been awake for several hours and it was still considerably early. Thankfully we were treated to spectacular views as we traced the event route over the Col du Télégraphe and Col du Galibier as the sun began to rise. After the superb drive down the valley of the Col du Lautaret we finally arrived at our chosen destination, the foot of the mythical Alpe d’Huez. After a small disagreement with the technician setting up the timing strips, we set up camp, putting up the now famous (or infamous) La Fuga gazebo and making us as visible as possible for our guests.

We then finished our final food preparations and made ready the liquid that would be consumed in large amounts on what was to be a hot day. The food for a feed station isn’t perhaps what you might consider a healthy lunch but it’s everything necessary for the ravenous cyclist. Salty snacks, cakes, sandwiches, fruit and energy bars and gels for the more serious competitor.

Then we began the waiting game. The lead riders came through after three hours of racing in small groups before more of a steady stream of ‘spotifs’ started to appear. Our first customer was using our pro support package and arrived well up in the first 100 riders.  A quick refill of bottles, a speedy glass of coke, two gels and he was off, anxious to stay well placed in the classification. A couple more riders did the same before the bulk of our ‘Fugarites’ started to swing by the red gazebo. Many simply needed a refill and they were straight off, several had stories to tell of the days efforts and a few needed some extra motivation and stats of the climb that awaited them.

Eventually riders stopped coming through. It wasn’t scheduled as we were still expecting a lot more people to come through our station so we wondered what had happened. After a quick chat with the gendarme across the road we found out that a nasty crash had occurred and the race had been stopped for 45 minutes. This gave us some time to take stock and restock. We needed to as well as once the blockage was opened everyone came just about at once. It was quite manic as we tried to satisfy everybody’s needs with water, energy drink and food. At the same time we were having to ward off the French chancers who wanted in on the La Fuga experience. Eventually the last of our riders came through, some strong words of encouragement were passed on, and they headed up the mountain to our VIP tent at the top.

Then it was time to pack up, put down the gazebo and head on up the mountain ourselves to help with the packing away. This was easier said than done though as our friendly gendarme turned stern as we requested to turn on to the road. We were forced to wait for a couple of hours whilst the French police force lost contact with each other and couldn’t decide whether or not the road was actually open. Eventually we got to the top and aided with the packing by which point our guests were on their way back to their hotel.

We eventually set off ourselves and returned just before dinner. Whilst eating a very satisfying meal accompanied by some fine wine we swapped stories with the guests about how their day had gone. There were tales of woe and of glory, some already perhaps being seen through lightly rose tinted spectacles, but glorious all the same. The vehicles were organised for the next day’s transfers before we headed off to bed to finish what had been a long yet successful day.

To see a few more photos from the day click here.

Etape du Tour Acte 2 – 2011 – Issoire to St Flour – Sunday July 17th

Serial sportive rider from Down Under and friend of La Fuga, Lew Targett describes his experiences on what promised to be a beautiful ride through the Massif Central but turned into a day of survival.

Final event/Race for this year’s European Campaign.

The 2011 Etape du Tour which this year had two editions for first time, ASO making more money!
Acte 2 was between Issoire and St Flour in the Massif Central, the stage on which Vino retired after a big off, and the new Dutch hero, Johnny Hoogyland had an argument with a barbed wire fence. 210 kms distance, and 4000M of climbing, par for the course, and I was about as fit as I can get. Which is not very. Had a great week before with a couple of guys at my hotel who were also there for the Etape, reccy the course a bit looked OK.

Sunday morning in the waiting pen, good start number, 2222, out of about 8500 I think. However weather report VERY iffy. Sure enough there we all were, six thirty in the morning, everyone looking slightly worried, and the rain started, not too heavy but ominous, jumped fence to Bar for a coffee X2, but looked it looked bad. Usual hectic start, should be used to it by now, only difference, French riders not Italians. Now, if your cup of tea is riding in driving rain, freezing temperatures, and a relentless headwind for 210 kms then this would be the race for you.

However if not, then you would be better off opening the second bottle of red and staying by the fire, getting fat. It became pretty obvious that things were not too good when by 30 kms cyclists were abandoning and turning around. It was so bad as to be unbelievable. I’ve ridden in some pretty ordinary weather, the Three Peaks, and last years Gran Fondo Campagnolo to name just a couple, but nothing like this !!, unbelievably bad, a particularly bad days for cyclists with white knicks or white bikes, and aero wheels, it was terrible.

After awhile there were more people stopped/collapsed with hypothermia/turning around, than there were riders going forward. By the first food stop at Aranches, 70 kms, Ross Muir, our guide, was told later, 4000 riders had abandoned. Only 140 kms to go. Five climbs, particularly nice at the top of Puy Mary, (see above, and that was on a nice day, imagine it in bad weather), the biggest climb, with all the ice/hail in your face, almost made for an interesting descent in the rain and fog, at least you didn’t have to worry about the other riders , you couldn’t see them anyway.
Stopped at our own foodstop midway and bumped into a couple or riders I knew, they sure looked bad, kind of a blue white colour with this unusual shaking, I hope I didn’t look as bad as them. Two guys in the Van not going anywhere. Only 115 kms to go.

On the assumption that it could’t get worse I continued on with a mate who could ride with only a bit of shaking. After awhile I think the entire French Ambulance Service must have gone by, very tempted, I thought maybe if I just ride into a ditch they will feel sorry for me and I can get rescued. Finally got to our last foodstop at 160 kms, really, really was over this ride, could hardly get off bike,Tom, another guide manning the stop, said only 60 kms and one more climb too go. Easy. By this time an alarming lack of other cyclists around.

Finally, finally, 15 kms from finish, the sun amazingly, came out, sort of, it was still raining, and windy but just merely cold, not freezing. I had also discovered that waterproof cycling gear does not exist, and that Robbie McEwan was right after all.As I crossed the finish line in St Flour after 10 hrs and 40 mins, I can can tell you, dear readers, that I am really over Sportif’s.However,what made this ride truly memorable, apart from the the appalling weather, distance and climbing, was the thousands upon thousands of spectators that had come out in truly awful conditions to cheer us on, there were people everywhere on all the climbs, in the villages, kids, grown ups, cheering us. Something you would never, ever see in Australia, they really cared about the riders and I think it was about the only thing that kept me going.

The other great thing was all the roadside artwork (see above), from the Tour stage a couple of days before, so much work, just for a few minutes as the riders flash by. Well, my 21st, and I suspect, last, Gran Fondo. Time for golf. Just so I won’t be tempted to ride bike again, left it over here.
Lew Targett

A Postscript.
Of the 8500 or so riders that started, less than 2000 finished. The winner (a pro), finished in 7 and a half hours, and even he couldn’t get a Gold medal time!! A record low number of finishers for the Etape du Tour. ASO should pay us than rather than the other way around.