Etape du Tour Act II 2012 – the Cols
As we have previously posted on the Le Domestique Tours blog, the Etape Act II looks to be an absolute monster, so we thought we would set out a summary of the glorious history associated with the Cols upon which Act II is based and give you some tips on how to survive the day.
Col d’Aubisque
“Take the riders up the Aubisque? You’re completely crazy in Paris”
The Col d’Aubisque kicks the proper climbing off in the 2012 Etape du Tour Act II with 16.6km of climbing at an average of 7.2%. Beginning in the town of Laruns, the first few kilometres are fairly easy before the road kicks up to 13% shortly after passing through Eaux-Bonnes (meaning “Good Waters” and home to the house “Gracedieu” which is the subject of the novel “The House That Berry Built”) and remains tough until you reach the ski station at Gourette, where the gradient eases out of double figures. From Gourette you are left with a tough but steady 5km where you can settle into a decent rhythm and count down the kilometres to the Col.
Tricky and entertaining as the climb of the Aubisque is, it is probably most famous (or more correctly infamous) for the 1951 incident involving Wim van Est, who was at the time wearing the yellow jersey. Having suffered on the way up, Wim was chasing hard to catch the leading pack on the descent. Approaching the first bend, his front wheel hit a patch of gravel causing Wim and bike to flip off the edge of the road seemingly to his demise. However, as spectators and follow support arrived on the scene, all were amazed to find Wim balanced precariously on a tiny ledge 70 metres below the road. Not quite believing how lucky he was, his team attempted to rescue Wim using a tow rope. However the rope wasn’t quite long enough to span the gap, so the team manager Kees Pellenaars took the bold decision to tie together the team’s entire stock of tubular tyres and used this bodged rope to winch Wim out of trouble. Although now safe, Wim was left bikeless and the team tyreless (the stretched tubulars were too big to fit on the wheels), so the Dutch team was forced to retire.
Wim and his sponsor Pontiac watches had the last laugh though, with a successful advertising campaign fronted by Wim with the catch line “Seventy meters deep I dropped, my heart stood still but my Pontiac never stopped”
So Le Domestique Tours’ top tip for Etape day, is to pace yourself on the way up and ease yourself into the descent. The roads will be crowded as the field won’t have thinned out much by this point, so take your time to enjoy the view, get some energy on board and enjoy the descent!
Col du Tourmalet
“Crossed Tourmalet stop Very good road stop Perfectly feasible”
This one shouldn’t need an introduction, but just in case you are new to the mountains, the raw stats say it all – 2115m, 18km, average gradient close to 8% (with a nasty sting in the tail in the final kilometre) and over 75 crossings in the Tour de France since its debut in 1910.
Starting out from the town of Luz-Saint-Sauveur the climb winds its way up through a beautiful steep sided valley with relatively calm gradients. The best tactic here is to find a comfortable gear, get your head down and tap out a solid rhythm while keeping your heart rate well under control. The action begins in the town of Bareges where the road ramps up steeply which is sure to catch more than a few people in the wrong gear. Remember as soon as you see the town sign to drop down a cog or two and to prepare yourself for a few hundred metres of pain.
Once through Bareges the road starts to open out as you climb to the flat expanse of the ski station car park. Use this opportunity to catch your breathe, take on some fluids and a gel (or if you are lucky enough, some of the locally produced Tourmalet cheese) and admire the view (unless you are a glutton for punishment I’d avoid looking up…). Coming out of the car park you pass the sign that informs you that animals have liberty and head straight into a challenging section of hairpins around the head of the valley. From here on in, the Tourmalet lives up to its reputation, providing big gradients, sweeping bends and stunning views. Be careful not to overcook it here as the final kilometre hides a nasty kick which is sure to see some people getting off to walk!
Once at the summit, you get a quick chance to admire the shining Octave Lapize statue (assuming you don’t accidentally bear left and carry on along the dirt road that leads to Pic du Midi 700m higher up) before being hurled straight down into a brilliant descent. The top section is very exposed with some big drops and tight hairpins, but once through the (remarkably ugly) ski town of La Mongie, the road opens out and you have the chance to hit some big speeds. Take care as you enter the snow tunnels however as the roads can be greasy and the rapid change from sunshine to darkness can hide all manner of nasties!
The descent ends in the small village of Saint-Marie-de-Campan, which is famous for being the home of the forge used by Eugene Christophe to mend his broken fork in 1913. Back in those days, competitors were disqualified for accepting outside assistance so you needed a full set of skills! With the possible exception of Jens Voigt and Johnny Hoogerland, we here at Le Domestique Tours can’t think of many modern riders who could survive such hardship, however even if you are tough enough we suggest you take care on the descent, as the last time we checked, Saint-Marie-de Campan didn’t have a kiln suitable for repairing carbon fibre forks!
Col d’Aspin
“They punched and kicked me”
Infamous for the crowds of overzealous and allegedly violent fans that nearly led to the abandonment of the 1950 Tour de France, the Western side the Col d’Aspin is actually a relatively straight forward affair, slowly climbing out of Saint-Marie-de-Campan along a winding road at low single figure gradients. This is a good chance to take stock of your legs, food and fluid intake and where we would definitely recommend finding a group and sticking in it. By sheltering in a group your average speed will remain high but you will crucially be able to hold some energy in reserve for the final 60k.
Shortly after the restaurants at Payolle and with the downhill go cart and mountain board track to your right, the road turns sharp right and the tough higher grade climbing begins. The following 6k is (depending on how tired you are) either great fun or horrible and is testament to why the Col d’Aspin has featured nearly 70 times in the Tour de France. Shrouded by trees (a god send on hot days) the well surfaced road lazily weaves up the mountain side with some awesome hairpins and switch backs. With approximately 1.5k to go you leave the tree line behind and plow straight on to the Col at 1489m (or 1490m depending on which sign you believe….) .
Once at the Col you are greeted with a fantastic view over the valley, with chateau Le Domestique just out of sight to your extreme right. The following descent is everything you could hope for – technical, fast and with stunning views. We recommend that you exercise some caution on the descent of the Aspin, as there are lots of narrow, off camber hairpins with unguarded drops. However if you ride within your limits this is sure to be one of the highlights of your day!
The Aspin is famous for the herd of cows that roam free on the mountainside. It is not uncommon to round a corner and be faced with a family of cows sat idly in the middle of the road! Luckily the farmer equips most of the cows with bells which do act as an early warning system, however don’t rely on them!
Col de Peyresourde
“I just have enough time to think oh, this is going to hurt”
Luckily for Etape riders in 2012 they will be climbing rather than descending the side that saw Jens Voigt take a nasty tumble in 2010, however, this goes to show that the final climb of the day is as much of a challenge as the rest!
By this point you will probably be exhausted, sore, thirsty and any one of a million other things, but you are also incredibly close to finishing. If you have followed the advice given so far then you should arrive in Pailhac with a small deposit still left in your energy account and hopefully enough adrenaline to see you through to the end. Being the final climb of the stage we are expecting fireworks when the TdF arrives here 4 days later so if you have ever fancied attacking your group on a Tour climb then now is your chance! Hats off to anybody that can make a gap stick!
Rising out of the valley to 1569m the climb starts off relatively steady and, apart from a few nasty sections in the high single figures, stays that way for the duration. However with in excess of 150k in your legs, you will undoubtedly be feeling it and therefore ensuring that you stick to tapping out a steady rhythm on the pedals will be the key to survival. From Loudervielle onwards the final 5.5k stay in the high single digits (with a brief spell of 5.5% a couple of Ks from the Col) and are sure to test your resolve, but with the end so close in sight you should be able to power through. The view across the valley no doubt will help with stunning views over the Lac de Genos-Loudenvielle hopefully diverting attention for a spell!
Once you reach the Col (situated below the summit finish of Peyragudes which marks the end of the high mountains in the TdF 2012) the hard work is done and you are left with a brilliant view across the valley and the beautiful mountain villages below (which contain several stunning chapels). After negotiating the tight hairpin bends at the top of the descent the road opens out for a spell (a newly laid surface earlier this autumn should ensure smooth progress) before twisting and turning through several more villages. The final section is a wide open, well sighted blast into Bagneres du Luchon which is a prime spot for bagging a personal best speed before you roll over the finish line and congratulate yourself on finishing the Etape du Tour Act II 2012!
We hope the above guide is informative and interesting! Please stay in touch over the coming months, check out our Etape training camps being held from May onwards and keep your eyes peeled for our video guide which we will be releasing in the spring!
Rob and Laura
Le Domestique Tours
