Excellent photographs once again kindly provided by @charlottegamus, carlajokr & mittelgebirgeclassique
Day Three
I duly rose at 12:15am, questioning whether this time of day still counts as the previous days’ night, since the ‘morning’ and dawn especially were still a long way off. For me though, this had to be the start of a new day to make up for stopping so early the previous evening. I made short work of a 4 pack of riz au lait, gulped a coffee and was rolling at just after 12:45am in a pleasantly mild and calm night/morning. I find the way that rural French villages are lit up during night particular charming and the absence of motor traffic on the roads makes the whole experience quite beguiling. It wasn’t long though until I hit the slopes of the Ballon d’Alsace, which I have since learned was the first true col to be ridden in the Tour de France in 1905. Apparently, Mont Blanc is visible from the summit on a clear day, but my visibility was restricted to the road immediately ahead of me, always a slightly surreal experience in the mountains in darkness.
I was genuinely looking forward to the next hurdle, which has gained renown in much more recent Tour de France history – La Planche des Belle Filles. However, what was the previous day just a slight niggle in my right knee had developed in to something more acute on the Ballon d’Alsace and was stingingly painful when putting pressure on the pedals, especially when my cadence was interrupted transitioning from seated to standing. This was very uncomfortable at times, but just about manageable by popping paracetamol and the occasional quadricep stretch to relieve the pain above my patella. A week before the event, I had to change pedals to a slightly different model (due to a broken axel) which may well have been an aggravating cause, exacerbated by the demands of constant climbing. The Planche itself was a stiff climb in places, but never for prolonged periods as regular flat(ish) sections permitted respite. I was kept entertained deciphering the words of support imprinted on the road surface almost the entire way up, with ‘PINOT’ clearly claiming a place of honour. Perhaps a shame to do this at night, but conversely it did add a mystical element to the moment.
Following the 20% kicker to the summit of the Planche (tasty, but not a patch on Winnats Pass) there was just the last of the Ballons to cross before the second checkpoint – the Ballon de Servance. The road surface, especially on the descent could have certainly been smoother and cleaner. The pass is apparently closed (possibly just temporarily) to motor traffic which, although positive in traffic terms, does often mean the road is less well maintained and debris is more likely to build up. One of these pieces of debris duly found its way through my front tyre whilst I was crawling at barely 10kph on the upslope (if I was still on tubeless, this would have sealed…). Daylight was beginning to show itself at this point which helped me to see what I was doing when swapping the inner tube.
Problem sorted efficiently and calmly, I plunged in to an eerily atmospheric cloud of mist on the approach to the checkpoint at the Auberge La Haute Fourche. The interior of the Auberge was a delight, so appealingly French with retro bicycles hung from the ceiling and the walls lined with beer placards. A lot of food was again on offer so I more than filled my tank but didn’t hang around for longer than necessary, much as I was enjoying the surrounds.
Opportunities to resupply for much of the next stretch were few and far between as the route now headed north towards repeated climbs topping out above 1,000m. My favourite of these was the Chaume du Grand Ventron where a diversion from the main route led to a gently winding and peaceful road through the forest. Temperatures remained mild, although a damp, misty gloom hung over the summits, restricting any views on offer. A long descent led to Sainte-Maire-aux-Mines and an amusing scene of fellow riders in various states around the supermarché. One of the Meyer brothers was sprawled flat on his back seemingly having a nap with the remnants of food packaging lying about him. There must have been 4 or 5 others there coming and going during the brief time I had paused to re-satisfy my riz au lait requirements and consider my options for that night. Reaching Saverne would make this a 330km day (add to this the ascent totalling nearly three quarters of Everest), with around 160km then to go until the finish. There were plenty of possibilities for accommodation at Saverne so if I could make it there by 9:00pm and stock up at the Carrefour, I would be set for that evening and the final stretch the next morning. Pushing on through that night didn’t really enter my mind. I touched on this earlier, but I was stuck somewhere in the middle of wanting to cover ground as quickly and efficiently as possible, whilst being somewhat resigned to not taking the risks that would put me in a more competitive position. I didn’t check the tracker throughout the race but knew just how far off the pace I was when I was told during this afternoon that the winner, Lucas Becker, was approaching the finish line whilst we still had a good 16+ hours of riding ahead of us.
It was 1:00pm and 140km very much not flat terrain separated my current position from Saverne. At a projected 20kph average moving speed in such circumstance (hills, fatigue, generally being weak…) I didn’t have much messing-around-with time to play with so knuckled down to passing the next 8 hours in an efficient fashion. By this stage I found I was frequently bumping in to the same faces on the road and it was pleasant to share the odd conversation and compare notes, more often than not concerning ailments and woes. I passed the Meyer brothers and Jair, who I had also encountered earlier in the race, before meeting Jonas. We spent the afternoon never far from eyeshot of each other, occasionally side-by-side and then drifting apart on the climbs, until our natural pace would re-unite us. This is a common occurrence in these events, but I do feel that I consistently rode at my own pace, never intentionally overexerting up to keep up or slowing down to stay in conversational distance. After all, if we were at exactly the same point after 60+ hours of riding, our natural moving speed is likely to be very similar. Much as I tried to drop him on the steeper gradients though (!), I just couldn’t definitively shake Jonas. We cruised the final section to Saverne down very pleasant canal-side bike path where Jonas planned to continue on before finding an appropriate bush to sleep in, while I had booked an apartment for a cost which didn’t work out as great value on a per-hour basis. I commented on how un-competitive we seemed, perhaps more a reflection of my mindset at this stage, still not knowing what position we were in overall but with the knowledge of how far off the pointy end I was. Nonetheless, this was the day I was most pleased with in terms of moving time, efficiency and terrain covered. If I was gradually working my way in to the ‘race mindset’ is was a bit late though as it was now only 160 relatively flat-ish kilometres to the finish. A committed me would have nonchalantly dismissed even the idea of getting indoor accommodation so ‘close’ to the end.
Arriving at 8:30pm in Saverne meant that the Carrefour was still open so I bought a lot of food, told Jonas half-jokingly that I’d still beat him to the finish and pootled to my apartment. There I was greeted by a portly gentleman donned in a string vest who somehow succeeded in emitting a bodily odour stronger than my own, despite not having washed my clothes properly for 3 days. He was very friendly though and after hearing how far I had cycled (‘neuf-cent bornes!?’), returned from his kitchen and handed me a full unwrapped baguette (every self-respecting French person must have a spare baguette to hand for such eventualities). The room itself was far too nice for the 5-odd hours I spent there showering, shovelling food down and sleeping.
The Numbers – Day Three
Distance: 204.34 mi / 328.85 km
Elevation: 22,060 ft / 6,724 m
Moving Time: 17:45:12
Elapsed Time: 19:50:41
Average Speed: 11.5 mph / 18.5 kph
Average Power: 136w
Normalised Power: 163w
TSS: 489
Day Four
I often tend towards starting my days early and finishing earlier once settled in to a rhythm on long journeys. Sunrise is always an uplifting time to be outdoors and ending your day at a reasonable hour makes the chances of finding appropriate sustenance or accommodation more straightforward. This event was way too short to apply such a strategy though, so although I was managing myself well physically and hygienically (knee issue aside) there wasn’t enough road remaining to re-gain lost time from such a reserved approach.
Almost as soon as my backside met my saddle at 2:00am the pain, which was largely absent to this point, was evident and acute. Sometimes stopping doesn’t help these matters and bits which were adapting to constant pressure and rubbing tenderise, making for a rude resumption. My knee still wasn’t great, especially on those transitions in and out of the saddle which were now more pressing and frequent to relieve these pains in the butt. Night riding always feels a bit slower than in the day as the perception of moving through a landscape is dulled, but my progress felt achingly sluggish for large parts of this stretch. There weren’t the long climbs of previous days, now replaced by a series of short, punchy kickers which added to the sensation of carrying very little momentum.
It was probably the chilliest of the whole event, maybe down to 7°C but never uncomfortably cold and soon warmed when the sun emerged. Once back on the German side of the border I made a final pit-stop at a garage, primarily for a quick coffee but couldn’t turn down the Käsekuchen that had caught my eye. Then just two notable lumps to make it over in the final 50km, before the finish at the Hambacher Schloss. I gave the second of these what I thought was a bit of a nudge but was given a rude awakening of how much I was creeping by another rider overtaking me at what felt like twice my speed.
And then that was it. I arrived at the Schloss at just after 10:00am in close proximity to a handful of other riders, including Philipp & Bastien Meyer who finished as second pair. This was the first time I checked the tracker to find out that I was the 28th finisher, from 110 starters in a time of 76 hours, 3 minutes. Despite what I have mentioned about my mindset and resignation in terms of not being particularly competitive, I was still quite underwhelmed by this placing. But I also appreciated that I couldn’t have it both ways. In a race where the finisher makes it round in 56 hours, you aren’t going to be competitive if you spend 18 hours indoors (with not all that time asleep due to the faffing required before/after). However fast this allowed me to move during the day (still not nearly fast enough incidentally) that time wasn’t going to be regained. Ultimately, I didn’t have that sense of satisfaction that I had squeezed out of me everything that I had to give. Of course I was still very much the opposite of fresh but the level of fatigue and the pace I had drifted in to felt sustainable if I had to continue. The tone was set the first night and I must accept that the decision I made at the time was the one reflected my mindset at that moment. To be competitive in such a ‘short’ race you need to commit, you need to be efficient throughout and that’s before coming on the physical demands. I can accept that I won’t be able to match the moving speed of some but in the past I have more than made up for that through effective planning, strategy, efficiency and, crucially, commitment. That word I keep coming back to. The working title for this report was ‘Stuck in the Mittelgebirge’, which perhaps neatly sums up my sentiments. I never totally switched off from wanting to keep momentum, staying efficient and completing this challenging course with a sense of accomplishment. This though was recurringly accompanied by the niggling sense that I could be doing more, that my strategy was far from optimal, and I physically wasn’t quite where I would have liked to be.
This isn’t to say that I didn’t gain a huge amount from the event and the experience, so I’d like to round off on a positive note. The landscapes and scenery of this region were magnificent, offering great variety in types of hilly/mountainous terrain. The route was extremely well devised, generally taking the ‘scenic option which often translates as the ‘challenging option’, both in terms of gradient and with road surfaces occasionally sub-optimal. This was however the preferable option for keeping us on quieter roads and great use was made of numerous motor vehicle-free sections. Tackling almost all of the renowned climbs in the Vosges was a particular highlight as I can now appreciate the difficult of La Plance des Belles Filles and the spicy Petit Ballon (although I didn’t get to enjoy the crowds at Pinot Corner). The people involved in these events are often what makes them. That includes fellow participants, and everyone involved in the organisation. There was a slight language/cultural barrier for me to overcome initially, being the only British-based entrant in a largely German or Germany-based field, and greetings were usually given in German, naturally. Nonetheless, most of the people I crossed on the road were more than happy to converse and the atmosphere at the start, finish and control points was convivial. The event was oversubscribed following the successful first edition in 2022 and I can see why it is so popular particularly with those based nearby. It is an unrelentingly challenging course, but one which is nonetheless consistently rewarding and as a whole something I really enjoyed participating in. There’s a lot I can take from this to translate to future events, mainly around being clear from the offset what I want to get from myself and the experience. Not having a clear strategy or objectives makes the ‘easy’ option more… easy to take! Commitment and having faith in one’s abilities to surpass expectations often leads to the most rewarding outcomes.
The Numbers – Day Four
Distance: 97.61 mi / 157.09 km
Elevation: 7,575 ft / 2,309 m
Moving Time: 7:43:09
Elapsed Time: 8:25:52
Average Speed: 12.6 mph / 20.3 kph
Average Power: 127w
Normalised Power: 154w
TSS: 190
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