(intense music)
- This was the kind of cycling that I loved
that I have always wanted to do.
- It's been a roller coaster in more ways than one.
- This is, this is the killer.
- It's hard.
- It's really really hard, but it's possible.
(upbeat music)
- For the last six months our very own
Johnny "chocolate voiced" Beavan
has been training hard, stacking in the miles
and even sacrificing cake, all in preparation for this.
We're here in Nice for stage one of the Haute Route Alps
the world renowned, multi-day cyclosportive.
(upbeat music)
So you're fit, you're looking lean, but
more importantly, you've got a shiny new steed.
You've got a brand new Canyon Ultimate CF SLX in GCN Colours.
- Well that's right, a nice black and red livery.
We've got a power2max powermeter on there,
to read all my data, fi'zi:k saddle
and some very nice DT Swiss SPLINE 1400 wheels.
- We talked briefly about the Alpine climbs
you're going over, 22,200 metres.
I like repeating that.
What coggage, what sprockets have you got on board,
so what gear ratios we talking?
- Alright so we got a 50-34 on the front,
and 11-28 on the back, I've got an 11-30 in my bag
just in case but we'll see how the first couple of days go.
- I'm getting a bit emotional, actually, John.
Well, onward mate.
- Thank you.
- And yeah, all the best.
- Thanks
Getting a bit emotional.
(upbeat music)
- [John] So while an emotional Matt
headed back to the airport,
it was up to me to begin my Alpine Odyssey.
And as Matt enjoyed reminding me,
896 kilometres and over 22,000 metres
of elevation lay ahead.
A fair chunk of that elevation was in store on stage one
which I've affectionately called "the warmup".
It was by no means an easy opening day
at 173 kilometres long,
especially with temperatures going into the 30s.
But the long climb stretching away from the Cote D'Azur
served as a relatively gentle
and visually stunning introduction to the Alps.
Stage two however, was set to test me
to my absolute limit.
(techno music)
- Alright.
It's difficult to know how I'm gonna be
on the second day though.
Right, in the feed at the top of Col de Vars.
Not a bad little climb actually.
I'm feeling quite good.
Fingers crossed I can get myself up the d'Izoard,
which is the next test on route.
I'm gonna crack on
'cause I don't think the time limit is very far away.
Make no bones about it, the Haute Route is a race,
whether you're aiming to make the podium
or like me, just trying to finish.
Each stage is split up into timed sections.
These will often start in the valleys
and stop at the top of a climb.
Particularly dangerous descents will not be timed
in the interest of safety.
Riders must also make it to the top of each climb
and the finish by a certain time
in order to complete the Haute Route.
With the heat rising and fatigue building on stage two,
things are starting to get really tough.
(heavy breathing)
Well here we are, climbing the infamous Col d'Izoard.
And it's looking tough for me now.
I'm quite near the back.
I was actually very lucky to call on the support
of my fellow riders that day
to help me up the d'Izoard.
- [John] It was the closest I came to giving up all week,
but I'm so glad that I didn't.
And as it turns out these minor mental blocks
aren't uncommon for those new to the Haute Route.
- Well there's one guy I helped yesterday,
he's 71,
he's struggling in his head 'cause he's never done
Haute Route, that's one of the things the Haute Route,
you rarely get it right the first time.
He's never done it.
and at the bottom of the last climb yesterday,
he basically went to the medics and says "I'm done,"
and so, I arrived, I happened to know him from
well, the day before really,
so I just told him "get on your bike,"
I shoved a gel down his throat,
literally shoved the gel down his throat and pressed.
He choked and then he got on his bike.
I don't know if there's a magic thing in the gel
but anyway, he got on his bike.
- The scenery's amazing, you find donkeys on the road,
you find marmot crossing the road,
the scenery every now and then, you have to stop,
take a picture and go back on.
- [John] Certainly weren't short of scenery on stage three.
After the day before I was feeling pretty dead-legged,
but as it turned out, more climbing and an amazing
21 hairpin descent of Alpe d'Huez was the perfect tonic.
(wind whistling)
The final feed station, just eight kilometres I think
from the top and the legs are finally coming back.
It's incredible.
The finale of this stage offered a sneak preview
of what was to come the following day.
A short but very memorable time trial up Alpe d'Huez.
Good morning guys, it's bright and early, day four
Haute Route time trial day.
I'm off at 8:40.
Just heading to breakfast now.
Gonna eat a little bit, not too much,
I don't wanna be absolutely stuffed for this
14 kilometre effort I'm gonna have to do.
Nervously awaiting the start of the time trial.
Pretty pro looking start ramp.
(audience cheering)
It was a really nice climb today, Alpe d'Huez.
I mean it's on everybody's bucket list, isn't it?
An absolute classic.
I took it as easy as I could,
and the interesting thing was looking back at my heart rate.
I barely got out of zone two which is
quite interesting, that's the impact of fatigue,
that it does to your body, so it's another thing
I'm learning this week.
So tomorrow Queen stage,
looking forward to it I guess.
But, I know it's gonna be a tough day and also a long day.
Three massive major climbs,
they're all very long and some of it is quite steep.
But you know, just gotta enjoy it.
And you know, as a security measure
I went out to the local store
and bought an 11-32 cassette,
so I may get the boys from Mavic neutral service
to fit that for me.
So that's...
two cassette changes in three days.
I'm quickly learning the kind of equipment I need
to survive in the Alps.
Unfortunately, it wasn't the last time
I saw Christophe from Mavic that day.
(chain thumping)
Neutral services quickly on the scene
after I jammed my chain.
And thankfully all I needed was a push to get going again.
Merci!
It's things like the mechanical support, the massages,
the marshalling, the feed stations,
all of which made me feel seriously professional
throughout the week.
Oh, and the fact that I was racing with actual ex-pros
like Emma Pooley albeit several hours behind her.
- I'll be honest I think it's way too much fun
to be like "we're racing".
It's similar in that it's racing bikes.
It's different certainly from a female's experience
of pro racing.
You race up massive cols everyday
and our races, I'm sure they're improving
in their toughness but you know,
our toughest race is probably the Giro or the Tour de l'Aude
and there would be a couple of mountain days at best
and nothing like the epic stages here.
So everyone in every position in the races appreciate it.
And there are really, there's really every level
from basically ex-pros, or full-time riders,
and some very strong guys show up
right down to people who have
who have never ridden up a mountain before
and I think that's really cool.
And everyone's achievement is appreciated,
and that is really nice,
and I feel like some amazing bike races,
they're super exciting to watch but there's basically
one winner and everyone else is a loser.
And here, everyone is kind of a winner,
it's an amazing achievement for everyone.
(intense music)
- Reached the top of the Col de la Madeleine.
I'm 15 minutes inside the time limit so,
made up a fair bit of time on the clock
which is very good.
Just tucking into some nice bread and ham,
and then I'll be on my way again.
(intense music)
(clapping)
Well good morning guys, it's the start of stage six,
it is 5:30 in the morning, hoo.
And I'm uh, really feeling the fatigue at the moment but
we're here to carry on regardless,
we're going from Megeve to Morzine today,
we've got the Grand Colombiere and the Joux Plane
to come up so by no means gonna be an easy day.
("Are You Holding On" by Mikael Persson)
- How many times have you guys made the trip
out here to the Haute Route?
- Two, this is now our second time.
- I think for all of us, it's the challenge of,
we did the Pyrenees, and I think we got a good sense
of what it was about, and then to have a chance
to recalibrate, start our training over,
and know what mistakes we made on the first one,
to try and see if we could do better the second one.
- I couldn't have said it better myself.
(laughing)
- I was going for the camaraderie.
- I was going for the hard reboot and recalibrate,
hey man, okay, let's do this over again.
- And the friendships that we make here on the road,
people always cheering you on,
the French always say "courage",
it just gives you inspiration to keep going,
even when you're hurt and it's a struggle.
("Are You Holding On" by Mikael Persson)
- I'm not gonna lie, feeling pretty tired now.
We just had another sapping run through the valley floor.
We'll see how we go.
(cheering and horn blowing)
("Are You Holding On" by Mikael Persson)
Pain is hurting, oh my God.
This is, this is the killer.
- It is also something that is, yeah, camaraderie,
I don't like saying the word, but
when somebody's down, you shout at him, he gets up,
and he starts again, and then he gives you a lift.
And so that, you don't get it anywhere else,
you can do one day events, you can find people that are nice
but here, it's not the same thing, it's the day after that
the guy you helped will help you, and you're gonna have fun
just chatting to people, and it's very unique.
It's really hard, and because it's hard, it's very unique.
- Yes please.
That's better.
Merci!
Oh, nearly there.
(heavy breathing)
Thanks for that. - Very well done.
- What's your name?
- I'm Simon.
- [John] Nice to meet you.
- And I'm all the way from California.
- [John] Oh, wow.
- So congratulations, finish's just here, by that flag.
- [John] Oh, fantastic.
- You're in good shape.
- [John] Finally.
- You're riding strong!
How're you feeling?
- Absolutely knackered.
(cheering)
Again, it was that camaraderie and support from people
at the side of the road, just like Simon,
that got me to the top of the Joux Plane.
And the more I thought about it,
and the more people I talked to,
it's that feeling of togetherness that brings people here
from all around the world, and inspires people
to do incredible things, like Team Clonvelo,
who literally went the extra mile for a good cause.
- Clonvelo was conceived about six months ago
to raise funds for Down Syndrome in Cork,
a local charity near us, and we've raised 25,000 so far,
by cycling the full length of France from Cherbourg to Nice,
and then three days rest and then starting the Haute Route.
So, we've Garrod, Ian, there's a guy Pat who's cycling
just the Haute Route with us.
So yeah, that's how it was sort of dreamt up
and the madness began, about three weeks ago.
It's a super event, like I'd recommend anybody to come and
have a crack at it, because, if you're into it, it's just,
I mean it's hard, as you know, it's proper hard,
but it's fantastically organised.
And France is a great country to cycle in.
- [John] Exactly, yeah, yeah.
- One day left of this and hopefully we'll be back for more.
- We're glad this is, we're pretty fatigued now.
As I'm sure you are.
- Yeah, I think we all are.
This last day.
- It's a big day as well, it's supposed to be
a small day but it's not really.
- Yes, yeah.
(energetic music)
(wind whistling)
Not too far from the top of the Col d'Feu,
fourth climb of the day.
We've got less than
10 kilometres of climbing, is it?
- [Cyclist] Yeah.
- Phew, nearly over.
(steady music)
Well that's it, we're through the last time sector,
it's over, end of the Haute Route Alps.
I feel really good today, I'm a bit sad it's over, really.
Maybe another week, or maybe not.
(cheering)
Here I am with a prestigious competitions winner,
Jules Doyle, we both finished Haute Route Alps today.
- We did.
- How're you feeling, mate?
- Yeah, there were times this week when I didn't feel
that lucky to be the competition winner,
to be honest with you, it was a bit of a struggle.
But it's been a fantastic week, so thank you all very much.
Great week, great people, great event.
- What was your highlight of the week, you're favourite col?
- None of them were my favourite cols,
I had some nice flat sections which I enjoyed.
No, it was all great, it's very good,
it's kind of hard, really, for people
to appreciate the whole experience, isn't it?
'Cause the people you meet, and then,
yeah it's tough at times, but well worth it.
- Well, we're about to roll out into Geneva, one last time,
one last hurrah, and well hopefully it'll stop raining.
- Time for a beer.
- Yeah.
Jules was right, and not just about the beer.
It's very hard to convey
everything I felt during the Haute Route.
I came in never really having climbed a mountain before,
and as hard as I trained, it quickly became clear
that the event itself was another level.
It's the toughest thing I've ever done in my life,
for both body and brain.
But the great thing about the Haute Route
is that there are people around you
going through exactly the same thing,
and it's not long before you're picking your head up again,
smiling, and enjoying the incredible scenery.
This race will test you.
But the memories, the friendships, and the immense feeling
of pride I've taken from it
made all the suffering worthwhile.
If you've been inspired to take on something like this,
and I thoroughly suggest you do,
we've got plenty of tips to help with your training.
Subscribe to GCN if you haven't already
by clicking on the globe, click down here
for how to prepare for a multi-stage race.
And for how to ride long climbs, a very useful skill
for the Haute Route, click here.