L’Etape du Tour – Annemasse to Morzine

My first L’Etape du Tour. Stage 14 of this year’s Tour de France, Annamasse to Morzine, and it didn’t disappoint.

The route was 158km with 13,500ft of climbing and less than 15km of flat road. I knew it was going to be tough. I’d trained hard with monotonous reps of Toys Hill and Brasted Chart and long hours on the turbo trainer but no UK roads could prepare me for the final two 3,200ft climbs, they were very different beasts.

Col de la Ramaz almost broke me. By the time I started the climb it was hot, really hot. The middle section felt like it was never going to end, with nowhere to hide from the heat. My unrealistic and highly optimistic plan of not stopping on the climb until I reached the summit was thrown out of the window when I saw a shaded spot on a relatively low gradient where I could shelter and cool down for five minutes. Then back in the saddle, back into the heat, wishing I’d put a bigger cassette on my bike, I continued the slow, hard slog. I will forever remember how good the ice-cold glass bottle of full fat Coca-Cola tasted that I procured at a restaurant close to the top of Ramaz. Totally worth standing in a queue for.

One of my favourite parts of the day was the really fast straight road into Samoens, still feeling the benefit of a cola sugar boost as I came off the descent from Ramaz, I joined a group of seven male riders and together it felt like we were a bullet train flying along the road. With tired legs, after almost 10,000ft of climbing, it was just the boost I needed before facing the final climb of the Col de Joux Plane.

I knew at this point that I was going to make it to the finish but that didn’t make the climb any easier. Consistent ramps of 15%, the road was winding and steep, but with plenty of switch backs providing that lowered gradient and shade which I didn’t hesitate to make use of. I wasn’t alone, the side of the road was carnage at this point, bodies lying everywhere for a bit of respite, some people vomiting.

Finally, I reached the top and the finish was within reach. The descent down into Morzine was amazing and I’m pretty sure I had a grin on my face the whole way. Crossing the finish line nearly nine hours after I started felt good – as did the pint of cold beer that swiftly followed.

Having never done such a large event before, I was hugely impressed that with 16,000 riders, how well organised it was, how smoothly it ran on the day and how safe it felt on what were some terrifying descents. The supporters and atmosphere is also something I’ve never experienced, I’ll definitely be doing another one!

By Anne B