Every day is different and special but this one was a bit more special. When I started planning this tour through Europe I had been so intrigued by Stage 16 of this years Tour that I told myself I needed to do it. It was a monster of a stage 197 Kms long, 4 big Cols (2 category hors-categorie (out of category) or so difficult they cannot be measured and two category 1 mountains). Thomas Voeckler from France won the stage in 5 hours and 20 minutes and took the polka dot (king of the mountain) jersey that he would wear until Paris.
As it is quite topic these days with the Amstrong affair one of the questions I was trying to answer is whether they take drugs or not. Are these mountains so difficult that someone will need to take extra boosters to make it ? I have had a theory about cycling and drugs for a long time and this would be an opportunity to check it out.
My theory is that every cyclist at this professional level takes some type of drugs. Having done cycling for many years and knowing how difficult this sport is, the only explanation I have had on how they are able to put their bodies through 3 weeks of pure hell and achieve the times they achieve is by taking something extra.
This theory in no way affects my love for the sport. I still love seeing the Tour, the Vuelta, the Giro and all the Classics. I still believe Amstrong was the best of his era and probably the best ever. But just like, American Football, Baseball, Athletics and a number of other sports I believe they use drugs that are much more advanced than technology is able to detect.
Tyler Hamilton (former Profesional cyclist) has just published a book called Secret Race in which he says:
"The tests are easy to beat," he writes. "We're way, way ahead of the tests. They've got their doctors, and we've got ours, and ours are better. Better paid, for sure. Besides, the UCI doesn't want to catch certain guys anyway. Why would they? It'd cost them money.
After riding Stage 16, I am even more sure ...
The Stage 16 was ridden West to East and first Col would be Aubisque. We rode to Laruns which is a town at the base of the mountain. The way from Pau is beautiful wining roads with green all around and the large mountains at the distance. I called "sing in your helmet" riding.
Writing in Vélo, Gilbert Duclos-Lassalle said:
"The Aubisque is one of those hors catégorie cols that make the legend of the Tour. The climb is in three parts. The first is fairly easy. The road is good and the specialists use 39 × 19 or 53 × 21. Then, at Eaux-Bonnes, you turn left and get to the real climb. This part, as far as Gourette, is a lot more difficult. The hardest part swings between eight and ten per cent from the seventh kilometre until Pont-du-Goua at the ninth kilometre and you need 39 × 21. Then, after 300m of flat in Gourette, a hairpin goes up to the Hôtel des Crêtes Blanches. Riders use 39 × 17 over four kilometres before going into 39 × 16 in the last two kilometres."
We found the climb quite technical and we did it carefully as it was the first of the day and wanted to see how biked fared with all the extra weight. As there is no protection full attention is required.
The Col du Tourmalet (2,115 m / 6,939 ft) is the highest road in the central Pyrenees in the department of Hautes-Pyrénées in France. The climb from Luz-Saint-Sauveur, is 19 km long, climbing 1,404 m at an average of 7.4% with a maximum of 10.2% near the summit.
The Col du Tourmalet is one of the most famous climbs on the Tour de France. It has been included more than any other pass, starting in 1910, when the Pyrenees were introduced. As of the 2012 edition of the tour, the summit has been crossed 77 times in the tour's history. Since 1980 it has been ranked hors catégorie, or exceptional. The Vuelta a España has also crossed the pass several times.
We took many pictures and would have stayed there longer but time called. It was also very cold (below 50F).
We came down past La Mongie (well known ski resort) to Sainte-Marie-de-Campan and started the climb up the Col d'Aspin which is12.8 km. long, gaining 642 m. in height, at an average of 5%. By comparison with its neighbour, the Col du Tourmalet, this is considered an "easy" climb with only the last 5 kilometers, at about 8%, being difficult. The pass has been part of the Tour de France 66 times, largely because it is the middle link in a chain.
The final climb of the day was the Col de Peyresourde (1,569m). Starting from Armenteule (west), the climb is 8.3 km long. Over this distance, the climb is 629 m. (an average of 7.6%). The Col de Peyresourde was first used in the Tour de France in 1910 and has appeared frequently since. The col was crossed twice in the 2012 Tour de France, firstly on Stage 16 from Pau to Bagnères-de-Luchon, when it was ranked a Category 1 climb, and again on the following day, when it was unranked, with the stage continuing on to the ski station at nearby Peyragudes.
Click HERE for all the pictures of Day 5
Posted by Armando
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