| 5 July 2010 – by
Rob Leader
Given that this year’s Tour de France is climbing
the Col de Tourmalet twice to celebrate 100 years of climbing
in the Pyrenees I thought it would be a good idea to experience
the climb for myself before sitting back in the luxury of
my home and watching the professionals make the ascent look
easy! |
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Andy Boxall and Rob Leader at the start of La Hubert Arbes |
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La Hubert Arbes is one of the most famous
cyclo sportifes in the French Cycling Calendar and offers 2 routes.
The longer route is 164kms and takes in the Col de Soulor as well
as the Col de Tourmalet whereas the shorter route, La Petita, of
104kms, concentrates on the Col de Tourmalet.
As my sole objective was to climb the Col de Tourmalet I opted
to take part in La Petita. The event starts and finishes in Lourdes
and we stayed at the Ibis which is 300 metres from the start/finish
area. The Ibis is a comfortable reasonably priced hotel with secure
parking to the rear and a good restaurant serving a selection of
pasta dishes.
The event is well organised and an excellent experience. There
are more than 1,000 entrants into both races and although the roads
are not closed Marshalls are on every corner, crossroad and roundabout
and ensure priority is given to cyclists. We were also fitted with
electronic chips to time us both throughout the event and for the
climb up Col de Tourmalet.
Now to the times – I completed La Petita in 4 hours 10 minutes
which gave me a gold certificate for all age groups. I was particularly
pleased with this as I now compete in the over 50s section. I managed
to climb Col de Tourmalet in a respectable 1 hour 47 minutes although
how I managed the final 1½ kilometres I will never know – the
gradient was an average of over 10%! Also taking part in the event
with me was one of my friends from the Velo Club – Andy Boxall.
This was Andy’s first big climb and he did really well and
completed the event in 4 hours 27 minutes. I am sure he will beat
me next time! I have now climbed the Galibier, Alpes D’Huez,
Ventoux and Tourmalet and looking for a challenge in Italy – any
recommendations will be appreciated. 
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