To hell and back: My Tour de France - Irish Independent
It was as chaotic an event as I had ever seen with the sea of fans threatening to engulf the riders as they made their way up the mountain. Here were two riders unstained by any doping past duking it out like gladiators. It was compelling and ever since that day I knew I wanted to ride a mountain stage and climb the Alpe. I wondered how hard could it be for an amateur to do. The answer is extremely hard as I discovered earlier this month when the sweltering heat of the south of France drove me to the limit and ultimately broke me on the slopes of the iconic mountain. My challenge was the Marmotte Granfondo, an epic 174-kilometre cyclosportive with 5,100 metres of vertical climbing. The annual event, which takes 7,500 entrants, is equivalent to the toughest of Tour mountain stages. This year's edition on July 4 involved climbs over the summits of five mountains featuring in the 2015 Tour. These were the Col du Glandon (1,924 metres above sea level), the Lacets de Montvernier (777 metres), the Col du Mollard (1,630 metres) and the Col de la Croix de Fer (2,058 metres), with the finish line at the end of a 13. 1 kilometre climb to... Source: www.independent.ie
