The clock seemed to slow to a snails pace as the start time approached. No-one spoke, no one moved, just sat astride their bikes, one foot clipped in ready for the off. And then we were away, steady at first, sat behind a pace car for the first 2.5km. A few sections of cobbles and some tight bends, then we were on the outskirts of the town, the road widened and straightened out and suddenly the pace shot up as the pace car pulled away and the hopefuls up front set about establishing a break-away. Having been a spectator of cycle racing for decades, I was loving being in a peloton for the first time experiencing the actual feel of the spectacle. The pace kept surging and then there would be the sound of brakes on carbon as it slowed again. Then along with the squeal of brakes came the crashing sound of carbon on tarmac and there in front of me was a big aussie laying on the tarmac trying to unclip from his bike and issuing a tirade of expletives. That was the end of my "race" as such.
So how did a 60 year old recreational cyclist from rural Northamptonshire end up in a world championship race? Well it all started back in the winter when we were planning our main summer holiday. As my wife Tanya works in a school, we usually scoot off to France in the Motorhome at the start of the school holidays and catch a few stages of the Tour de France before settling into a cycling holiday in whatever area we found ourselves. This year was going to be tricky as school did not break up until 2 days before the final stage in Marseilles. Initial plans were to pass up on the Tour and go to the Pyrenees and tackle some of the main climbs down there. I can't remember exactly how the plan evolved but it came to our attention that the Vuelta a Espania was starting from Nimes in mid August and there was the UCI Gran Fondo World Championship in Albi at the end of the month. Having always liked the idea of taking part in a cycling event in France this soon found favour. The only issue was that we had to qualify for the Gran Fondo by competing and finishing in the top 25% of our age group in the Tour of Cambridgeshire in June.
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| Tour of Cambridgeshire |
Just 3 weeks before we were due to leave I got an invite to take part as well! They must have been short of entries in the older age groups as only the over 50s were invited if they qualified in the top 50% of their age group. Having been planning on just providing support to Tanya, I now had to sort my own jersey etc. We had chosen to wear a No-Pinz jersey specifically designed for the event and possibly a little more wearable after the event than the more white/union flag jerseys on offer. The jersey arrived just 5 days before we were due to travel to France as it was a late order. It was a little on the tight side but too late to change.
We always had the intention of having another go at Mont Ventoux on the way to Nimes but as the week went on the practicalities and poor weather forecast put the idea in doubt. It was only once we realised that the Veulta stage 1 was a team time trial starting at 5:30pm and an improving weather forecast that it became a practical proposition. In the end we had near perfect conditions and we had an amazing ride up Ventoux. To be honest, for me, this was the best ride of the holiday.
After a brief stop on the Med coast we started heading towards Albi. I was very conscious that all the climbing was good for fitness but had hit our flat pace, so the next few rides before the event were on easier roads and included some fast paced sessions to get the muscles back into shape for dealing with rolling hills rather than massive cols. We had a couple of rides in the Pic St-Loup area before arriving near Albi.
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| Descent of Mont Ventoux |
We had pre-booked Motorhome parking at the Abli motor racing circuit that was the hub of the event. The start was alongside the awesome cathedral in Albi and finished on the circuit. We moved onto the circuit on midday Saturday and the heat was awful. The temperature was in the mid 30s and there was no getting away from it. After attending the riders briefing at 2:00pm, luckily in an air-conditioned hall, we retired to the Motorhome to check and clean the bikes and prepare our kit. Sleeping in such heat was not easy but we had become accustomed to it.
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| Albi race circuit |
We set the alarm for 7:00am with the intention of getting to the start just before my start time of 9:12am, Tanya then having to wait till 9:40am. Big mistake. By the time we left the Motorhome the circuit was deserted, everyone else having left already. When we got to the start I had a nightmare of getting through all the ladies and older men to get to my start gate. The ladies were obviously trying to secure a good start position but in so doing had blocked the path for late arrivals. At one point I had to up end the bike and just keep shouting "Excuse Me" and push though. In the end a good Samaritan appear at my side and cleared a path and got me through the barrier that was holding back the later starters. So I started at the very back of the 60-64 year-olds on the start line.
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| Albi Cathedral |
The race itself was over 60 miles with 900 meters of elevation gain. Not particularly difficult but the climbing came in 2 big chunks with a couple of categorised climbs mid distance and numerous small climbs on the run back down to the finish. The first and last 5 miles or so were fast and flat.
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| Course Profile |
So, I was hard on my brakes to avoid the recumbent aussie, a quick swerve and I was past him but the peloton was 100 yards up the road. I was surrounded by fellow Brits, 1 in 3 of the competitors was British, but no one seemed keen on getting back on the main group. I pushed on alone, riding at threshold and eventually made contact just before the first real climb, but once on the climb I just could not keep up having made the effort to close the gap. From this point on I rode the race like a sportive. Occasionally joining other groups and jumping on the tail of the faster riders from the later starts as they came through. I would not say that I took it easy but there seemed no point in busting a gut. Luckily the sky stayed overcast for the first couple of hours, so temperatures were manageable.
I downed a couple of bottles of water, retired to the Motorhome for some food, a change of footwear and a bit of a clean up before returning to the finish to wait for Tanya. Now by Tanya's own estimate she was due to finish about an hour after me, based on her predicted pace and the fact that she started nearly half an hour after me. To my surprise as I approached the finish, expecting a long wait, I could see Tanya with a group of other GB ladies, all smiling and laughing. I was quickly roped into taking photos with phones being passed to me to do the honours.
Tanya's race had gone well. She had joined up with the other GB ladies fairly early on and they had stayed together for most of the race.
A week on and having had time to reflect, I have to say that I'm really glad that we took part. I did not do very well, just 157th out of 175 entrants. About 30 of the 60-64 year old riders contested the bunch sprint. They had averaged 24.5mph for the course! Tanya did much better: 16th out of 37 entries. However as far as memorable life events, this will also be up near the top of the list. How many people get the chance to wear a national team jersey and compete at a world championship?
Next year the event is taking place in the Italian Lakes. I've always wanted to go there. Just saying :)
Strava data for the ride here:
Strava - UCI Gran Fondo World Championship
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