Grenoble Day 4 - Alpe d'Huez

Well today was the ride we have all been hanging out for, the most famous climb of all up the 21 twisting hairpins of the Alpe d'Huez. The climb is one of the most famous climbs from the Tour de France and the pinnacle of this years tour will be Stage 18 which will see the peloton climb the mountain twice with the second time up to the summit being the finish line. A rather fitting stage for the 100th year anniversary of the race. The climb itself is 13.8 km in length at an average gradient of 7.9% (although most of it is actually a lot worse with the gradient being brought down by the 21 hairpin corners which allow for some quick recovery) and finishes in the ski resort at the top of the mountain at an altitude of 1,860m. Unfortunately we were one man down for the ride today with Tommy suffering from an inflamed knee after the Chamrousse yesterday.

Unlike most of the rides on the trip to date, today's ride required a much longer commute to the base of the climb (50km each way). The route out to the climb was a long, mostly straight ride down one of the main highways out of Grenoble and was at times a little sketchy with no bike lane on a number of long stretches of road. Despite this, European drivers are certainly a lot more respectful and mindful to cyclists and always give you a significant amount of room when overtaking. Australian drivers could really learn a lot from seeing how bikes and cars share the road over here. As a result we were never really concerned about the fact that we were riding down a busy highway. The ride generally follows the river as it winds through the valleys with several views of waterfalls coming down from the mountains making for a rather scenic commute. The ride out is also generally a false flat the entire way out which made it a lot more tiring then we had anticipated.

The base of the climb begins from the small town of Le Bourg-d'Oisans and upon arriving into the town it was quickly apparent that this town very much thrives on the cyclists which are attracted to the climb each year with masses of cyclists throughout the town. A short ride through the town and to the outskirts brings you to the beginning of the climb itself, where the real fun begins.

We came into this climb expecting it to be significantly easier then the Col du Granon however our mind set was very quickly changed. The start of the climb was a bit of a shock to the system with the first three kilometres, 6 hairpins, seeing gradients consistently above 10%. While the hairpins allow for a very brief recovery, this quickly took its toll on the legs. 

As well as the brutal start to the climb, it was also one of the hottest days we have had to date and we were very quickly put into the hurt locker. About half way up the climb I ran out of water which, along with an increasingly bad left knee, proved to be my undoing. With the average temperature for the ride well above 30 degrees I quickly became dehydrated, and as a result I have never been so relieved as I was when I came around to see the final hairpin of the climb.

Upon reaching the ski resort, we were a little confused as to where the official summit of the climb was with signage rather poor at the top. As a result, it turns out we went the wrong way and continued up further then we actually needed to. Upon finally working out where the finish was, it was somewhat of an anticlimax with the only real indication of the finish being a small yellow Tour de France sign marking the finish. Not quite what I was expecting given the profile of the climb but the town at the top is extremely nice anyway. Thankfully we managed to find a sign just after the final hairpin where we took the opportunity to stop for a few quick snaps as evidence that we made it to the top.

After a few well earned and much needed refreshments at the summit we began our descent back down to Le Bourg-d'Oisans. The descent was unfortunately a little frustrating due to the significant traffic on the mountain and we got stuck behind a few trucks which can't take the sharp hairpin corners as quickly as we can. A few hand cramps and brake pads later we eventually made it back to Le Bourg-d'Oisans where we stopped at a very nice little patisserie for some freshly made sandwiches to refuel the energy stocks before heading back to Grenoble. The bread here is seriously tasty to the point where you almost don't need to put anything on it.

With the batteries recharged we made our way back to Grenoble along the highway and with the false flat the whole way out, we enjoyed a nice downhill run most of the way home. Our legs were very much appreciative of the downhill at this point. Along the way Andrew had a pretty bad flat with a rock ripping the sidewall of his rear tyre to peices. Fortunately it was nothing that a $20 euro note inside the tyre can't fix and with our makeshift repairs we made it back to Grenoble in one peice.

All up it was a significantly harder day then we had originally anticipated but an experience none of us will forget any time soon. I cannot wait to return to the mountain to watch stage 18 of the tour which should prove to be an awesome atmosphere. We now look forward to a few well earned beers over the weekend to celebrate Tommy's birthday and see what the Grenoble night life has to offer.