Cauterets - Luz St Sauveur, June 6, 2010 Cauterets in the cloud, before the Office of Tourism, starting near
Attentive to the humorous explanations of the organizer
After 500 or 600 m of vertical descent very steep and slippery trail running more
Finally out of the clouds, one can see the valley of the Pays Toy, Luz St Sauveur direction
Last km downhill , arrived at Luz. A final long false flat amount and it will be the arrival
After 1300 m of vertical drop, a few miles down the road from the station at the thighs hurt Ardiden
Not too lucky with the weather for the mountain race, the big heat the day before brought thunderstorms in the night, and he barely 13 degrees from Cauterets, located in the clouds. Race
very simple: Start at Cauterets, a climb, descent, arrived in Luz St Sauveur in the other valley.
The departure briefing tells us that we must find the sun around 1500 meters, but he had to miss the appointment as to the pass (1949 meters), it will be clouds, mist and fog (+ icy wind up). I do not know what kind of shirt to wear? looking fellow riders I see in the tank, and several others with warm clothing ... it does not help me ... I choose my jersey Millet Carline, long sleeves, but easy to climb, and fitted with a zipper.
Paved Road for about 2km, then road, then trail in the woods. I run most of the time, with some portions on when the slope is recovering too. On leaving the forest, laces become tighter, and I left with a small group of 4 or 5 riders, who apparently know the area well because they always cut the laces.
I arrive at the Col de Riou 1 h 23, I take refuge from the cold wind behind the fire 4X4 which supply water, I eat paste Fruit and file in the descent.
Quickly find automation, do not tense up on the steep terrain and grass very slippery, that finally it is better to take with feet like skis, parallel to the slope surface for better grip. As I expected, I lose a few seats in this descent, I know she is very long and my current training does not allow me to go for it on pain of cramps before end.
So I run, and the lowest found a path over rolling when I lose more time. Few passages on the road to the ski resort of Ardiden knock out the legs, and the last 3 or 4 km are also on this road is the unpleasant part of this race.
Upon arrival, I am in 2 h 28'13 and ranked 72nd out of 110
Good preparation for the rack of Luchon, in 15 days!
