Etape 2010 Report - Marie-Blanque to Soulor Summit

This is the second post in a 3-part series (first post, third post).

The descent from the Marie-Blanque was fun and I was letting the bike go as much as possible. However, I was concentrating hard as I was aware that with thousands of riders swarming down the mountain with widely varying descending abilities (mine towards the bottom end!) that a wrong move from me or someone around me could spell disaster. I frequently checked over my shoulders to make sure I knew what was around me but even then the occasional rider came flying by taking me by surprise.

As the road flattened a little the disadvantages of large numbers of riders experienced earlier became a real advantage as it was easy to find a group to ride with. I loved hooking up with a peloton and flying along at a pace that I could only dream of riding alone with the same level of effort.

Em had let me know she'd found a spot to view in Asson at the bottom of the valley but I saw her late and was in the middle of a group so couldn't stop.

I found out later that she'd had an eventful time. Shortly before my arrival, a guy literally somersaulted out of the peloton after presumably hitting the central reservation and landed right at her feet as the bike skidded by with sparks flying. He was in a bad way - unconscious, bleeding from the mouth and gasping. Em helped with first aid the best she could and thankfully the air ambulance arrived within 10 minutes. She'd love to know that he was okay so if anyone has any information please let us know. I heard from another source that there had sadly been 3 casualties on the ride; 1 who left the road on a hairpin bend and 2 others from exhaustion. These stories really put things in to perspective.

As the roads were closed until the event had passed through Em also got a view of the broom wagon, which turned out to be an articulated lorry for the bikes followed by a series of coaches for the riders, 2 of which were already full before we'd got to the Soulor!

The official climb to the Soulor started soon afterwards through a pretty section of road with beautiful fresh streams that made you want to dive in and imposing views of the mountains ahead. It was a gradual climb to the feed stop at Ferrieres, which was far less frantic than the previous one. I got my route card out to see that I now had an hour on the broom wagon, which was a relief. As I was looking, a French speaking marshal told me (as far as I could make out) to put the card away as the route was clear - you're going up there and pointed to the peak above. This was going to be a tough climb!

The quoted average gradient of 4.9% for the Soulor is a bit misleading and can lead you into a false sense of security. This average includes the gradual 10Km to get to Ferrieres but its here that the climb really begins and is an unrelenting 12Km that was more challenging than expected. It's a great climb though with some lovely views and the field had thinned enough now to ensure that there was no worries of bottlenecks.

However, it was here that the already tender knee really threatened to give out. I adjusted my position and started taking pressure off the left leg but decided that the right leg didn't have a chance of going the distance if I carried on doing that. I pushed on and thankfully the knee hovered on the edge but held together. I reached the water station relieved and with legs that knew they had to work hard to get up that climb. Now it was time to recover as best I could ready for the giant ahead...