No new trophies today, as the weather forecast for the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes was looking grim: thunderstorm, rain, 60 kph wind (gusts)…
Everywhere except in Modane.
Which is where the climb up the Iseran is starting, if you really want a challenge.
Not me – I didn’t get out of the car before Val-Cenis 😎
That is already way before either “official” start in Lanslebourg-Mont-Cenis or Bonneval-sur-Arc.
Okay, Lanslebourg is not that far from Val-Cenis, but if you climb like a dork, that Côte de Termignon makes it look a lot further away.
As does the Col de la Madeleine to Bonneval when exiting Lanslebourg…
Anyway, this was almost exactly a copy of my Tour de France 2021, Stage 7, although we had a diversion through Bessans because of roadworks.
Sadly, the restaurant at the summit of the Iseran was closed and it even looks out of business.
I had a hard time changing cloths, as the wind was so strong, it almost took some items into the abyss.
The descent towards Val-d’Isère was fast, though interrupted by road works, and we picked a place to have a coffee and a sandwich there.
By the time we finished those, it started to rain and there was a threatening looking sky approaching.
As I don’t get stopped by rain, and a thunderstorm must be of apocalyptic proportions before I surrender to that, I got on my bike and went on towards Tigne.
The tunnels were annoying as fuck – but it didn’t rain in them – and on towards Le Chevril was not much fun either.
I took a different route up to Tigne 1800 than I did 3 years ago, when I cycled over the dam, i.e. I descended a bit further down to Les Maisonnettes first.
That part of the descent was near apocalyptic as the icy-cold rain felt like hail when smashing into my face…
Most of the ascent to Tigne was in – heavy – rainfall, but once you’re soaking wet, who cares?
By the time I got up in Tigne Val-Claret, it had stopped raining, but I wasn’t in the mood to descend to Bourg-Saint-Maurice, so I tossed the bike in the car.
Amazing toss-resistent bike, the Trek Émonda 😂
Total for today: 80.3 kilometers with almost 2,400 meters of D+.
The Edge has always sucked when there’s an abrupt weather change, so the elevation profile looks like shit after Val d’Isère and the total D+ is off as a result.
