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 an excact 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 looked 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.
