Cyclopaat, an alter ego with a twist
Unlike during last year’s Tour de France, I’ve not written any post-stage reports this year.
This is partly due to the poor internet connection we had and I needed my phone’s hotspot internet to stream Netflix.
But it’s also because I was just out of energy after each stage because of the murderous heat, not only while cycling but also in the apartment.
Plus, I have not received any requests to “pretty please” write any post on this year’s Tour de France.
As usual, I’ll give you a recap anyway…
I have planned two stages to the Haute-Savoie, but there’s plenty to be had starting at my doorstep in Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne.
These “left-overs” from last year’s Tour de France will probably keep me busy for – at least – another two stages.
My previous post was about climbs leading out of the valley on the north side, this one is about a similar stage with cols on the other end.
I actually had one such stage planned last year, but that was cancelled as I managed to break myself.
Before I get to today’s stage, I’d first like to make a mends with our apartment owners, Christelle and Jean Claude.
Apart from the warm welcome we received – as expected from the visitor’s comments on Booking.com – we found a basket with garden veggies in the kitchen: courgette, paprika and tomatoes.
We also found another basket with “regional products” in the living room, which we didn’t open until this morning.
To our surprise, we found two pocket knifes with our names engraved on them – all with the best of intentions, no doubt 😂
As to the apartment itself, it actually exceeds our expectations.
We’ve seen the pictures, but it’s not the same as seeing everything yourself and it’s always exciting to find out how those pictures have captured reality.
They actually sell the apartment short and there’s little left to desire more from it than it offers.
So, with that, let’s get to today’s Tour de France 2021 Stage 2…
As mentioned in my previous post, we will stay in Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne, capital of the Maurienne Valley in the Savoie, for my Tour de France 2021.
It’s easily one of the French Alps cycling hotspots – like Corvara and Bormio in the Dolomites – and there are a lot of cols within cycling distance of our base camp.
The mountains on the southern side are the Dauphiné Alps and the Cottian Alps.
On the northern side is the part of the Graian Alps known as the Vanoise.
In this post, I’ll discuss the climbs that start at our doorstep.
