Uniform for the day: New pink racing kit (and didn't the locals love it!).
The first climb needed the application of Rule #5 in vast quantities, with gradients of 18% in parts. I (Nicole)failed miserably, and actually got off my bike along the way for the first time ever (including two ascents of Ventoux). Note to self... drop some weight before the Marmotte. At the front of the field, Chris set off at a cracking pace, only to be chased down by super-coach Tanja Slater, with Debs closely behind.
A bit of a descent and some rolling roads took us to our next climb, another 8km but of a friendlier gradient, so much so that we even were able to look at the lovely views along the way. The road didn't really go down after this one, so by the time we got to the foot of our last climb, we had just about had enough. We were assured by Tanja that this 4km climb "is not as bad as it looks". She lied. The only thing that kept a few of us going was the promise of a coffee stop at the top. Debs proved to be undisputed Queen of the Mountain by racing Tanja to the top, whilst the rest of us were just happy to get there.
The coffee stop was welcome by all and gave us the opportunity to compare tan lines/sunburn. The long sweeping descent was also welcome, especially by Dave Keaton, who is not a great fan of going up, but can certainly peg it downhill hitting 55mph. The last 25km home was thankfully assisted by a tailwind, and we all jumped straight in the "ice bath" on returning to our villa to aid recover
Home-made dinner once again followed by viewing of "Chasing Legends" for inspiration, before some very weary cyclists hit the sack.
Quotes of the day:
"I love you triple, I won't let anyone be mean to you" (Nikki at the top of first nasty climb)
"Oh look, there's my teddy from the other day" (Dave when we re-visiting our climb from Day 1)
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