Today was the last day big day of climbing of the tour. Two big climbs ( Col de Marmare and the iconic Col de Pailheres) with a couple of Alistair's 'bonus' cols along the way. Fortunately the other two bonus cols he had planned had to be left out as the access roads were closed. It's hard to imagine a bunch of less disappointed riders.
The total distance for the day was still 115kms and 2500m of up. Not too shabby.
Brendan put in a magnificent effort climbing up the Col de Pailheres in considerable heat over a 15km climb, much at over 9% gradient. Unfortunately he later punctured on some loose gravel on the flat run along the river and crashed.... loosing a good amount of skin, but fortunately no broken bits. Very bad luck, but could have been much worse.
Another great chateau in a very picturesque part of the south of France. This can't last.
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| On the road out of Tarascon |
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| Hill top Roman ruins on the way to Col de Marmare |
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| Brendan bags another big col |
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| View from Pailheres...over 2000m |
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| Amazing roads snaking through the valley |
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| Hostellerie du Grand Duc |
For those hardcore that are interested La Fuga has put a bunch of tour photos up on Flickr at:
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