Pyrenees Challenge Blog

STAGE 8 - Friday 3rd October
Prades to Banyuls Sur Mer - 120 kms - 1310 metres

(To download Zipped clip, click here)

We did it!  It’s finally over.  The end of an amazing and testing 8 day cycle over the Pyrenees.  It was a huge relief to reach Banyuls.  The day started in positive spirits as we departed Prades.  We all thought the last day was going to be more of a gentle spin down to the seaside but we couldn’t have been more wrong (as usual).

We had a long 20km climb once we got started.  It was not the steepness of it, just the long distance and the fact that on day 8 our bodies were getting set up for a relaxing weekend already.  We reached the 1036m summit of Col De Palomeres in good spirits as everyone then thought that was the hard work over.  Lots of photos and a bit of food then on a further 40km’s to our lunch destination of Ceret.  From here we had what was thought to be a simple 50km road cycle to Banyuls.  However, after being led into a Mediterranean housing estate with what was said to be the steepest climb of the challenge, approx 18%, with a stomach full of food we had thought wrong.  We took a testing way down to Banyuls which was hard but equally rewarding to us all. 

We got to Banyuls where the Pyrenees meets the Mediterranean at approx 6pm to a beautiful evening with the sun just setting.  A crowd welcomed us into Banyuls with many of the family and partners of the team there and even the mayor of Banyuls showed up.  It was Port all around and then into the freezing cold sea for a swim. 

No time was to waste this evening as we had an official end to the cycle event hosted by Gondola’s Harvey Smyth, the man responsible for coming up with idea of this 8 day challenge.  Awards were handed out and then it was onto a Court Jury headed up by Damian Hopley, Simon Hunter and Nigel Garfitt.  Many penalties were handed out and hardly any appealed against.  There were some funny ones and some we cannot mention for security reasons.  The Channel XXL offense did seem to carry the most controversy!

We both want to say thanks so much to all of you that have supported us throughout this gruelling ordeal by donating to the Bliss Charity that this cycle is in aid of.  The cut of date for donations is 30th November so if any of you want to donate you still have time.  Just click on our names below:

   Lawrence Dallaglio and Warren Smith 

STAGE 7 - Thursday 2nd October
Ax Les Thermes to Prades - 90 kms - 3027 metres

(To download Zipped clip, click here)

Today started with fancy dress.  There was a mixture of anything from stockings and fish net tights to traditional French attire!  We got straight into it today with a serious 14.5km climb to Port de Pailheres at 2001m.  It was hard but we had good banter with a red arrows styled display or synchronised cycle demos timed to perfection (watch video) organised by Mr Simon Hunter. 

Col de Moulis was next for 2km up to 1099m at 8.5% and then we continued on to our lunch destination at Col De Garavel (4km, 1256m, 3.9%).  Lunch was amazing as ever thanks to Jo and the support team.  After that we got into downhill mode for about 8km before hitting the last climb of the day up to Col De Jau (10km, 1506m, 5.1%).  This was not nice at all. 

However, we were welcomed at the top by a good group of supporters cheering us on.  We rode through the medieval town of Mosset which was built by the King of Majorca as a fortress.  We stacked up on chocolate and drinks here and went onto a massive 25km downhill.  It was awesome and speeds got up to the 70km mark again.

There were a few close calls on some blind bends with cars and farmers machinery.  We all got to Prades safe and sound to a unique Faulty Towers styled hotel.  Food was interesting and there was plenty of drinking penalty’s handed out by our leader Harvey and our guide French Fred.  Everybody has head out now to find some real food. 

Last day tomorrow.  Everybody getting quite excited about the thought of not having to climb mountains again but at the same time we have grown real close as a group real quick so there is a feeling of ‘this is the end of the road’ so a bit sad at the same time.  Massive party tomorrow to look forward to.  There’s a rumour that the BBC news crew will be waiting for us at Banyuls tomorrow afternoon so you might see us on TV tomorrow night looking a lot different, minus 10% body weight, than you knew us before.

STAGE 6 - Wednesday 1st October
Oust to Ax Les Thermes - 123 kms - 3100 metres

(To download Zipped clip, click here)

Today it got ugly.  This was the day they said our sanity would be tested and they were so right!  It all happened today. Firstly Wrong directions added an extra 18km’s to our already 123km cycle, bike chains broke and being stuck up at the freezing cold Col D’Agnes and then our guide getting a puncture ending up in the group heading the wrong way.  Overall, the hardest day for sure.  I think we were losing it mentally at some points in the day!!

We started with Col de Latrape which was 5km up to an altitude of 1111m on an 8.5% gradient passing through a remote village named Aulus les Bains which we were told is one of the most stunning locations in the Pyrenees amd they were right.  It is said to have been once famous for it’s bear trainers but we couldn’t see any bears, only more cows.

We had four major climbs today, two of which, Col D’Agnes and Col De Marmare were 11km’s.  The Col D’Agnes was an 11km stretch up to 1570 m at 7.4%.  There was some pretty amazing scenery including Niaux where you can see prehistoric caves and famous black outlines of horses and bison from 10,800 BC.

We passed through Lordat which is guarded by an 11th century castle and hit another two cols, Marmare at 1361m for 11km with an easyish 4.4% and Col de Chioula which was another easyish 2km up to 1431m with a 3.5% gradient.

The most difficult of the day mentally and physically had to be the really steep climb at Cazenave–Serre which was 14%.  It was extremely hard, one of the hardest days of sport in any of our lives.  Tomorrow is the last tough day.  Back, Knee and Neck pain is now common place amongst many of the team. 

Right now we’re so looking forward to Friday and arriving in Banyuls-Sur-Mer.  Bring it on!

Lawrence + Warren

STAGE 5 - Tuesday 30th September
Bagneres de Luchon to Oust - 114 kms - 3460 metres

(To download Zipped clip, click here)

 Oh my god, we have been tested!  Today started off ok with our first climb, the Col de Portillon for 9.5km and up to 1320m with a 7.3% gradient which wasn’t too bad. It was a scenic route through St Beat on the river Garonne which was used to guard the valley route into France from Spain.  There is a 14th century castle that looks over the town too so plenty to look at. 

However another two climbs before lunch got to all of us.  It was one of those days of demons and darks thoughts.  But considering we were climbing 3460 metres it was to be expected.  It was also day 5 and we all felt the pain in the legs which translated directly to the head!

The Col de Mente at 1349 metres for 9km with an 8.8% gradient was the leg burner and the pain was exhausting!…and then we had to do Col Portet D’Aspet for another 4.5 km at 1069m with a 9.7% gradient. We were told ‘this is a hard stage’ but they all were!

Lunchtime couldn’t come quick enough.  After lunch we thought we had a gentle climb just to finish the day off but this wasn’t the case.  The Col De La Core was written down on our info sheets as 9km’s.  It turned out to be almost 15km’s which was mentally disturbing!  It wasn’t as steep as other climbs with a 7.0% gradient up to an altitude of 1395 m, but because it was day 5 (only half way) and our 4th climb of the day it hurt real bad. 

Once at the top we got our thermals on as it was almost like winter cold.  The descent was on an old narrow road. We rode through Seix, a county town of the lower Salat Valley where there was a vine draped 15th century castle.  We then headed down to the town of Oust where we’re staying tonight and here we will ejoy a big dinner!

Overall, we’re feeling it now.  It’s taking its toll on the legs, lower back and head.  It’s a really hard day tomorrow so psychology will play a big part.  Will keep you guys updated. 

Warren + Lawrence

STAGE 4 - Monday 29th September
Luz St Sauveur to Bagneres de Luchon - 121 kms 4093 metres

(To download Zipped clip, click here)

Day 4, what a day. The day we’ve all been fearing, Tourmelat was the name on everybody’s mind. There was a lot of apprehension about this climb being one of the most feared legs of the tour de France.  There was no hanging around after breakfast and we pulled out of the hotel and hit the hills after about 100 meters. The climb was up to 2115m over 11 km with an average of 7.9% and a maximum of 10.2% near the summit.  Each kilometre was marked by a sign showing the distance to the summit and the average gradient of the next kilometres.  The climb was consistent and full on.  There wasn’t any breathing space like you get on many of the climbs.  It was just non stop pain. 

However, when we got to the top everybody agreed that is wasn’t as hard as they had expected.  We both arrived at the top together to be greeted by a IRB World of Rugby TV crew.  We chilled at the top for a bit, took some video and hit the massive downhill.  It was awesome, we blitzed it (Warren Smith 81.7kph, Simon Hunter 79.6kph). 

The Col d’Aspin was next at 1489 m and 13 km. With an average gradient percentage of 5.1% it was relatively easy dropping into the Valee d’aure at Arreau.  It wasn’t long before we hit the next climb, it was a big one.  The Col Peyrsourdre is 5 km up to 1569 m with a steep 11.4% gradient!  This stage is one of hardest of the Tours.  We were told we would want to die! We climbed consistently and felt good about ourselves after this one however.  Things are looking up. Got greeted by even more cow’s!  The downhill was good but there was too much headwind to break our speed records. 

We chilled at the bottom for lunch and some banter and then took off to hit the last climb.  This climb wasn’t anything majorly talked about but it got us, it really kicked our asses and made us show massive respect.  Wish we’d kept our mouths shut about Tourmelat.  This was so hard, it was the hardest thing we’d done yet and it felt it by a long way.  We knew by the time we’d get to the top of this we’d have climbed over 4,000m.  We got there finally showing fatigue, but when we arrived we were stoked. On the downhill Simon Hunter topped the speed record for the tour with 82.6kph.  Nice one Simon. 

We still can’t believe the next 3 days are predicted to be as intense as they are but we’ve done alright so far.  Legs aching.  We ended at Bagneres du Luchon where the Rivers Ore and Pique join and where we happily settled in our villas half dead!

STAGE 3 - Sunday 28th September
Gurmencon to Luz St Sauveur - 134 km - 3324 metres

To view today’s video clip in Windows Media Format,
click on TV Screen Below

(To download Zipped clip, click here)

  Today was insane.  Definitely the hardest day so far and as far as cycling is concerned the hardest we’ve ever done.  The day started off with a really cold winter morning, had to put our leggings and all that ‘Fame’ Leroy looking stuff!!  We hit out first steep climb which was hard.   Got greeted by loads of cows at the top, nice! 

We started with the Col d’Aubisque.  This and the Tourmalet (tomorrow) are the most feared legs of the Tour de France.  We climbed up to 1709m with a 9 % gradient.  The Col d’Aubisque is at the top of the main passage over the high butress that divides the old fronteir province of Bearn from the Bigorre region with two river gorges. 

Then a mental downhill on which we clocked 75km’s per hour which was amazing!!  Loved that.  However, the worst was yet to come, our 2nd and biggest climb of the day , the Col de Marie Blanque which was pure insanity!! 

Once we got to the top of the next Col we quickly put our clothing back on again ‘Fame’ style, and checked out Marcello on one of the biggest bikes we’ed ever seen! We continued through to Col du Soulor (10 km, 1474 m) and finally, Col de Spandelles (10 km, 1378 m, 5.8%) before riding through to Luz St Sauveur, a spa village straggling the Gavarnie and Bastan rivers with medieval architecture and a 12th century church. Lunch was well deserved and to finish off a long relatively flat cycle to our hotel.  We are dead on our feet.  We hit some freezing cold water up to the waist to help our tired legs and then dinner. 

We can’t actually believe the worst is yet to come tomorrow with the dreaded Tourmalet.  Lets see how we got on tomorrow.

Warren + Lawrence

STAGE 2 - Saturday 27th September
St Jean Pied de Port to Gurmencon - 110 km - 1343 metres

To view today’s video clip in Windows Media Format,
click on TV screen below:

(To download Zipped clip, click here)

Blimey!  What can we say, didn’t expect that kind of start.  It was supposed to be a gentle start.  We thought our lungs were gonna blow up on the first bit but got right into the swing of things.   It was the first major climb we had done but not the last!   The climb was epic and we got to see plenty of animals on the way.

It was gentle at the start and then suddenly started to elevate which was pretty grueling! First was the Col D’Hatza (7 km, 782 m, 7.2%).  Once we got to the top and started to hit the downward stretch we went for it on the way down and just touched 70km’s per hour in some areas.  Loved it we did!

We then followed the Col de Burdincurutcheta (6 km, 1135m 5.9%).  It was pretty spectacular. This Col was in 2 parts, firtly there was a climb for 5 kms, a rest on a 1 km flat stretch then a final  5 kms. The scenery was pretty amazing and prevented us thinking about the pain too much.  This Col is in 2 parts - with a climb for about 5 kms and then a rest on a 1 km flat stretch. The final Col was the Col de Bagargui (7 km 1327m, 4.7%).  We passed through some scenic villages like Larrau and Arrette before stopping at Gurmencon.

There was an epic lunch provided for us by the amazing crew from Gondola and Fred’s team.

STAGE 1 - Friday 26th September
Biarritz to St Jean Pied de Port - 87 kms - 458 metres

To view today’s video clip in Windows Media Format,
click on TV screen below:

(To download Zipped clip, click here)

The first day! Today was a relatively easy ride in the Pays Basque with an easy 458m climb. It was the last we would see of Biarritz as we cycled through the villages of Guethary and Ahetze before reaching Ascain, which is a pretty village by a river where we climbed to the first Col, St Ignace (3.5 km, 169 m, 4.3%) and then Col De Pinodieta (3.5 km 176 m, 1.6%). The roads were narrow towards Itxassou as you’ll see by the video. We followed the wide river through the village of Laxia which was full of traditional red and white Basque buildings. The roads became windy with many bends which made it difficult to gather speed until we reached the main road again which then went straight through to the St Jean Pied de Port circa.

St Jean de Port Circa is only 10 km from the Spanish border. It is the old capital of the traditional Basque province of Nafarroa Beherea (Basse-Navarre) and sits on the river Nive. Lovely village with cobbled streets, a roman bridge and ancient balconied town houses. We we’re welcomed like royalty by the locals with great food and a full on band who sang for us and drank with us too. We had a good few glasses of wine before hitting the sack. Knackered. Can’t believe this is the easier day “by far” as our guide, French Fred told us. Gutted we are!!

WARM UP
Biarritz - Anglet - Bayonne - Biarritz - 40 km - Flat

Friday 26th September was supposed to be a gentle introduction to the cycle challenge with a simple Biarritz to Anglet and then onto Bayonne and finally Biarritz again on a simple 40 km Flat with the idea of getting to know how each other cycle and getting the hang of the bikes and the rhythm.

It was a good start, but not a great start to the blog as there was no internet connection at the evening stop off, so video clips and photography have not been uploaded. However these will all come at the next opportunity!

To watch a video of today in Windows Media Format,
click on TV screen below:

(To download Zipped clip, click here)

It was an early start to the day with a drive around London and a train from Liverpool St to Stansted.  We all met together at the airport to catch a 12.15pm flight to Biarritz to kick off. We’re going to be pushing it to the limit to make this challenge.  Click here to see the route.

When we arrived at Biarritz we got our bikes fully serviced by the professionals who are with us for the challenge.  Myself and Lawrence had our computer’s fitted to the bike to make sure we keep the right kind of heart rate etc.  Biarritz is lovely.  It was great to see the surfers tonight.  We are all wishing for that for the next 8 days rather than the trip we’re about to embark on!

Look forward to sharing all of our pain with you!!