![]() ![]() Looking back up the mountain, the road’s curves are illuminated by a millipede of bright dots snaking down through the blackness.Īfter 20 minutes of descending, I’m relieved to arrive at the main road that will take us through the valley to Praz-sur-Arly and Megève. The first 15km is all downhill, and the sun won’t be up for another hour, so the cold wakes me up as we descend an Alpine road in near-total darkness. I corner tentatively. I still feel half asleep, but not for long. There is no Europop being blasted through massive speakers, no compère to whip up the crowd. The mood is almost sombre as we file out of the car park and onto the road. It’s 3.45am in a hotel in Les Saisies in the French Alps (coincidentally only about 35km from Sallanches) and I’m trying to shovel cornflakes into my mouth at the breakfast buffet. I haven’t had much sleep, partly because of the noise of the rain hammering against the windows all night.Īt least the storm seems to have abated, although the forecast isn’t filling me with confidence any more than these soggy flakes are filling me with calories. Unlike most sportives, there’s no throng of thousands at the start. This year’s entry list totals 650, a reflection possibly of the fact there is no short option. In other words, you’ve got to be pretty committed to be here in the first place. It’s 338km long with over 8,400m of vertical ascent, made up of nine climbs, five of which are hors categorie. Or to put that another way, it’s roughly the equivalent of doing the Marmotte twice. Bigger and badderįew would argue the Tour du Mont Blanc is the most gruelling single-day sportive of them all. The course is loosely based on the two most testing mountain stages of the 2009 Tour de France, run as a single event. Fittingly it was won by notorious hardman Bernard Hinault. Well, Monsieur Hinault, I’ll see your 6,000m of climbing, and I’ll raise you an extra 2,400m.Īnd as for that paltry 268km, let’s add another 70km, shall we? Because that’s what I’m facing on a damp, dark morning in July. That meant the race amassed a huge 6,000m of climbing. Many regard the 1980 Road Race World Championships, held in Sallanches in the French Alps, as the hardest ever. The 268km course took riders over the Côte de Domancy – a 2.5km climb at an average of 8.6% – a soul-crushing 20 times. Words Stu Bowers Photography Patrik Lundin The Tour du Mont Blanc sportive is not just tough – it’s an insane 338km of riding and 8,400m of ascent in three different countries This article was originally published in issue 85 of Cyclist magazine ![]()
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