FRIDAY JULY 20TH
STAGE TEN
TALLARD TO MARSEILLE 229.5 km
For Stage Ten of the Team Thomas Tour de France, Geoff hands over the diary
duties to cancer survivor MIKE GRISENTHWAITE
The second longest stage of the Tour saw soaring temperatures on the roads of
Provence with a strong southerly breeze which turned out to be the biggest
challenge of the ride so far.
Geoff described it as a "Day in the Trenches" and I can't think of a better
phrase to describe our 12 and a half hours in the saddle.
After the emotional highs and physical exertions of the previous day climbing
the brutal Galibier, we waved goodbye to the Alps. The last thing we expected
was a day like this on a supposedly flat "transition-stage" the term the Tour
uses to describe the days that link the Alps and Pyrenees.
After 40 km it was clear that all was not well when I started losing the
wheel of the rider in front and an early re-fuelling stop was called to try and
remedy the problem. It had taken us two hours to cover that ground and, within
another 10 km, it was obvious that this was more of a problem than just a lack
of food.
My own view is that I was suffering from dehydration, I don't think I had
properly re-hydrated after the last Alpine stage the day before. I had started
the morning in deficit - a costly state of affairs given that temperatures got
over 40 degrees (Celsius) during today.
Geoff took the decision to split the riders into two groups - something we
had not considered doing before. Me, Geoff, Pete and our guest rider Dan Ellmore
formed the second, slower group while the three other lads went on off the road
just before we started the first of the day's four categorized climbs, the Cote
de Chateauneuf-Val-Saint Donat.
The pace slowed to a miserly 13 kmph on the flat and the next few hours saw
me reach the point where I considered I might have to withdraw from the ride for
the sake of the other riders - the first time during the whole Tour that thought
had entered my head.
And it didn't help that the support crew were at one stage predicting that,
at such a pace, we were on course for a 2am finish!
Geoff's response was to come up with some divine words of inspiration,
reminding me to remember my cancer treatment and why I am doing this ride but,
after that failed, his final offering was something along the lines of "Move
your arse!"
It was the worst experience I have ever had on a bike in 15 years of regular
riding.
But, shortly after Geoff's pep talk, we had another re-fuelling stop at
around 6pm in what was probably a last-ditch attempt to get me going. We were in
the middle of nowhere and Tom, our nutritionist, unearthed a supply of SIS's
Smart 1 Gels. Suitably fuelled by the caffeine in them, within ten minutes we
were moving along at 35 kmph, an incredible turnaround.
I really don't know what caused that change. Whether it was the rehydration
finally taking effect or the jolt from the Smart gels, I couldn't say. In any
case, it was a great relief to me and to the three other lads Geoff, Dan and
Pete who had stuck alongside me throughout the day.
There still remained the challenge of the getting over the two final category
three climbs of the day. We crested the first " the Cote de Bastides " as the
sun was setting over the Mediterranean, a few miles away. This presented us with
a new problem, Geoff's eyesight.
Since his leukemia treatment, Geoff has been unable to produce tears in his
eyes which leads to him suffering from painfully dried-out eyes, especially on
red hot and windy days like this. To add to the problems, he is also wearing
different glasses which are shielding his eyes less from the elements. Add the
fact that it was by now dusk and this was a real worry.
The first descent was no problem, we pulled the Land Rover in front of us to
show the way, and there was still enough light to descend safely.
It was a different story on the Col de la Gineste, however. Completely dark,
no street lighting and a busy coast road. We had the Land Rover directly behind
Geoff with its lights on full beam to try and show him the way. It was hard
enough for me to see where we were going, let alone Geoff. He must have been
doing the 6 or 7 km drop completely blind. There were points when we were riding
around hairpins, when the lights from the car were not following us, that it was
completely pitch black and we had to wait for the lights to bear around and
catch us so we could see where we were going.
It was not the most pleasant experience of the Tour and it should have been a
great, gradual, fast descent had we done it in daylight.
But, finally, we got off the mountain and down one of the city's main
boulevards to the finishing point outside the Marseille football stadium,
sometime after 10.30pm. The main emotion was one of sheer relief, total and
utter. There had been a point, before the final miraculous food stop, where I
pulled over to the side of the road and told Geoff I was struggling to even
complete a proper revolution of the pedals because I was so out of breath all
the time.
But, with the support of the guys around me, I got through on grit and
determination for the most satisfactory stage of the Tour so far for me. The
thought was going through my head that I had come this far into the Tour that I
did not want to throw it all away just because of one bad day in the saddle. I
would have finished the stage even if I had been on my own in the middle of the
night.
Geoff said something to me along the lines of "Well dug in" and that was how
I tried to get through the day.
Generally, the whole Tour experience has been a whirlwind. One day merges
into another; each mountain into another mountain. The routine is well set, the
support crew phenomenal - you could not even attempt something like this without
them and everyone of the team riding well for each other.
I had no pre-conceptions what it would be like out here in France but it
makes you appreciate what the professionals are going through. I could never
appreciate what it is like for them to ride over 100 miles a day, day after day,
in these conditions. And they are racing, we're not.
But, however hard it gets, yesterday has made me all the more determined to
see this challenge through and yesterday was my lowpoint - I hope!
