It’s a bit like being in Lord of the Rings this.
The scenery is absolutely devastatingly beautiful.
It’s epic and expansive and undeveloped and glorious.
A few months before we came on this trip Cyclist Magazine (the monthly periodical for guys who ride a bike) did a feature on the biggest climb of stage 4, the Cap-de-Long.
They described it as one of the most beautiful climbs in cycling and that was how we finished stage 4.
I started the day with a glow after meeting all my objectives on stage 3 but with an exhaustion deep in my legs (same as everybody else) so no complaints there.
We set off from Tarbes for a steady but still challenging 10km climb before a magnificent descent into the valley near our finishing point and then 22km of uphill to the summit to Cap-de-Long and the reservoir.
Louis started just outside the top 50 and him and Alex went off like hares with the front pack before I’d even turned a peddle.
I settled in with my new friends at the back and got chatting to Matt from two towns down in Scotland.
The trouble is we lost the group and a gap appeared as they started to tram along the main road, and it took us about 5km of real hard work to get back on the back (it’s much more efficient to be in the group).
The first climb was magnificent but ¾ of the way up I started to feel a bit ropey only to get to the summit and to see Alex still waiting at the feed station (first time this week I’ve seen either of them at a feed station). We had done pretty well, and I was well on track for bagging another stage.
The descent of the first climb was amazing, again another real lifetime highlight of being on a bike and in the epic climb of Cap-de-Long was brutal and terrible and dark and beautiful and wonderful and unforgettable all rolled into one.
There was a ride through trees and near a gorge with the water tumbling down beside you. Lots of lakes, dams and then a summit on the top of the world.
After that we had to roll back down 22km on a road surface that was not ideal which rattles your wrists and rattles your feet but the last 8km in a train on the main road cycling downhill at 35mph is again another highlight.
We’re centred in a little village nestled in the mountains with the race village here for the last 2 days. It’s a beautiful and picturesque setting and one which I’ll remember for the rest of my life.
Today is the last stage of Haute Route Pyrenees 2022. I will write about this tomorrow!
It’s hard to believe that if I manage to make it through this stage, I will have officially completed 4 out of 5 stages and only missed one climb at the end of day 1.
It looks terrible this stage and ridiculous because it’s only 40 miles, but the climbing is awful. Watch this space to see if I can drag it out and to see if Alex can make the top 100 and Louis can make the top 50. To be continued…
Throughout this process we decided to raise money for Cancer research in conjunction with the guys at The Campbell Clinic in our two-pronged attack.
Some of the team decided to take on the Race for Life on the 26th of June and some of the team decided to take on the Haute Route Pyrenees.
At the time of writing these blogs, our combined efforts of fundraising, including gift aid, are at about £15,000. You can still donate here for the Race for Life or here for the Haute Route Pyrenees and we’d love you to help.
Blog Post Number - 3136
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