With 412 km covered and 9 legendary passes crossed, the 450 amateur cyclists of the Haute Route Alpes have completed the first half of their adventure. The second part of the event includes 492 km and 9 new ascents.
For many, today’s time trial on the climb up Alpe d’Huez from Bourg d’Oisans was a ‘recovery’ day with only 15 km on the clock, before facing Mont Ventoux and reaching the finish line on the famous “Promenade des Anglais” in Nice.
After leaving Geneva on Sunday, August 24, the participants of the 4th edition of the Haute Route Alpes have experienced four days of pleasure and suffering. Indeed, it is the beauty of the Alpine landscapes that has allowed the riders to balance the long and difficult hours spent on the bike.
If the weather did not help the 450 participants of the 4th Haute Route Alpes to tackle the most demanding passes of the 2014 edition, the breathtaking Alpine landscapes more than made up for the difficult moments spent on the bike saddle.
A transition stage, today’s individual time trial, appeared almost as a moment of respite for the riders with only 15 km to climb. But with its 21 hairpin bends, it bore the weight and history of the most famous ascent in the cycling world. Taken by the greatest figures of cycling, this road still bears the marks and inscriptions that make this time trial an unforgettable experience for all cycling enthusiasts.
Today, they will write a new page of the Haute Route Alpes from Alpe d’Huez to Digne-les-Bains, before taking on another giant, Mont Ventoux, and reaching Nice and the blue waters of the Mediterranean on Saturday, August 30.
