Grande Colombiere, TDF

[maxn]

I rode the steep side of the Grande Colombiere yesterday -- one day before the tour rode by. I drove out again with my daughter today to watch them roll by in Culoz (sounds vaguely like the French word for underpants, which provided much amusement). This col is certainly one of the hardest I have ever ridden -- harder for example than Granon or Ventoux which are my benchmarks for "hard". It hits 20% and has an extended section of 18% which made me wish I had more gears, but sadly even my mid compact 36/32 and weak legs were no match for it. I watched helplessly as my speed trailed off to a crawl. A brutal climb, and without much scenery to recommend it, except at the top. Here are some photos of the ride (descent via the East face, which looks like a much more enjoyable climb) into Culoz. Also, tour photos from today, mixed up to avoid spoilers.

[rwsaunders]

Nice pics...thanks for sharing.

[tiretrax]

That was a great stage. Chateaux to you, Max for riding it. The French must think Americans girls are risque for wearing culottes as outerwear. When my daughters learned that word in french class, there was a lot of giggling that night at the dinner table.

[maxn]

thanks guys. I only rode the last climb, and not 2X like them, so nowhere near the entire etape, but that was enough for me!

[MadRocketSci]

great pics, thanks for sharing! Is the ride up the Lacets as nice as the shots we see from the helicopter?

[maxn]

I ascended the other side -- the "Directissime", not because I am hardcore, but because I didn't know it was not the normal route. Behold, the madness:

http://cycols.com//wp-content/gallery/col-du-grand-colombier-talissieu/graph-directissime.jpg


I did descend by the lacets and they look really great -- a much better option for climbing. The fourth photo was taken on that road.

[tiretrax]

I saw today that Maka's average speed was 12.8 mph - that's amazing, especially in light of their gearing. NBCSN did a survey of four or five riders - Froome had a 39, and the smallest chainring was 36. To think the gradient went up to 19% makes that even more amazing. I can barely get up 12% with a 30 on my triple.

[azrider]

VERY COOL !!!!

Thank you for sharing

[William]

:cool:

[pdmtong]

I saw today that Maka's average speed was 12.8 mph - that's amazing, especially in light of their gearing. NBCSN did a survey of four or five riders - Froome had a 39, and the smallest chainring was 36. To think the gradient went up to 19% makes that even more amazing. I can barely get up 12% with a 30 on my triple.

this is the thing that is mind blowing. I would also say that the speed is because of their gearing and ability to push the pedals let alone maintain a higher cadence. so frrome must be using a 39-25 to climb like that? and a 13,000' day all in? yeesh.

to the OP, thank you for sharing. what a great experience you had.

[tiretrax]

this is the thing that is mind blowing. I would also say that the speed is because of their gearing and ability to push the pedals let alone maintain a higher cadence. so frrome must be using a 39-25 to climb like that? and a 13,000' day all in? yeesh.

to the OP, thank you for sharing. what a great experience you had.

Froome may have had a 39-28. I was floored by the chainring selection. I think Adam Yates had a 36-32, but he's a "junior" rider.

Maybe Tejay needs to rethink his drivetrain so he can spin up when the pace increases.

[pdmtong]

Froome may have had a 39-28. I was floored by the chainring selection. I think Adam Yates had a 36-32, but he's a "junior" rider.

Maybe Tejay needs to rethink his drivetrain so he can spin up when the pace increases.

it's in the gearing. on our local benchmark the only way I can go up it faster is to turn something bigger than a 34-23 and do it faster.

[maxn]

Thanks guys!

As far as gearing, the thing that struck me as they all went by was how smooth they were. No extraneous movement. The cadence did not seem especially fast to me, but I might have not noticed something like that in the excitement. Personally, I would have happily used a triple for the 20% and 18% sections. As it was, I was doing some paperboying.

Here we are on France TV! I'm the one in the Sky jersey :) Or the guy with the hat and the mini-me. one of the two.