The Cauldron

The profile of today's stage looks like a series of small climbs to a rolling plateau & the a long decent into a flat plain. In actual fact it was a 30 mile climb, some of which was 10% gradient with a few short descents & rolling sections. Absolutely brutal start to a 120 mile day in the saddle.

The day started cool but steadily started to warm up as we reached the top of the plateau and a huge rock outcrop at 1400 meters called Gerbier De Jonc. It was a gruelling slog but with a rewarding & spectacular view at the summit. The group was scattered across the route with myself, Mike & Dave in a group with the rest following some 10 minutes back. Over the plateau we dropped like a stone down a terrifying decent from Lachamp into Vals Les Bains. As we descended the full heat of the South hit us like an oven. Riding into Vals for some lunch the thermometer hit 42 degrees. We continued on with the support guys plying us with gallons on water en route. Les & Paul found the heat too much & climbed in a taxi for a 185 Euro trip to the hotel.

The rest of us soldiered on in the fierce heat over another long climb & then across teh Rhone valley to the foot of Mt.Ventoux in Provence. All of us agreed that it was the hardest day we'd ever had on the bike - over 11 hours (with a few stops) in 42 degrees heat with several tough climbs & 120 miles.

Tomorrow would be the final day - but we would need to tackle the infamous Mt.Ventoux first.