Some pictures from the recent trip, which takes place each year in the last week of May (half term).
Five Ystwyth members joined up with some ex members and friends from Peak Racing Club in Sheffield and Clwb Egni in north wales to form a larger training group.
The lads shared a house in Briancon, a lovely alpine town on the French border with Italy, situated at the edge of some very classic climbs from Tour de France & Giro folklore.
Having driven down in the now famous ‘Aber Student’ VW Transporter, courtesey of Tim Johnson, the Ystwyth quartet of Tim, Richard Taylor, Dewi Hughes, Shelley Childs and Paul Jones managed a late Saturday ride having started from Aber on Friday morning, and overnighting in Reims in northern France on the Friday night. The long drive south was shared between Tim, Shelley and Paul Jones who were both put on the insurance, turning out to be a rather good idea by Tim.
The short two hour ride up to the Col d’lshel loosened the legs up for the first major challenge on the Sunday, the ride to Sestries in Italy, scene of Claudio Ciapucci’s famous lone breakaway against Miguel Indurain in 1992. The ride took the lads again up the short Col d’lshel and down into Italy, the first of many descents which Paul & Dewi came to love during the trip!
Then a long ride through valleys which were very painful for Shelley who realised afterwards that his back brake had been rubbing all the way up the seemingly easy road for the rest of the guys….
Once on the climb the familar pattern of TLI National Champion Gareth McGuiness disappearing up the road would occur, followed by Simon Owens frantically trying not to lose his crown of Alpine king of years gone by, with a cluster of the other riders scrapping it out behind. This happened on most climbs with the odd change in order when Tim’s diesel engine kicked in on some climbs, he took some major scalps, even when in his tights one day!
The tough Montgenievre climb then had to be negotiated back into France before a long welcome descent into Briancon and home for the end of Day 2.
Day 3 was a toughie, yet the legs were surprisingly good. It’s amazing how much different a riders recovery is when all they do of a day is ride, eat, rest, sleep, rest etc etc. Alpe D’Huez needs no introduction and the bunch arriived here after driving up the Lauteret, apart from the Peak & Clwb Egni lads who rode the whole way! The Alp was tough, baking hot with no respite or breeze until the upper slopes were reached.
Col d Lauteret
McGuiness managed the climb in 59 minutes, not bad at all, with another 45 minutes or so passing before lantern rouge Alan Broadbent appeared. Paul & Dewi sprinted out the Tour de France finish at the top, and I’m not sure who actually won this, it depends who you ask 
The next bit of this ride was a cracker, riding up and over Alp D’Huez on a very old road with fallen debris & boulders meaning it was rough, but car free. The views were amazing here and the descent back to the Col d Lauteret was splendid.
The climb back up the Lauteret saw Shelley, Mark & Meirion punish Owens for once with McGuiness having already taken off on the descent of Alpe D’Huez, he had already reached the Lauteret before the group.
With around 75 miles on the clock (more for the riders who did not drive out) the 25k descent back to Briancon was again very welcome and another familiar trend of unwinding in the town square cafes then ensued.
Day 4 split the group, with one group choosing a steady ride up the valley and most of the Ystwyth riders choosing the notorious Col D Izoard (2360m). The climb is again used most years by Le Tour and the risers took some pics at the summit to show that the snow is still hanging around at this time of year.
Day 5 (Weds) again saw two groups heading out (due to the various levels of fatigue), one doing the valley to Guillestre (around 3 hours) and the other heading up the Lauteret and then the famous Galibier. Briancon is so close to so many big climbs that a week spent here can enable a different route each day quite easily.
With the Col d Galibier summit still under snow, the group turned around at the snow drift 4km from the summit and headed back down to tackle another tour legend, the Col d Grannon which was situated just outside Briancon.
Thursday was the day when the ‘Dark Side’ of the Izoard was tackled. The group left Briancon early, and headed to Guilestre and beyond to take in the Col d Vars first. After lunch at the summit of crepes, baguette jambon & coke (& more Crepes if your name is Richard Taylor), they descended to start the long windy road cut out of the rockface to the base of the Izoard where they were met by around 20 police officers standing in the road. No one ever found out the reason for this, maybe they were traning in race control for the upcoming Dauphine Libere race?
Tim & Paul
Being around 17km in length with an average gradient of 6.9%, this was one of the most severe climbs tackled, but the breathtaking snow capped final km and the fantastic 20km descent back into town after 80 miles made it all worthwhile.
The final day (Friday) was another scattered day, with Richard & Tim following Simon & Alan to Sestries once again but this time up a smaller alterative route to the summit whereas Dewi & Paul rode up the 20km side of the Izoard.
Next year, the plan is to go to the Pyranees, again in late May. Everyone is welcome!
Dewi
Helmet Hair
Richard
