We arrived in Couchevel last Sunday and were all ready to go for a ride. The first day we were there, Our team and Swiss Nordic combined went on a very fun ride to the highest paved road in the alps “Col de Iseran” which started at legenday Val d’isere. The day total just shy of 100 miles but with about 11,000 feet of ascent. The next day weather was tricky, so a couple of us kid a sweet little climbing loop around Courchevel and the ski area, even though we got very wet, because of the rain, I certainly enjoyed the ride! The ride I was looking forward to from day one was next. Last time our team did this camp, they pushed themselves to the limit by doing the “L’alpe d’huez” time trial. I was looking forward to this as it is probably one of the most famous stages in Tour history and to be able to race up it is unique.
L’Alpe D’huez is way harder than it appears on tv of course. But actually doing it, put it in perspective on how hard that really is. I started out with Billy and felt very good. So I started to put in the pace, Soon after I found myself trying to keep the wheel of Billy after doing half of the 14.7 kilometer course with him! All in all, I felt like I set a decent time up this famous climb, but still have plenty time to improve.
While we were in Courchevel, we were able to take several jumps on their k120 hill, which I feel is a very challenging hill. I was happy with the level of jumping at the time as we were with the French national team. I know I have room for improvement and I am excited to work towards a higher level.
The most exciting part of this camp was the Tour de France. The tour is one of the biggest sporting events that takes place. Twenty-one stages of racing, that won’t show the winner until the last day of racing. Our team was lucky enough to to witness two stages of this race, Alpe d’huez and the Grenoble time trial. To witness this event was crazy. Teammate Nick Hendrickson and I, were able to watch Alpe D’Huez from famous Dutch corner. With thousands of fans in dutch corners, It was safe to say we were able to capture the moment to the highest degree.
With all that, I would say this was a very fun and successful camp, with everyone working on what they need on the hills but having a lot of fun at the same time. I would like to thank Colesport for providing us with bikes and Honey Stinger for providing us with energy food! It wouldn’t be the same without them and they have helped us get better!
Tune back for a recap from Large hill Nationals that happened this weekend! Ill try to post the recap in the next days!
Taylor
