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| Early morning in Megeve |
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| Looking across to the Skiing Pistes of Megeve |
We found a cafe serving breakfast at the village of Praz-sur-Arly four miles down the road from Megeve. With our quota of Caffeine we were ready to face the day.
The first climb was soon upon us- the Col des Saises (1650metres) which started at the turn off on the main road between Flumet and Megeve. It is an attractive climb alternating between Forest and Alpine pastures with great views across the Valley. The gradient alternated between some sections at 8% and 9% and others at 4% to 5% with a 1.5 Kilometre descent after the pretty village of Arcaniere
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| Love the Savoie Kilometre markers up the Col des Saises -1km to go -always a welcome sign! |
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| The uninspiring Col des Saises |
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| But much more inspiring views to the South |
He hailed Chris and I down at the junction of the descent and the main road to Albertville at the Hotel la Cascade where we enjoyed our Cappuccinos sitting outside in the sun. We then had a short flat section to the ski resort of Beaufort, famous for its lovely cheese. As I approached the town I realised I had visited it before back in 2012 when as a family we had stayed in the area on my failed first attempt at completing the Etape du Tour.
It was now getting warm and we stopped at the small supermarket near the attractive church to buy fruit.
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| The picturesque Saint-Maxime Church in Beaufort |
The Raid doesn't take the classic route up the Cormet-de-Roseland (1967 metres) via the Col du Meraillet but instead takes a quieter but much harder route via the village of Areches (another control point for a stamp this time from the Tourist office) and the Col du Pre (1703 metres). The Beaufort Tourist office describes it as Mythic.I'm not sure about the name but it is certainly steep with the second last kilometre averaging 10.7%. It was very hard work in the heat of the day with lots of hairpins. Chris powered his way to the top and was a good 15 minutes ahead of Phil and almost 20 minutes ahead of myself.
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| Col du Pres |
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| Phil near the Col du Pres |
The route then descends for a couple of kilometres and given it was now lunch time we stopped for an hour at the La Pierra Menta restaurant which judging by it's website does a roaring trade throughout the year. The views of the lake and the surrounding mountains were stunning.
The road then descends to the Lake (Lac de Roseland) and crosses the dam before the final climb of 6 Kilometres and 374 metres of climb kicks in to the Cormet-de-Roseland. The last few kilometres were a little easier as the road climbed to the giant natural amphitheatre surrounded by towering rock faces and snowy peaks.
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| Lac de Roseland |
The Cormet has often been used by the Tour but I'm glad I hadn't seen the You Tube video of Johan Bruyneel's descent in 1996 until I returned to the UK. He came off the road, disappeared and almost fell down a cliff. Miraculously his fall was broken by a tree and he was able to climb back up, get on a replacement bike and finish the stage
At 15.10 that would have made a nice end to the day but ahead of us still lay another 25 miles of riding and the climb up to Val d'Isere. Not even knowing about the video I still descended cautiously around the many tight hairpins to Bourg St Maurice. The clouds were thickening and the air was getting very heavy and you knew we would be in for a spectacular Alpine thunderstorm later in the day. We made our fourth stop of the day for afternoon Oranginas and a refill of our water bottles.
The climb of the giant Col de L'Iseran starts in Bourg St Maurice. The first bit is a major arterial road with heavy traffic rather than the usual Alpine road. Fortunately the road soon splits with the turning for the Col du Petit St Bernard which leads to Italy and this siphons away some of the traffic. At the junction the first spots of rain were felt.The road starts to rise at the village of Viclaire and then gets serious with some wide hairpins on the way to the ski village of Sainte Foy. The rain became heavier and Phil passed me on one of the hairpins. Suddenly the storm also got serious- sheet lightning all around and the rain forming a torrent on either side of the camber and we were almost enveloped in darkness despite it being late afternoon/early evening. I decided to take cover in a bus stop in a very large lay-by and refused a lift offered by a driver parked at its entrance. For nearly half an hour I waited for it to clear with water rising up around the platform I was standing on and the rain of biblical proportions. I felt it was dangerous to ride in the lightning which was so close given the small gaps to the claps of thunder although Chris and Phil ploughed on through it.
Eventually another French driver spotted me and slowed and gestured to ask whether I wanted a lift. This time I didn't refuse. A keen cyclist himself we chucked my bike into the back of his van and I jumped into the passenger seat, water forming a puddle in his mat well. A couple of miles up the road I spotted Phil slogging away up another hairpin. I wound down the window and asked whether he wanted a lift. I will not repeat what he said to me but suffice to say he too readily took up the offer. We took some time to work out how to get both bikes and Phil into the back of the van but by taking off our front wheels we eventually solved the puzzle.
The road up to La Reculaz, our night's stop, went through a couple of tunnels, one of which was unlit but it wasn't until we reached the Hotel Les Seracs that we caught up with Chris. He had heroically ridden through the storm and used his mobile phone as a torch through the unlit tunnel.
The proprietor welcomed us in, gave us a basket for all our wet clothes and we were soon showered, exhausted but sipping beer and enjoying a great evening meal.
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| Day 2 Route |
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