hips don't lie: Tour de France 2013 cycling holidays: Taking on the mountains of the Pyrenees by pedal power

By

Chris Leadbeater

PUBLISHED:

03:27 EST, 3 July 2013

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UPDATED:

03:51 EST, 3 July 2013

“Good grief. Whose idea was this?”

In truth, midway up the Col de Port, my language is rather more industrial than “good grief.”

Upwards: The Pyrenees provide some of the toughest tests of the Tour de France for professional riders

This steep climb in the central French

Pyrenees is ‘treating’ me to its toughest section, the gradient

ratcheting up to a difficult seven per cent. My legs are aching, there

is sweat in my eyes – and my pulse is racing rather faster than the

wheels of my bicycle.

Then I remember. This was my idea.

This summer may be the best ever time to test yourself on the highest French peaks using pedal power. Cycling has never been more popular in Britain, thanks to the gold-medal glory of last year’s Olympics and Bradley Wiggins’s triumph in the 2012 Tour de France.

Gallic glory: A cycle tour in the Pyrenees offers a glimpse of pretty towns such as Tarascon-sur-Ariege

But more significantly, this year’s Tour – which began its annual three-week journey on Saturday, with an opening stage in Corsica – is the 100th edition of an epic event that is arguably the most accessible of the world’s great sporting extravaganzas.

After all, you cannot easily play football at Wembley or bowl an over at Lords. But, should you choose, you can take on the same mountain passes that the Tour professionals tackle every July.

My quest is to discover whether you can attempt this challenge without long months of training and the fortitude of youth. I sign up for an organised break run by the adventure holiday company Exodus, which offers supported cycling getaways in both the Alps and the Pyrenees.

Yellow fever: Sir Bradley Wiggins won the 2012 Tour – but will be out with injury when this year’s race begins

And I have my answer as soon as I land at Toulouse airport.

The group that assembles in the arrivals hall – there are 17 of us in total – is visibly an assorted bunch. Some, carrying their own bicycles in special hard-shell cases, look as if they may have been born in lycra. Others, including a married couple of retired teachers, both in their Sixties, are here for a few slow-rolling days amid some of France’s loveliest scenery.

All have a little cycling experience, but the message is immediately clear – everyone will be allowed to ride at their own pace, without any pressure or expectation. This is a holiday.

A two-hour minibus transfer sees us swap the jammed traffic of France’s fourth biggest city for elevated calm, the Pyrenees rearing in the windscreen as we forge south.

Pedal power: Cyclists are a common sight on the curving roads of the Pyrenees (left), and the descents can be as tricky as the climbs. Right: Chris halts for a well-earned rest after ‘conquering’ the 1249-metre Col de Port

We draw to a halt in Ax-les-Thermes, a spa town which will host the conclusion of the sixth stage of this year’s Tour next Saturday (6 July). Accommodation is in the simple but comfy Hotel Terminus – where tales of previous cycling escapades are brought forth over a healthy dinner of chicken and pasta that is meant to fuel us for our coming endeavours.

Morning brings an introduction to my hired bike – a state-of-the-art carbon contraption so light that I almost question its existence. Its lack of weight will be crucial in helping me propel myself over the bumps on the horizon, not least the conjoined pairing of the Cols du Marmare (1361 metres) and Chioula (1431 metres) – my opponents for this first day.

Moments of respite: As well as steep uphill sections, the roads of the Pyrenees offer flatter miles of highway through sunlit valleys (left). Right: Saint-Girons is preparing to host the ninth stage of the 2013 Tour de France

The initial metres of the Marmare are the proving ground. Will I be able to do this? Will I be able to cope with the slope? I locate a gear that seems sustainable, settle into a rhythm – and find myself moving steadily forwards as the Col unfurls in gentle curves of tarmac.

But it is not all about the slog uphill. On each side of the road, Pyrenean France displays itself in splendid style: the villages of Unac and Bestiac, with their small stone homes and stocky grey churches; mountain meadows where wild flowers flutter in the breeze; farms where cattle stare puzzled from fenced fields, cowbells clanging around their wide necks.

In fact, the surroundings are so delightful that I scarcely notice when I hit the top of the Marmare, and move on to the summit of the Chioula.

Pitstop: Cyclists tackling the Col de Portet D’Aspet can pause for lunch in the village of the same name

There, a reception party is waiting. Riders are tracked throughout by a back-up team – in this case, British expats Tim Mears and Graham Hey, two qualified mountain guides and cycle obsessives.

Their job is partly to ferry our luggage to the next hotel, but primarily to provide help and encouragement – whether this be fixing a slipped chain, handing over extra layers of clothing or doling out energy-boosting snacks and drinks. The backs of their minibuses are a mixture of grocery and sweet shop, stacked with bananas, nuts, cereal bars and chocolates. I help myself to a solid handful of the latter – and feel revived for the descent back into Ax-les-Thermes.

If my first day is a success, then my second is a struggle.

My stiff, sullen muscles can manage the undulating 25-mile Route des Corniches as it cuts north-west to Tarascon-sur-Ariege, rising over the occasional hill as it goes (indeed, these morning wheel-turns are sufficiently undemanding that I have time to pause in the hamlet of Arnave, where a Sunday market is in full flow, villagers perusing stalls piled with artisan breads and rich cheeses).

High and mighty: The Col de Portet D’Aspet is grassy and idyllic at the summit (left) – despite the steepness of its its infamous western flank, where the gradient can be so sharp that even cars need to be warned (right)

But the Col de Port (1249 metres) is a different matter. This is proper Tour de France terrain, the race having soared over the peak as recently as 2009. Tim gives me a cheery toot of the horn and a few positive words as he drives past me on the lower slopes, but it will be a wearying hour before I see him again. I am the final rider to reach the top.

Nonetheless, my sense of achievement is enormous, and as I embark on the descent into the town of Massat, I realise that conquering these fabled cols is arduous – but far from impossible.

That evening, over another carb-heavy dinner, in the Hostellerie des Trois Seigneurs, I glance at the framed Tour jerseys on the wall, and feel I am starting to fit in.

Top of the tree: Cyclists have left their marks on the sign that marks the summit of the Col de Portet D’Aspet

By now, I am completely in the Tour’s grip. When I arrive in Saint-Girons shortly into my third morning in the saddle, I notice an over-sized yellow bike stationed in the middle of one of the main roundabouts – a sign that the town will host the depart of Stage Nine on Sunday (7 July).

The day will send the riders over the notorious Col de Portet D’Aspet – a peak whose relatively low height (1069 metres) conceals the length of the climb (11 miles) and the exhausting sharpness of the ascent near the summit. I follow the route, and find myself relishing the experience, partly because I am allowed to stop. Chez Jo – a defiantly local restaurant in the hamlet of Portet D’Aspet, where sun-weathered farmers are nursing jugs of red wine at the bar – is open for lunch. I am not sure I have ever eaten a tastier plate of steak-frites – and, strengthened, I inch to the roof of the Col.

Sad reminder: A memorial on the western side of the Col de Portet D’Aspet recalls the death of Fabio Casartelli

The Col de Portet D’Aspet owes its infamy to a horrific incident that occurred 18 years ago.

During the 1995 Tour, the Italian cyclist Fabio Casartelli – the 1992 Olympic road race champion – crashed on a tight corner while descending, and died from the injuries he sustained when he struck his head on a concrete block.

Casartelli was not wearing a helmet, and his death would lead to a tightening of safety regulations in cycling – but the memorial that honours him on the fatal curve is still a shocking sight. Making my own way – carefully – down the Col (the descent is perfectly safe at a reasonable speed), I halt alongside.

Inscribed in cold stone: Casartelli was the 1992 Olympic road race champion , but was killed during the 1995 Tour, as his memorial recalls (left). Right: A plaque marks the precise spot where the rider had his fatal crash

The dates of Casartelli’s life – as well

as the five Olympic rings – are carved into pale stone. As I stand

there, three other riders also pull up. Though we are strangers, each

wishes the others safe progress as he leaves.

From here, the road ahead of me flattens. To a certain extent.

But both the Col de Burret (599 metres) and the Col de Ares (797 metres) are ‘friendly’ enough that I can appreciate their beauty as I meander towards my final destination, the elegant spa town of Bagneres-de-Luchon. Antichan-de-Frontignes is a pocket of pastoral prettiness, orange-tiled houses and pealing church bells set perfectly in the slanted greenness of the landscape.

Scenic: The hamlet of Antichan-de-Frontignes was one of the many splendid sights Chris encountered en route

The stars of the Tour de France will blast through such places with rather more finesse and speed than me over the next three weeks. But unlike me, they will not be able to enjoy the view.

Travel Facts

Exodus (0845 287 7633; www.exodus.co.uk ) offers an eight-day ‘Classic Cols of the Tour de France’ break in the Pyrenees – from £999 per person, including flights, transfers and half-board accommodation. Bike hire from £110. Next departure 26 July. A similar trip that takes place in the Alps costs from £1029 per person – next departure 15 September.

British Airways (0844 493 0787; www.ba.com) flies to Toulouse from London Heathrow.

More on cycling in the Pyrenees via the Midi Pyrenees Tourist Board (www.tourism-midi-pyrenees.co.uk). More on holidays in France at www.franceguide.com.