Wednesday 19 July 2017

Throwback to Tour de France 2011

Throwback to the year, 2011 when I got to understand the @letourdefrance for the first time ever after Kerryn gave me a crash course! I've never looked back since. 

This day I did not know what to expect AT ALL! 


We parked further down the mountain than we thought. Someone said its just in the valley. There were literally 2 down hills in the first 5kms, I was on a mountain bike and were literally towed up by @simonozzy and Christiaan. @zanning99 gave me a helpful push later on. 

Getting a tow is great, but also incredibly hard; you have to adjust your cadence to match the power, then you have to maintain it when you are already tired, when you let go you can feel how you literally go backwards, so mentally it is a really tough battle. 

I've never been so happy to climb off my bike. I had the most uncomfortable mens saddle and couldn't speak up about it. Boy was I happy to reach the top. 

I also had a hand injury so even going down was terrifying with thousands of other cyclists. I could hear crashes happening everywhere, it was something I have never experienced before. Wow just writing this has made me realise what a long way I have come as a cyclist especially after climbing up Mt Ventoux my first real mountain climb on a roadbike this year! I ❤️ cycling! 

#TDF #LeTour #Cycling #France ðŸ“· Zane