Superbe L'Ardéchoise


Late for the start but it didn't matter

Amongst the 14,000 cyclists riding the Ardéchoise cyclosportif were eight Kingston Wheelers.

Seven hours of sweat and toil - that was just the night before the ride, spent in a hotel without air conditioning. The hot and the sticky weather made sleeping the night before difficult. On the day, things didn't improve immediately either. Aiming to arrive an hour before the start to secure a place towards the front of the huge 14,000 strong bunch, local road closures and some chaotic parking meant that the Wheelers Eight made it to the start line to hear the race announcer exclaim over the PA "2,000 riders have now passed the start line." By the time the Wheelers actually crossed the start line proper, others had been riding out for a quarter of an hour.

The Ardéchoise isn't one ride. It's a three day festival of cycling. But most of the action takes place on the Saturday, where riders all start together but can then go and choose a route that suits them. With a range of different circuits available, from 70km to 268km, there's something for every club cyclist and you choose your route whilst riding, you don't need to register for a particular route. On the day, Mark Briers, Andy Lack, Dave Motton and Peter Anderson rode the 171km "Volcanique" route, with some 3000m of vertical climbing. Meanwhile, Dave Wylie, Ian Collins, Andrew 'Harve' Harvey and James Beaumont opted for the 216km "Ardéchoise" route, with over 4000m of climbing.

Rolling away from the start, worries about sleep, parking or anything else soon took on a trivial character once on the bike. Starting off under beautiful skies was what it was all about. Everyone started quickly, passing many riders, from fit looking racers to fancy-dressed riders.

With beautiful skies and hot weather, everyone had a great ride, finding the roads to be challenging, but not humiliating. There were some beautiful descents, the roads well surfaced and smooth. Likewise, there were some long climbs, but most were steady and gearing of 39x25 was ok for most. With the temperature reaching 32oC the going was tough at times. There were so many places with helpers handing water to riders that you hardly needed a waterbottle on your bike, you could always grab a cup of water. If you needed more, some locals were also out with hosepipes and makeshift showers to cool the passing riders even if the cold water was sometimes a shock to the system. The roads themselves were suffering, the tar was melting in many places, bubbling and crackling in the sunshine, like a bowl of Rice Crispies.

It all made for a long day. Peter Anderson would be first back, but only after more than six hours on the bike. Everyone had time to appreciate the scenery. Post ride conversations were difficult, but all everyone talked about was the climbs and descents. Deep valleys, mountains, volcanoes, shady forests and white-water rivers everywhere. Yet the geography that made the views spectacular made the ride was hard: river gorges meant twisting descents, volcanoes meant 10 mile long climbs and no one could remember a whole mile of flat road. With the midday sun, there wasn't much shade either. There were plenty of food stops to help you through the ride but they offered cake, dried apricots and oranges, no doubt welcome in case of real hunger but not the best race food.

The ride compares well with the Etape du Tour. Whilst many in the UK know the Etape, probably because of its association with the Tour de France, the Ardéchoise is more popular in France. The way the Etape changes route every year can be interesting but the Ardéchoise allows you to learn the course and arguably the Etape visits more familiar road as the Alpes and Pyreenes are already known to many whereas the Ardéche region is a sleepy place. The Etape seems to have a more serious, business-like attitude, with riders aiming for medals and times; the Ardéchoise is much more relaxed but of course you can still race your legs off. However, when it comes down to it, both events are quite similar. One massive difference though is the entry method: for the Ardéchoise, you enter online, no need to go via a rip-off agency and foreign riders actually get VIP positions towards the front of the starting grid.

As well as the ride itself, the Kingston Wheelers enjoyed a stay in the nearby city of Valence for a few days, taking advantage of the good weather to ride the local roads, fuelling themselves with some good outdoor meals. Mark and Andy managed ride up to the Vercors and everyone did a good two hour ride together the day before the ride in hot sunshine.

The club will be back in 2006.

6 Tips for 2006

Gearing: most climbs are not steep, except the last one, but because they are long you need low gears. For many, something like 39x25 was enough but keen racers would be fine with 39x23.
Food: take plenty of food in your pockets, it's important to eat a lot and the roadside food on offer is fine for a snack but not if you're riding hard, where you need energy bars not ham sandwiches. Just take a variety of products so you don't get bored of eating the same thing every time.
Drink: drink plenty en route. For men, stopping on the way won't cost you much time but you'll suffer if dehydrated.
Clothing: it'll always vary, but see the forecast for the day and dress for the conditions expected at midday. There's no point starting with a jacket on just because it's chilly in the morning when it's going to be more than 30oC later on.
Note the route: the organisers give you a little card with the profile of the results but this is flimsy and easy to lose. So remember what's on the road, where the hills are etc.
Get there early: you might miss out on a bit of sleep but since you've travelled a long way and it's only once a year, getting yourself a good place on the start line's a good idea.

La Volcanique, 171km

122th Peter Anderson 6.20.12
1136th David Motton 8.03.58
1180th Mark Briers 8.08.27
1309th Andy Lack 8.19.54

L'Ardéchoise, 216km

145th James Beaumont 8.23.27
177th Andrew Harvey 8.33.24
202th Ian Collins 8.42.23
636th Dave Wylie 10.16.56