One amazing weekend

The idea came about in March. Club member Yves Millière said his former club in France, the OCC Antibes, could invite a team from the Kingston Wheelers to ride a three day stage race in the mountains behind the Côte D’Azur. Some members were quick to express an interest and by early April, the flights were booked for Yves, Tim Lawn, Andrew 'Harve' Harvey, Tarik Djeddour, James Beaumont and Chris Salt.

Not everything went according to plan. Whilst Yves was getting some strong results in the early season, even winning a race, the rest of the team weren't getting the performances they were capable of. James Beaumont's sixth place in the Archer race was all he could get, as he was plagued by cramp in other races. Likewise, Tim had a fifth place at Norwood Hill but lacked other racing. Chris was ill and busy with revision for his university exams, flat mate Tarik got the same illness and couldn't race and train as much either. Harve went to Majorca but reckoned the training hadn't helped, even if he did look the part, being leaner and tanned.


Unpacking the bikes at the campsite.

Everyone was picked up from Nice airport by Yves and Jean Broudeur, the president of the OCC Antibes club, and taken to a campsite near Golfe Juan. A couple of days were spent inside what looked like large garden sheds but they were comfortable enough and everyone enjoyed the ride up and down the coast, even if the traffic was dense in Cannes, where the film festival was on. In the evening, it was the Kingston Wheelers who became stars, holding court at a press conference and race presentation at the plush Hotel Thalazur in Antibes.


The press conference photo, with teams from Italy and the OCC Antibes.

Everyone was getting impatient, wanting to race but also worried about how things would turn out. On Saturday morning, bags were packed and bikes loaded onto the roof racks of the OCC Antibes team cars. It began to rain and driving through Grasse, it poured and lightening flashed. After a hour's drive, most of it uphill, the cars stopped in Andon, a small village whose school was to be home for the next few days. There was just time to unload the bikes, get changed and pin the numbers on your jersey.


Home sweet home: with warm showers and beds, the school was just what the riders craved.

Stage 1, Andon-Andon, 85.3 km - Saturday 14 May 2005

Normally you go the the south of France for the sunshine. However, it had been raining hard at the start. With the stage run at over 1000m above sea level, the air was cold and it felt like an early season race. But you couldn't mistake it for a race in the UK, with mountains in the distance and the caravan of team cars at the start area.

Everyone at the start was nervous. Yves had done the event before but everyone else didn't know what to expect. When the race started, it started properly, the pace often reaching 60km/h (40mph) on the flat, as riders jostled to get to the front for the first sprint. With moves going clear and coming back every minute, things were serious and a world away from the softer type of racing you find back home. A couple of crashes happened before the bunch had even started the 10km descent to Gréolières, a sinous route with some tight corners, small tunnels and hairpin bends: the road would be hard enough on a normal day but the foul weather made the road treacherous. Then the race sped downhill into thick clouds, one rider shouted "on voit rien" (you can't see a thing) and he wasn't far wrong. Given the danger, gaps opened up between riders and soon enough the race had split into several groups.

Tarik Djeddour crashed on the descent but he came off at low speed on hairpin bend but was able to continue, albeit spending the next 50km chasing. With the race splintered, it was up to every group to ride hard but clearly the front group was going to power away. Yves Millière was at the front and stayed there as the riders tackled the second lap. Likewise, the other Kingston Wheelers found themselves in small groups and rode hard to limit their losses. By this time, legs were frozen by the cold rain but having a small group to ride with made things safer and more straightforward, it was just a question of getting to the finish.

The run in to the finish was a twisting 11km climb to the finish, but the gradient allowed many to use the big ring. Yves came close to following the winning move only to blow up near the finish line but limited his losses. The others rolled in later, having lost ground to the fast moving leaders group but that wasn't a concern: all that mattered was that they'd survived the day and earned the right to a hot shower.

Later on, Tarik's earlier misfortune was compensated. As he put it, "the organisers incorrectly placed me in the main chasing bunch in the results, so I didn't lose too much time in the end! I checked with the lads and we agreed to keep this secret to ourselves."

Place Name Club Time
1 Anthony Esposito Sprinter Club Nice 2:11:43
2 Siavash Vahdati Germany @ 0:03
3 Emmanuel Ayral Union Cycliste Monaco @ 0:03
10 Yves Millière Kingston Wheelers CC @ 0:46
47 James Beaumont Kingston Wheelers CC @ 8:49
55 Tarrik Djeddour Kingston Wheelers CC @ 8:49
71 Tim Lawn Kingston Wheelers CC @ 15:37
88 Chris Salt Kingston Wheelers CC @ 20:53
90 Andrew Harvey Kingston Wheelers CC @ 24:33


Stage 2, Plan de Peyron TT, 12.3 km - Sunday 15 May 2005 am


Preparing for the time trial start.

The sun was out for the time trial. The course was straightforward, out and back, with a loop around the ski resort of Gréolières-les-Neiges. With riders going in the reverse order of the general classification, it was Harve who was the first Kingston Wheeler to start, setting off in the early morning cool. Thanks to his ride, the others were able to get an idea of what the course was like.


Andrew 'Harve' Harvey riding the TT.

Tarik Djeddour did a great ride. After waking up and feeling like he'd recovered well, he made sure to spin the legs rather than push a big gear, wanting to conserve some energy for the hilly afternoon stage. Tarik said, "I put a lot of effort into it and felt like it would be a good time. I ended up in 17th spot, only one second behind Yves in the end, so was very chuffed indeed."


Yves riding through Gréolières-les-Neiges.

Yves was off towards the end, so Chris, James and Tarik were able to follow him in the team car, with spare wheels on hand in case of any mishaps. It was an impressive sight as Yves started the race, riding uphill to the ski-station. A check of the speedo in the car showed he was riding at 50km/h. Uphill.

Keeping with the friendly nature of the race, Tarik lent his tri-bars to a local rider, who bolted them on just before he started. Sadly, thanks to the Kingston Wheelers' generosity he caught Yves, his minute man. As James put it, "I didn't have my tri-bars and really missed them, they would have helped a lot!"

Place Name Club Time
1 Nicola Bourdeloup Union Cycliste Monaco 17:18
2 Anthony Esposito Sprinter Club Nice @ 0:25
3 Nicolas Frossard OCC Antibes @ 0:46
16 Yves Millière Kingston Wheelers CC @ 1:48
17 Tarik Djeddour Kingston Wheelers CC @ 1:48
54 James Beaumont Kingston Wheelers CC @ 2:25
78 Tim Lawn Kingston Wheelers CC @ 3:17
92 Chris Salt Kingston Wheelers CC @ 4:00
98 Andrew Harvey Kingston Wheelers CC @ 4:21


Stage 3, Plan de Peyron, 77.8 km - Sunday 15 May 2005 pm


Lining up for the official team photo before stage 3.

The afternoon's stage saw the sun shining and the mood in the bunch was a lot better. The start was still nervous and again, high speeds were normal as the bunch sped towards the first hot-spot sprint of the day. Soon after, the riders left the flat roads to climb the Col Bas and the leaders stretched the field through the hairpin bends. It was a shock, after the big gears at the start to ride the high pace on the climb and the field split, with only Yves in the front group. James, Tim and Tarik were in one group, with Harve and Chris behind in others. Luckily, the race slowed up, allowing James, Tim and Tarik to rejoin the main bunch.

However, James and Tim were hanging on the back of the group as it sped through the hills. Yves tried a couple of moves but the bunch was waiting for the final climb, a 10km ramp to the Plan de Peyron. Tim had been dropped on the high speed run in to the final climb and as soon as the bunch started the climb, Tarik and James found themselves out the back pretty quickly and climbed side by side. Suddenly Tim came romping past, his smooth style evident has he passed the two others at speed.

Yves pulled out another consistent ride to cement his top 10 place on the GC. For the other team members, it was good to feel the sunshine at last - Chris even got sunburnt legs - and everyone had survived to fight another day.


No village hall: the changing room / team car.

Place Name Club Time
1 Nicolas Frossard OCC Antibes 2:02:43
2 Emmanuel Ayral Union Cycliste Monaco @ s.t.
3 Julien Bardin AC Valbonne @ s.t.
10 Yves Millière Kingston Wheelers CC @ 0:42
53 James Beaumont Kingston Wheelers CC @ 3:33
54 Tim Lawn Kingston Wheelers CC @ 3:33
59 Tarik Djeddour Kingston Wheelers CC @ 4:01
88 Chris Salt Kingston Wheelers CC @ 16:04
91 Andrew Harvey Kingston Wheelers CC @ 16:57


Stage 4, Plan de Peyron-Thorenc, 98.0 km - Monday 16 May 2005

The alarm clock rang at 6 am. With the race starting at 8.30 am, an early breakfast was necessary, especially as the first category climb, the Col de Bleine was on the menu later, to be climbed twice. Some tired faces sat around the breakfast table but everyone had a big meal. Sadly Tim hadn't slept well and had come down with a fever, he wouldn't ride the stage.

It was a cold morning, 9oC and cloudy skies. Rain was forecast for later. The race involved two laps of a 45km circuit, with the finish on top of a hill just off the circuit. The usual patten resumed itself, the bunch rolling fast, Yves ever present at the front. James had a little attack but no one came across to him and it was fruitless to persist so early in the stage, so he let the peleton come back up. Everyone was waiting for the showdown on main climb but the road to the foot of the climb was up and down and with three stages already, each rise and change of gear made the legs tired.


The bunch: look closely and maybe you'll spot Tarik, James and Yves.

The bunch hit the Col de Bleine. The leaders rode fast, doing 20-22km/h whilst the back of the bunch rode steady at 15-16km/h. Yves was with the leaders but everyone else got dropped, Tarik and James riding together. It took 15 minutes to reach the summit, followed by a four minute descent, enough time to let the legs recover before starting the second lap. Tarik was riding strong, charging away from his group in an attempt to get to the leaders; James was in the same group as Tarik but tried to do the odd turn on the front but no more. Soon enough, the two caught up with the leaders, James having the time to exchange a few brief words with Yves before the second climb of the col.


Tarik with two Italians and a French rider chasing hard to get back to the bunch.

The Col de Bleine has a succession of hairpin bends but having done the climb one lape before before didn't really help, as each bend looked the same so you couldn't tell how far away the summit was. Nevertheless, once the "MG 500m" sign was spotted, showing how far away the Mountains sprint was, it was only a short sprint and then freewheel to the finish. However, the finish had a nasty climb, ordinarily it wouldn't be too tough but it was hard going after two first category climbs and three days' racing in the legs. The rain started again, but it didn't matter as finish line came quickly enough and with it the satisfaction of finishing an amazing race. Again, Yves was Monsieur Consistent, getting another top-10 place. He'd ridden a brilliant race, considering he'd spent the whole season racing on a diet of flat racing in the UK.


All downhill now: Tarik on the final descent of the Col de Bleine.

Place Name Club Time
1 Nicolas Frossard OCC Antibes 2:30:27
2 Philippe Collevret Cavigal Nice Sport @ s.t.
3 Emmanuel Ayral Union Cycliste Monaco @ s.t.
12 Yves Millière Kingston Wheelers CC @ 1:34
40 James Beaumont Kingston Wheelers CC @ 4:11
54 Tarik Djeddour Kingston Wheelers CC @ 5:16
71 Andrew Harvey Kingston Wheelers CC @ 18:02
74 Chris Salt Kingston Wheelers CC @ 18:02


Everyone regrouped for one last time in the Hotel du Rocher for the prize presentation. A long wait ensued, riders were close falling asleep, the uncomfortable chairs doing their best to keep everyone awake. Even the Kingston Wheelers got a prize, a vase for each of the riders marked with "Tour Cycliste des Vallées de la Côte D’Azur 2005." But the applause went to the real winners, who really deserved every clap. The race was hard and the course made sure the winner was the strongest man there.

Yves said "I am very happy with this 8th pace, my best result in three participations, but I wouldn't say this is my best year physically, there is still room for improvement. I usually ride for a team leader and leave some energy doing that. But this year, I was on my own and could race for myself, which was nice, although I prefer helping a friend to win. I was very happy to see the Wheelers coming along with me and also to see my old friends from Antibes. Jean did a great job in helping us to come down there. Bravo et merci Jean and a big thank you to the organisation."

Everyone enjoyed themselves. Life was easy, like a pro cyclist all you had to do was worry about riding your bike and rest. No phones were ringing, no bills had to be paid, no food to be prepared. So recovering for the next day was easy enough. As Chris puts it, "" As this was my first stage race I was quite apprehensive about how well I would recover from day to day. I was pleased that although I wasn't troubling la maillot jaune, I was able to finish each day without having done a great deal of training. The main difference between this race and the races in England was the relentless pace the race was ridden at. Although the races were longer than most Surrey League races and included category 1 climbs, the average speed was higher than any Surrey League race I have done. I think this was due to the sprinter's teams stringing out the bunch on the flat roads for the sprints, and the leaders and the KOM forcing the pace on the climbs."

Whilst Yves was battling at the front, perhaps it was Harve who had the hardest race as he rode the longest. After the race, Harve said: "I was impressed by the feeling of racing with the bunch in that whole setup for an hour or so each day before it all went wrong on a mountain. Then I'd describe it as exciting but not enjoyable and kind of depressing once I was well out of it. I was quite suprised at how little I could do even though I was squeezing everything out when getting dropped and with hindsight I'm not sure I'd have gone to be honest as I don't think it looks good to travel all that way and do sh*t. Although It does feel worth it for a few stories and feeling like a pro at 30-40mph in the bunch with fleets of team cars, policing motorbikes and all that general mayhem."

Whilst Harve said it was hard to travel so far to suffer so much, the OCC Antibes president said he was impressed by the way the Kingston Wheelers rode, as everyone got stuck in and rode hard, regardless of where they were in the race

Chris speaks for several riders when he says "I really enjoyed the race and will hopefully be back next year having done more training and being in better shape. I'm now looking forwards to continuing with the training and using my form in some domestic races."

The 2006 edition is already being pencilled into some calendars...


Final Overall Classification

Place Name Club Time
1 Emmanuel Ayral Union Cycliste Monaco 7:03:17
2 Anthony Esposito Sprinter Club Nice @ 0:00:25
2 Nicolas Frossard OCC Antibes @ 0:00:26
8 Yves Millière Kingston Wheelers CC @ 0:03:44
41 James Beaumont Kingston Wheelers CC @ 0:18:12
43 Tarik Djeddour Kingston Wheelers CC @ 0:18:49
78 Chris Salt Kingston Wheelers CC @ 0:57:53
84 Andrew Harvey Kingston Wheelers CC @ 1:02:47


James Beaumont's top five moments:

1. Watching Yves riding, he was always at the front.
2. Completing Stage 3, it was very satisfying to finish the whole race.
3. Harve's relaxed ways, he rode hard each day, often by himself, but never moaned.
4. Following Yves during the TT from the team car, when he was doing 50km/h uphill.

5. A suprise was in store for the riders at Sunday evening's meal. Suddenly music started and a woman ran into the middle of the dining room. Turns out she was a stripper. Many riders were too tired from three stages of racing to appreciate the show but the look of horror on Tim's face was worth seeing.

Tim's highlights

1. The Matron from Andon like some kind of Gallic Diana Dors who sorted out Harve's eye by deft manipulation of the eyelid!
2. Getting caught on some climb and "honked" by a crazy 50-something Italian racer with a horn clamped to his handlebars.

Overall, cycling is so well-developed in France. Tim offered some thoughts on things: "Comparisons with OCC Antibes are stark. They have a fully committed support network of non-racing members both behind the scenes and also at the wheel of their four team cars. They have a trainer and a core nucleus of quality riders to draw on for any given event. Each of who know their respective place in the heirarchy, are seemingly content with it and prepared to commit to the wider team goal when necessary. As someone else mentioned, their teams all know each other much better than we did, which only comes from racing together week in week out - which we do not manage."

"The overall level of preparation of the riders is also way beyond ours. Socially it seems much more acceptable to dedicate yourself to training and racing and years of knowledge on diet and pre-race preparation are freely handed down by the generations, so that they seem so instinctive. I have never received much in this way and most of what I know now is self-taught from experience."

"Equally, I had forgotten my past experiences of the Duo Normand and was again taken aback by how incredibly warm and welcoming ordinary french people can be to a bunch of strangers from across the Channel who happen to share their passion for cycling. We could not have been better looked after and given that, by comparison, our performances were not that strong, they seemed genuinely happy just to have us there. Even the guy in the restaurant in Antibes on the Thursday night seemed impressed and interested when Yves told him we were cyclists - what chance that happening in Pizza Express?! It is a lot to live up to when it comes to reciprocating."