One look at the stage profile will tell you why this is classified as a mountain stage....
As you can see, the serious climbing was saved for the end of the day, with the ascent of the Col de la Ramaz (14km) and finally the climb up from the ski resort of Morzine to Avoriaz (also a 14km climb) to really test the legs ahead of Sunday's rest day. I had the added advantage of having my mum and sister Uschi arriving from London to stay for a couple of days, the plan being to meet on the climbs at the end of the day.
The first 130km were not plain sailing.. a few short sharp climbs in 30 degree heat more than got the legs warm. My aim for the day was to arrive at the 2 mountains as fresh as possible, so i stayed within a group of 8 for the large part of the ride up until lunch. Lunch was based just 6km from the base of the Ramaz climb, but in a beautiful setting right next to a lake that had plenty of people removing clothes and going for a quick dip to cool down..
The ascent of the Ramaz was the harder of the 2 climbs. A 3km section between 8-11km saw gradients of up to 13%, during which it was a struggle even in the lowest gear (i am still on my spare bike don't forget!). Once finished there was a very dangerous descent down to Les Gets (lots of gravel as they prepare to resurface the road for when the Tour passes in 2 weeks), the kind of descent the really hurts your hands having to use the breaks so much.
Once in Les Gets i was finally able to meet up with Mum and Uschi!! so great to see them (after 8 hours cycling), and it gave me an extra spurt for the final climb up to Avoriaz. They had made a sign from a bedsheet with "GO Q GO" on it, very touching! the only picture i managed to get though was this one of Mum trying to raise it...
At the bottom of the Avoriaz climb we were hit with a surprise - they were going to time us up the 14km climb to the top with electronic timing chips. This added a little spice and pressure for the final ascent (by this point we had been cycling for over 8 hours). After a huge amount of sugar at the final feed station (coke,sweets etc) i actually felt great all the way up. Comedy moment of the ascent was when i tried to throw my helmet to mum and usch as i passed them, and ended up wobbling and falling off. Only a couple of grazes, and maybe an extra adrenalin boost to help the legs.
The climb was beautiful, and i rode the whole way on my own. Mum and Usch drove up every 2km to stop and take some pictures
Above the ski lifts
With 1km to go until the summit, a flash rain storm hit me, which was actually really refreshing after the long day in the 30 degree heat.
Usch and mum were at the finish line to wrap me in the "GO Q GO" sheet and drive me to the hotel after a hard 196km on the bike. Today was an epic day, with some people finishing around 9pm, having set off at 7.45am. The rest day after 8 long stages and over 1,600km is very much needed!
Managed to upload some videos of the Avoriaz climb onto Youtube
Avoriaz Climb 1
Avoriaz Climb 2
Avoriaz Climb 3 (top!)
Stage 8 involved:
Cycling time: 8 hours 52 minutes
Elevation gain: 4,501m
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