Cycle Hame Tour de France Alps week 2013

I mentioned in the last blog post a week ago that Anne, Aiden and I would be coming back to Scotland. Well that is exactly what we did arriving here last Wednesday evening. We were met at Edinburgh airport by Anne's parents, the weather was excellent with mild temperatures and clear skies. Since then however it has not been great, and for various reasons including the weather I have only managed to get out on the bike once. I did get kitted up to ride this afternoon but changed my mind as I watched the weather close in just as I was about to set off. No cycling does of course mean that we are managing to get a few jobs done, a good thing as our Winter season gets closer. We are also managing to gain about a kilo a day in weight, not such a good thing as our Winter season gets closer.  

The big news at the start of last week was all about drug use in the peleton and the fall from grace of Lance Armstrong, and unfortunately that stole some of the glamour from the 2013 Tour de France presentation. This week there is a bit of a shift as the TdF route for next year is analysed, it does look as though it could be a good course. Some people are complaining about the omission of the Col du Galibier and Col du Tourmalet from the centenary of the Tour de France, 2 classic climbs of the race. 

Personally I like the course, it seems well balanced and it might be difficult to choose a clear favourite for this one. I think the highlights for me are 

-The first 3 stages to be held on Corsica, the first time the Tour has been held there

-A time trial finishing on Mont St Michel is very cool

-A stage finish on Mt Ventoux, always a spectacle

-A stage that ends with a double ascent of Alpe d'Huez, slightly bonkers but we plan to be there

-Stage 19 is a long mountain stage taking in some of our own regular climbs

-Stage 20 will start in Annecy and finish on a climb not far from Annecy

-The final stage into Paris will be a night finish.

We plan to visit 3 stages on our Tour de France Alps Week including the stage that finishes on Alpe d'Huez, stage 19 when it comes over the Col de la Madeleine, and the Annecy stage. 

Here is a picture taken this year of some of the riders climbing the Col de la Madeleine, next year the race we be going in the opposite direction.

So I think this is a course we will look forward to, and to think there are only another 9 months to wait ...