A while back John thought it might be a nice idea to do a little race in one of our backyards (Pic Saint Loup). He signed up, then I signed up, then we realized what we’d signed up for. The Tour de l’Hortus (still happening as I write this – there’s a TT that we skipped in the pm) is a sanctioned race (yes, race without the ” “) by one of the French sport federations (FSGT) and would be full of guys and girls who are categorized riders hungry for points…or something.
Hortus is on the right, Pic St Loup, the left
We went ahead with it anyway, ‘for the experience’, and bought a day licence for the race. Then we read the small print: it seems that, as part of the rules, riders from other cycling federations and those with no licence, must start with the Cat 1 and 2 group. We still don’t know the thinking behind this one, but I could gather a guess or two if put to the test. Needless to say, the FSGT Cat 1 and 2 riders were safe from these two middle-aged ringers. We were both dropped on the first climb.
Near the start, competing with market day
First Loop
We were all numbered according to category, so our 70 and 71 gave us away as serious contenders, at least till we started riding. The start was different from a sportive; we were each called by number and name and then did a little loop of the village, popping around to the street you see straight ahead in the photo. Then we took off.
The start was actually pretty tame compared to some of the gasping-fests I’ve had in sportives. These guys were cool as concombres and just ramped up the speed slowly as we left the village. John and I both were thinking hey, maybe we can hang with these boys. And then there was a hill of course. Rob warned me about this and I knew it from simple math in my head, so I really wasn’t too shocked when the big bunch in front of me started moving ahead faster than I was. I looked down at my power meter and saw 300 watts and I knew that holding this for the 4 km climb would be possible, but not wise, since it was the first of 12 climbs on the day. I backed it off a little with a couple other riders and watched John drift away with the crowd of small asses.
But then John was dropped and I caught him, thanks to someone who came out of nowhere to pull me back. I was dropped again on the last climb of the first circuit.
After over 4 years I still can’t get that ‘serious rider’ pose down. How does he do it?
Second & Third Loop
Resigned to my fate, I rode alone for a lot of the time, or found one or two other stragglers, and it went that way for two circuits. My main goal during this time was to hold off the Cat 3 and 4 group, which started 10 minutes behind us. I decided I’d be happy to survive till the 3rd lap before the inevitable (a lone rider has no chance against a raging peloton – watch just about any breakaway in pro cycling for confirmation).
But by the end of the third loop I was still ‘ahead’, now rolling with a young guy from Sud Vélo, the club who runs this race. We worked reasonably well together for a long time and it was quite enjoyable, to be honest. I was getting a great workout, the sun was out, and I had a guy who didn’t mind a pull or two on the front from time to time. I began to think we may just hold the group off.
Last Loop
After crossing the timing mat for the penultimate time, Greg (this could be my buddy or it could be me, since someone I had just met in the morning yelled it at us) and I flew out of Valflaunès and started the 4 km climb between Hortus and the Pic. We summited, started the descent, then saw two guys with impossibly long legs cruise by, yelling ‘Allez, venez!’ They said it with such authority I thought I had no choice, so I jumped on the wheel, Greg trailing behind. This was very timely because we were just about to hit the one long, flat stretch that had a strong headwind. Legs 1 and Legs 2 took turns at the front while Greg and I hung on for dear life. I did take two token pulls, but they didn’t seem fussed about it either way.
Legs, as you may have established, were the first attackers from Group 2, and not long afterwards the inevitable inevitably happened, and we (but not Legs) were overtaken by the 40 or so riders from the main group. We stayed with them till the very last climb of the day, where I petered out (are you seeing a pattern yet?) and lost them, watching Greg ride away into the garrigues, along with Mark Van B, who is a friend from the boonies of Hérault that I’ve climbed Ventoux with.
The end began much as the beginning, and I finished the uphill sprint to the line with one other guy, feeling a bit like I’d just been dragged by one train then run over by another, but strangely feeling quite good as well.
Tin foil. I’m a convert.
Postscript:
- John finished a few minutes ahead of me AND ahead of the Cat 3 and 4 riders, so kudos to him!
- I saw a potentially awful accident right in front of me near the end of the race, when the rider in front of me clipped the back wheel of the bike in front of him, doing a major wobble then falling head first into a low concrete barrier. I think I saw out of the corner of my eye that he landed mostly on his shoulder, but it didn’t look gentle.
- We are looking into options on licences now. No, I don’t know why…
The Vicious Cycle 
Great job, Gerry! Cat 1-2 are too strong for me; my license is cat 3 both on the road and in cross, and that is just right; I.e, I decided a few years ago that that is my appropriate “terminal category” :). Check typical watts/kg numbers and it all makes sense. A race is exhilarating; very different feeling from a sportive
Jan, the race was really similar to a French sportive for us, actually, but the level was much higher overall obviously. I like the ‘idea’ of categories, so it may be fun to get a licence and see if we could ever get out of Cat 5!
Well done.
Why thank you.
Good on you!! and thanks for the report. Tell me about tin foil…it keeps the heart rate from spiralling out of control and the legs strong?:-)
Tin foil for the toes, Suze. It’s worked wonders the last two races.
What fun you make it sound, despite the effort required.
Great, accurate report, very entertaining. Kudos Gerry and John. There are some serious guys in cat 1 so to join them in your first race was very brave. Please do get a licence, start off in the lower cats, hopefully pick up a few podiums, it’s a nice way to progress
Mark, thanks. Speaking of brave, how about a sick dude showing up and winning the TT in his category?! Excellent day!
It was less fun than I tried to make it sound, you can be sure of that.
yep gutsy going off with the top boys …but its way out there on intensity
hats off to the both of ye
It was no big deal. We knew we’d get dropped and knowing was at least a part of the battle yesterday. The route was gorgeous, btw. You should get over there with the boys if you get a chance (and haven’t already).
Hi Gerry
Thanks for the article and THANK YOU for coming along to our race. With over 200 riders on small roads it makes for a great race for spectators and riders alike. There was an excellent field and some seriously good riders. The overall classement (road race and time trial times combined) was won by a Junior, Roman Neboit – a name to watch!
Glad to hear you weren’t put off by the dossard number!
A bit of official stuff…The race is organised by us at Sud Vélo Ne Jetez Plus but subject to rules of the FSGT, one of the several sporting federations in France. The FFC (Fed Français de Cyclisme) is the official federation and all others are secondary. The FSGT rules are that all riders with a licence FFC or without a licence have to compete in the Cat1 group…we made an exception for you and put you in cat2! Cat 1 FSGT is rougly the same level as Cat 3 FFC. For example in Team Sud Vélo we have two Cat 1 riders and two Cat 2 riders, and they all have too many FFC points to be allowed to compete in our race…they’d win too easily, in theory!
See you again soon on the road
Helen
Sud Vélo Ne Jetez Plus
http://www.team.sudvelo.com
Facebook “Team SudVelo”
Helen, I was hoping you’d set the record straight here, so thanks for doing so! We had a great time and the event seemed to be very well organized and, importantly, supported by friends and family. I forgot to mention the many people out on the course, which a short circuit makes for great viewing. I don’t remember getting as many ‘allezs’ thrown at me since the last Etape du Tour we rode. Well done.
Is there a link to a map tht shows the route? It feels as if I am stupidly missing something, but I’m not finding one. Thanks!
Nope, you’re alright, Suze. I didn’t put any link up. Here is one from Sud Velo’s forum, though, that shows both the race route and the one they used for the TT: http://www.sudvelo.com/ForumBB3/viewtopic.php?f=103&t=4728&sid=d8c8d2a94ecb438434113879d45ea647
Thanks for this: what I meant was that I had searched the internet, and didn’t find one, not that I expected you to post it. And, you can guess why I want it:-) … even slow me. Sounds like fun.
That loop, starting from MTP, would be a great ride. Anne and Erik do versions of it nearly every weekend.
Oh, I just realized that I gave you a link to my website instead of the route! Check my first response again and all will be revealed 😉
Well done Gerry, made it close to your end of the world this weekend Dijon and Beaune but didn’t bring bike. Tough making it past the first Bourgogne. And there was snow a in the ground at points.
Luc, I was in Chalon-sur-Saone last weekend. We were ‘that’ close!