Peyresourde Paradise

Today we got to sample all of the treats the Tour has to offer for cycling fans who love to ride, eat, drink and spectate. Our first day in the Pyrenees centered on the Peyresourde climb. The fourth climb of stage 15, the Peyresourde is a category one mountain that climbs 13 kilometers at an average grade of 6.9% to a final altitude of 1569 meters. As the first true climb of the trip, the Peyresourde was going to be challenging for so many travel weary legs.

The two groups transferred from their separate hotels in Lourdes to two different drop-off points giving everyone long and short options. The long 75-kilometer ride left from La Barthe, while the shorter 50-kilometer ride left from Loures-Barousse. Both rides gave everyone time to warm up their legs before hitting the base of the climb in Luchon.

By the time we hit the climb at about 10:30, the gendarmes had already closed the roads to all but the necessary Tour traffic. This sort of early road closure of a climb to car traffic seems to be particular to the Pyrenees climbs and was a welcome relief from the Alps. Our group along with hundreds of other cycling fans got to climb the Peyresourde on roads that were far less congested than those the Tour cyclists would encounter several hours later.

The climb was hot and the steady tail wind only made things more stifling. The first VéloSport traveler I met on the climb was Nancy Meyer from Portola Valley, California. I swear I almost fell off my bike when she told me she was 62-years-old had only begun riding six years ago. She looked great on her bike and was smiling her way up this difficult climb. I also met Joel Eisenberg from San Fernando, California grooving his way up the climb. He had “Beautiful” by U2 playing when I rode up to him and seemed to have found a perfect rhythm.

A little further up the mountain, just as the grade kicked up to about 9%, I met Syed Yusoof from El Paso Texas. Also new to cycling, Syed has only been riding for about 17 months and only got into the sport when one of his pharmaceutical reps came in and asked him if he wanted to ride with Lance Armstrong. A few months later, Syed found himself riding the Tour of Hope with the man himself. Syed was styling his way up the Peyresourde in the blue, orange and white colors of his Crazy Cat local club kit.

I also talked to Ray Fambrough from Huntsville, Alabama as he sweated his way up the climb. I had already had the pleasure of riding with Ray in Guadeloupe during our Cycle Caraïb program. He and his wife Margaret had decided to get a head start on their Tour training by joining us there this past March. It certainly seemed that their Guadeloupe training had paid off because Ray was climbing this category one mountain with ease.

Ray Fambrough at the top of the Peyresourde.

I finished the climb with Michael Bennett (who goes by Todd) from Washington, D.C. Inspired by the growing crowd and the visible mountain points banner, Michael sprinted the last few hundred meters and finished strong. Also new to the sport, Michael had just bought his first road bicycle in September. He seemed on top of the world as he stopped to pose next to the Peyresourde summit sign.

Glen Brooks from Folsom, California earned his place atop the Peyresourde. This is his second year with VeloSport Vacations and he is back in full form after breaking his collar bone last year on Les Deux Alpes. Go Glen!


Our work done for the day, we all descended back down the Peyresourde to our reserved lunch and viewing spot at a small hotel eight kilometers down the climb. There we all cleaned up and changed clothes and sat down to a nice buffet lunch. We would need our energy for the arrival of the publicity caravan. A couple folks signed up for massage to ease their recovery after this first major challenge.

Dwight Ashby from Lewisberry, Pennsylvania gets a massage while the frenetic publicity caravan passes in the background.

The caravan came through on time and we had a perfect section of road all to ourselves. Newbies to the whole caravan thing, most of our travelers were positioned on one side of the road. So I showed them a little something I have learned over the years. The publicity caravan vehicles drive on alternate sides of the road so they can be sure to cover the fans on both sides. I moved over to the other side of the road from everyone else and in ten minutes had a Champion polka-dot hat, a Skoda hat and a handful of Haribo candies. When a much-coveted deck of Francais des Jeux playing cards landed at my feet, several folks crossed over to join me. One VéloSport traveler who really impressed me with her caravan prowess was Janet Ashby from Lewisberry, Pennsylvania. Her first time with the Tour, Janet was a natural and amassed an impressive pile of schwag (read: free Tour goodies) in a matter of minutes.

With the caravan over and done, we found our spots in front of the television set up to allow us to watch the Tour come to us. By the time the Tour hit the base of our climb, the breakaway was down to six riders and included Hincapie, Brochard, Boogerd, Pereiro, Caucchioli and Sevilla. The Tour helicopters hovering close by, we moved to our spots on the road again to watch these amazing athletes pass just inches from us. Though the front group passed with ease, you could see the suffering in those who had already put in their day at the office and were just trying to make it to the finish before the time cut off.


We all finished our day by gathering in front of the television set to see the amazing finish. It was really happening – George Hincapie was going to win the hardest mountain stage of the 2005 Tour. When he crossed the finish line, hands on his helmet in total disbelief of his win, our crowds went crazy. Hincapie was handing us the perfect ending to a perfect day with the Tour.