Women’s WorldTour Stories: Omloop Het Nieuwsblad by Alice Towers

It was slightly personal between SD Worx and FDJ: CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto racer Alice Towers recounts an extraordinary Omloop Het Nieuwsblad cycle race

The traditional professional cycle racing season opener began under sunny skies, with the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. This 138km long race from Gent to Ninove in Flanders, Belgium is a good test for professional cycle racers to test themselves out after their winter training and warm-weather training camps. It’s also a good chance to test out the bike handling skills on the numerous sections of cobbles, including the famous Kappelmuur at Geraadsbergen. This steep cobbled hill is generally a pivotal point in the race where a few people from the 143 starters will make their winning move – usually.

Alice Towers at the training camp (photo: Tino Pohlmann) 

This year’s race was a little different and played out in an unprecedented way, with a very unlikely but well-deserved winner.

Result:

1. Lotte Claes (Arkea B&B Hotels Women)

2. Aurela Nerlo (Windspace Orange Seal)

3. Demi Vollering (FDJ-SUEZ)

4. Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Deceuninck) 

5. Lorena Wiebes (Team SD Worx-Protime)

33. Alice Towers (CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto)

Alice Towers, of Team Canyon// SRAM zondacrypto competed in the Omloop and was doing it for the fourth time. The 22-year old former British National Champion from Staffordshire recounts her experience: 

Restarting my season in Europe

I started my season in Australia in January with the Tour Down Under, which feels like a long time ago now. It was a solid start because you spend all winter working on your shape and so I was quite keen to make sure my fitness was confirmed in the race - and it was. So I was happy with how the race went. [Alice finished in 10th place] 

Then I had about four weeks in between my last race and Omloop. So during that time I went back to my home in Andorra where I had a couple of days off and did some easy rides. Then I went back to the UK and caught up with family and friends. After that I started building back up again and I had some quite hard training weeks in the couple of weeks prior to Omloop. 

So coming into Omloop I felt fresh, which was good. Last year in the lead in to Omloop I went into the race feeling a bit like fatigued, so it was nicer this year to feel a bit more fresh.

However, this year it felt like I was starting my season again, so I had those pre-season nerves again even though I’d already six of seven race days in my legs. Still, it was good to have started in Australia as it’s less hectic compared to the Classics, and it’s a nice way to start the season. 

Omloop starts at Barcelona airport

I flew from Barcelona to Brussels, from where it's quite easy to get to Gent. Because Barcelona airport is a local airport for cyclists in Andorra and Girona, where there are a lot of cyclists based in both places when you fly to a race from Barcelona there’s always a lot of either team-mates or competitors on your flight. So you already feel like you’re at the race when you get to the airport, and you see everyone there in their team clothes and eating pasta out of a tupperware box. 

On the flight there's kind of a chatty atmosphere. You chat to friends you know on other teams, but sometimes some people like to keep themselves to themselves and they just put their earphones in and watch Netflix - I guess they just want to be left alone. But you always have to make a bit of smalltalk with other riders or else it’s a bit awkward!

Pre-race build-up in Gent

We arrived in Gent on the Thursday evening and stayed in a hotel there where there were a few other teams staying. We were quite close to the course, so could easily go and do the course recon on Friday where we rode on some of the more important cobbled sectors of the race. It’s good to see those sections and how the cobbles feel and how the bike is in case you need to adjust anything like your tyre pressures and things like that – just to make sure you’re like fully tuned in.

Team CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto (photo:Thomas Maheux)

I rode for an hour and a half. Some of the girls rode for longer because they wanted to see the Muur. I didn’t ride up the Muur as I've done ridden up it enough times to know what it feels like, but I did go to some of the other climbs and I thought that was enough for that day. I wanted to save a bit of energy for the next day.

Race Day

There was a nice atmosphere before the race. Omloop always starts in this warehouse car park thing and they drive all the team buses in and then they have a full team presentation on a stage with lights and stuff. 

With my team mates we were all talking before the race and and Tiff [Cromwell] and Kasia [Nieuwiadoma] were trying to count how many times they’ve done Omloop. Tiff’s done it 13 times, and she won it in 2013. Kasia has done it 10 or something. So I was feeling a little I had weak numbers with my four starts! 

But there was a bit of a mix as a couple of the other girls had only done it a couple of times. 

The course is always the same, so it’s almost like you don’t even need to do the recon as you already know where the important points are and what to expect. But because it's always the first WorldTour race of the season everyone has got that extra bit of anticipation and they're not sure about how things are going to go.

Team tactics

In the race the selection is often made on the Muur, so Kasia is definitely our card to play for then, and she was kind of protected and saving herself for then. But we had a couple of faster girls as well like Chiara [Consonni] and Maike [Van der Duin] who we were gonna save and let them follow in case it came down to some sort of a sprint because there was quite a strong headwind on the run in, and it’s almost like one straight road which favours chasers so. You always like to have a couple of different options for how the race is going to go.

My role was to cover attacks or create moves coming into the final part of the race and keep the pressure on before going into the Muur, and looking for opportunities. 

How the race played out

During the race there wasn’t a lot of information that got given to the peloton in terms of how big the gap was to the breakaway. And then there was one point when one rider from UAE came to me and asked us if we were going to chase - at a point where no one was chasing. And I didn’t even know at that time how big the time gap was, so when I asked her and she said 12 minutes or something, I was like what?? 

So I didn’t even hear that from our team radio or from the commissaires. I heard that from another rider, so the information being given to the peloton was a bit vague. We didn’t have any sprinter that was the favourite; Kasia wasn’t the favourite on the climb either. So we weren’t going to be the first ones to chase. We definitely would have contributed if other teams had got something going, but it was a bit awkward, and then everyone was just waiting for each other.

It wasn’t a great situation for the peloton. I did try and attack a couple of times when the gap was 8 minutes, but it was kind of futile because of the gap to the break. I felt a bit silly when I was doing it. Sometimes you’ve got to do it, you never know. 

It did end up coming back to a bit of a bunch kick aside from the couple of girls that were ahead. Maike finished in 11th place but it wasn’t really the plan. We were supposed to sprint with Chiara and then Maike found herself in the front group and we didn’t have anything left to go for. So I think Maike did a good job of getting what she could from that group. But the team weren’t buzzing from the result. We did what we could with what was left.

It was a great day for the breakaway, and I was quite happy for the girl that won [Lotte Claes] because she’s Belgian and I think she’s been around for quite a while. So it was an amazing day for her. 

Alice's verdict

Everyone was playing the card of not chasing the break, and our team was also guilty of doing that. We were saying it’s not on us, and everyone was saying that. And really, it’s on someone. It’s on all of us. It’s just politics. And I think the tactics extended beyond the book - it didn't make sense. I think it was slightly personal between SD Worx and FDJ and there was an element of someone having something to prove to someone else, and I think that’s what happened.

I think that the racing is more wide open because the really fast riders are spread across more teams than before. So it’s going to be a lot more interesting for us and also for people watching as well. Though I think that Saturday [the day of the Omloop race] is not going to be the last time something like that is going to happen. I think that there are going to be some stand-offs in the Classics department!

Maybe there'll be other surprise winners, but it’s a shame because when we [our team] have a favourite, we’ll take the honest option and take to the front and ride for that rider who we want to do the result for, and I think it’s a shame that people try and bluff it and I know it’s part of the game, but it makes it quite a frustrating race for people who just want to keep the racing honest. You just want to do your job and then there’s all sorts of people trying to bluff and stuff.

An honest race at Hageland

The next day I raced at the Omloop Van Het Hageland, which was different from Omloop. That was super-hectic on all these small roads through towns and they were twisty and turny with some cobbled sectors. It was more to script, though there were a lot more smaller teams and it was a lot less predictable. It was quite a difficult race to be honest, and quite dangerous as well, because the level was a bit lower than at Omloop which had all the WorldTour teams. We had three girls in the front, then two, then there was just Maika left. And she also did a good job of representing us at the front and came 6th.

(Photo: Tino Pohlmann)

What’s next for Alice

I was happy with my shape, and I was really happy with the sensations. I think it’s about getting used to the dynamics of the Classics again because positioning is the most important thing. To ride in the front of the peloton is the most important thing, so I’ve definitely got some stuff to work on there. But I’ve got some nice hard racing coming up which will a bit more selective, so I’m looking forward to that. My brother races as well. He is based in Denia and races for Caja Rural development team. So we definitely talk about what we're up to and share our wisdoms. Though I think I give him more advice though!  

I’m off again to Strade Bianche next. I'm looking forward to it. It's always a good race to watch, and it's always a hard race. So it should be good.

Barcelona bound for La Vuelta Feminina

Great news that the women's Tour of Spain starts in the idyllic capital of Catalunya

We don't know the full details of the route of the women’s Vuelta a España Feminina (Women's Tour of Spain) cycle race, but organisers have announced that the event will start from Barcelona. I'm quite excited to hear this.

Barcelona is a lovely city, for which I have fond memories. I did two trips to the Catalunyan capital last year - some 15 years after the last time I was there - and I really enjoyed it on both occasions. I couldn't help asking myself why I'd left it so long.

And what is there not to like about this place (aside from the recent hike in tourist tax!)? The architecture is beautiful, including and certainly not limited to the various Gaudi creations.

The city is a manageable size for a visitor, as opposed to my beloved though sprawling home city of London. So exploring the place on foot is perfectly doable. Of course, as I have a penchant for two wheels, I like to use a bicycle. Both times I was in Barcelona I hired one. I used a road bike, but there are plenty of places doing city bikes and also off-road bikes.

There is an extensive network of segregated cycle paths, and well-known places are waymarked. So it was easy enough for me to navigate my way around the town by bike. Of course the metro and bus service functioned well too and they were perfectly good and clean.

Barcelona, like other major cities around the world has its share of famous monuments - Sagrada Familia, Parc Guëll, Montjuic, and Tibidabo to name a few. However, where it really has the edge is being by the sea.

The Old Port and the Olympic Port have a lovely atmosphere and make for a pleasant stroll. There are also several beaches. The ones right in the heart of the city can get a little busy, but as you go out further towards El Poble Nou and further along towards Badalona you get lots of space and it's even more beautiful. On my first trip last year, which was in February, although it was very sunny, the temperature was a bit low for me to swim in the sea (I ain’t no Wim Hof!) but I did swim at the lovely heated outdoor pool at the Club Natació Atlètic-Barceloneta.

Back to the cycling: I hired a Canyon Endurace road bike from Terra Bike Tours and did a number of fun rides. After a whizz around the city, notably on the long cycle paths next to Avinguda Diagonal and Avinguda Meridiana, I went up the climb that is de rigueur in the city centre - Montjuic. It's Barcelona’s answer to Swains Lane (for London-based rides). It's probably not quite as steep as the infamous hill near London’s Highgate Cemetery, but it is equally popular, and is the site of many a cycling battle. Montjuic is regularly included in cycle races, including The Tour of Catalunya. It has been included in La Vuelta as recently as 2023, and will more than likely feature in next year's men's Tour de France Grand Départ.

I also cycled up to Tibidabo, a climb that is de rigueur on the outskirts of Barcelona, and at 512 is the highest point in the city. Its signature cathedral and tower are visible from various parts of Barcelona. Even though it was a Monday morning there were many cyclists out testing themselves on the climb, and then at the top we met up at the café in the fairground area or even went to the church and gave thanks to God for providing us with the strength needed to ride uphill for almost 10km from central Barcelona! 

Thereafter, I did rides out of town. I headed up the coast road towards Girona, and then turned inland to go up a few hills. Then on another day I took the train to Terrassa and did a ride to the historic monastery at Montserrat.

There are so many scenic places to ride, and these will be covered in another chapter. But in short, Barcelona and the surrounding area is lovely place to visit, and I highly recommend it for cycling.

Related posts

Back to Barcelona for more cycling

Barcelona cycle ride: picking up my hire bike

2023 over and out - hoping for more in 2024

2023 was not a bad vintage. It wasn’t brilliant, but at least nothing dreadful happened - a positive thing in these unsettled times. I did a few things, though hope to do more in 2024.

So here we are at the end of another year, feeling slightly full up with left over festive food and Prosecco, heading that bit further out of middle age and into older age. My bones and joints are beginning to tell me, as such. Well, I had a sports injury which refused to go away for the first five months of this year. Sure, that happened when I was 26, but back then in 1995 sports injury treatment was a relatively new thing.  Almost 30 years of adopting the various and evolving techniques, my worn out knees are becoming less and less responsive to the typical RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevation) methods. They just groan, creak, and stay stiff. The wood rot is setting in. That has been quite frustrating. 

Thankfully, after a few physiotherapy and podiatry trips I recovered enough to be able to take part in the Paris Triathlon, Paris-Versailles Grande Classique running race, and the Ötillö Cannes SwimRun, my first such event abroad.

I also got up to Scotland during the World Cycling Championships and swam in Loch Lomond. Then I went on to Edinburgh and swam at Portobello Beach and ran around Holyrood and Salisbury Crags.

I feel blessed to still be able to do these activities and maintain reasonably good health - something I don't ever take for granted.

Through sports I made a couple of new connections, notably at the SwimRun, where I met some friendly women from Lyon, with whom I enjoyed a good time on that glorious day on the Côte d'Azur. I hope to see them again in 2024 at another event. 

Away from the sports field I got more into language speaking, by keeping up my conversation exchanges. There were my Italian partners - Ilaria from Milan and Alessandro from Rome, plus my Spanish contact, David from Burgos. As for French, I became more integrated into my French conversation group and got to know the folks better. I think Michèle had a great idea setting up this group, and I have gotten to know Deborah, John, Monika, Nick, Pamela, Paul, and Sonja a bit better. We have our own little group in South London, and that makes a big difference to have folks to socialise with locally.

Music continued to feature in my everyday life too - more specifically, making music. Although I regularly played my clarinet and my flute, I feel that my level plateaued. I only did one concert in 2023 - at Fairfield Halls, Croydon with my local symphonic band. Then I bombed out of doing the other dates. The concerts with my folk band clashed with other things I had planned, and the concerts with my concert band were hampered by unfavourable conditions for me. I must admit that as much as I enjoy playing in community bands I realise I am not prepared to play in the rain, in the freezing cold, or in blazing heat with no shade! I also like to play either before or after a decent meal. This might sound a bit "I don't do stairs" à la Mariah Carey (!) but I need to keep in mind certain fundamentals. I pay for the pleasure of playing my musical instruments in these bands. So pleasure is what I intend to get. I can't see that happening on a miserable winter's day like what we had between October and December. Also I don't feel comfortable being in a band where the leader thinks it's okay to accept those conditions for its players. So I think 2024 will be a year of new beginnings, and hopefully good progress on the music front.  

Work has been steady, with no new type of project done. That has been remiss of me for not getting properly organised. I did too much coasting along in 2023, and not enough striking out. I hope to do more of that next year. I have always been one to see the opportunities presented to us in the free world we live in, and take up those opportunities. Folks in many parts of the world just don't get the chance to do what we are able to do in the UK and other economically developed countries. So I don't like to pass over those moments. 

Still, I did a few things. My medical copywriting ticked along, and so did the cycling journalism. I was very pleased to have had the opportunity to interview the Amaury siblings at their headquarters in the west of Paris. Jean-Etienne and Aurore between them (with input from their mother Marie-Odile) head up big name brands like the Tour de France, Le Dakar (formerly Paris Dakar) and L'Equipe newspaper. These family directors hardly ever give interviews to any media - French or international. So I was very honoured to have done the interview with them for Rouleur magazine. This came on the back of the interview I did with Marie-Odile Amaury in 2021 for Cyclist magazine. Another person I interviewed, also for Rouleur, was Amina Lanaya, second in command at the Union Cycliste Internationale, cycling's world governing body. I even got to do a bit of modelling, when I did a photoshoot for Brompton cycles.

Getting out and doing things has become more important to me as I get older. Every second week the newsreaders announce the death of yet another person from my era - people that formed the tapestry of my life - even if I didn't meet them. Of course in 2022 we lost Queen Elizabeth II, which was nevertheless very sad even though it was imminent. At the end of that year we lost Pele, and also Vivienne Westwood whom I did meet - and that trend of folks exiting the world stage has continued with increasing frequency. I was saddened when Friends star Matthew Perry died. (Caveat: I read Friends, Lovers, and that Big Terrible Thing at the start of this year and was so shocked to learn about the extent of his substance addiction I was amazed he was still alive.) He was the same age as me. He's actually six months younger than me, though his co-star Jennifer Aniston shares exactly the same birthday as me. There is something disconcerting about folks of a similar vintage to yourself dying. I felt the same about Sinead O'Connor's passing.

Then there were household names like Tina Turner, Terry Venables, John Mottson, Henry Kissinger and George Alagiah.

In cycling Tijl de Decker aged 22, and Gino Mäder aged 26, died in cycling accidents, and also incredibly shocking and tragic was the death of Melissa Hoskins aged 32, who was killed in what appears to be a domestic incident with her husband.

I was also very sad to see the demise of a fellow local cycle racer, Tabitha Rendall, succumb to bowel cancer in the space of four months - just aged 52.

Reading about so many people of various ages passing away makes me think about my own mortality. I don't want to get too morbid about things here, as I help myself to another glass of Prosecco while watching the Jools Holland Hootenanny on TV. But before we do the 10-second countdown to 2024, I want to just say no one knows what's around the corner, so I just want to do what I can to write that book or do the round the world trip or any other bucket list stuff before exit day comes. 

That round the world trip could even be done on two wheels, as I made progress with my motorbiking when I got my A1 license earlier this year. I even went to a couple of biker meets in Surrey, and next year I hope to go further afield in the UK and even to France. Some say it might be a typical mid-life crisis thing to do, but I say Carpe Diem!

So in short, 2023 was not a bad year. I did a few good things, and there were a few fun moments. I am not one for New Year's resolutions, and just prefer to change habits in an organic progressive way. I do hope to do more in 2024. 

Happy New Year!  

Operation Etape du Tour: December update

To stay motivated in my Etape du Tour preparation its important to ride often over short distances rather than seldom over long distances 

As soon as I got my place in the Etape du Tour I set about training and establishing a rhythm of getting out on my bike regularly. 

I regularly cycle, provided I am not ill or injured. Thankfully that doesn't happen very often - or at least sports injuries don't often affect my cycling.

The last twelve months have been a little different though. Last summer, after spending a lot of time training and taking part in cyclosportives (Fred Whitton/Lion and Lamb, and Ride London-Essex 100) plus trips to Lombardy and the Côte d'Azur I experienced a bit of burn-out and didn't ride my bike much, apart from for short commutes. I got into motorbike riding too, which required a bit of time and dedication in order to prepare for my tests. That was quite the antidote to sweating it out up hills for kilometres on end.

In the first part of this year I was able to ride a little, but without any real objective. In some ways it was refreshing to not feel under pressure to ride to a particular mileage or speed. Coincidentally, I found I couldn't ride far as I had a prolonged bout of patella syndrome, which kept me from doing cycling or running. Even swimming had become difficult for me.

So after various trips to podiatrists and physiotherapists and following a rehabilitation programme I began to feel an improvement and gradually got back into cycling regularly. 

In terms of my preparation for the Etape du Tour, the key is to get out and ride regularly, even if it is just to do modest mileages in this initial phase. Continuity is key. It is better to do four 20-mile rides in a week, than to do one 80-mile ride and not riding for several days.

Not quite Promenade des Anglais, but the Parc du Vinaigrier, in Nice

It's important that I feel a "pull" towards cycling rather than feeling like I am being pushed into doing it. My rides need to be doable in terms of ability and time management, and it shouldn't feel like a slog.

There's nothing worse than that moment when you've been riding for four hours, it's a Sunday afternoon and you pass country pub after country pub where people are enjoying a slap up lunch and you have another three hours' cycling to do! You then have to will yourself along, working hard to stay motivated and keep the pedals at a reasonable cadence - all while trying to convince yourself that this is good for me.

So this month has been about doing short regular rides a few times a week, with one ride being at a faster pace, and another ride including hills. For November I was riding 125km per week and then in December the aim is 150km per week. These are low mileages, but that will make the rides feel more accessible, fun, and quality training miles rather than junk "pootling around to a café" miles.

My faster miles have been around Regents Park, generally latching onto a group that's riding at a training pace I can sustain. I also want to restart regular trips to the Velodrome. That should definitely help.

In the meantime I aim to keep my eye on the target - the start pen at the Promenade des Anglais, in Nice, and happy to be there.

Related posts 

Another cycling mission for 2024 - Fred Whitton Challenge 

Operation Etape du Tour - Understanding the challenge 

Rides on the Côte d'Azur - Col de Turini 

Another cycling mission for 2024 - Fred Whitton Challenge

I have been successful in the ballot to take part in the 2024 Fred Whitton Challenge. My mission is to cycle 174km (112 miles) around the Lake District, taking in the mighty Honister, Hardknott and Wrynose Passes. It's gonna be a tough day out, but I say bring it on - sort of!

In my opinion this is the mother of all cyclosportives. There may be other challenge rides in the UK that are longer or hillier than the Fred Whitton Challenge, but what really bites about this event is that moment when you pass through Eskdale Green, with its quaint country pub, after 98miles of cycling and you look up high into the distance to see a long line of riders snaking skywards. That's the Hardknott Pass, with its infamous 30% gradients along the one-mile stretch - and that's where you're headed. You have a feeling of dread and your legs go even weaker than they were already feeling from riding over Kirkstone, Honister, Whinlatter, and Newlands Passes. How on earth will I get over that and the 25% gradient of Wrynose Pass straight afterwards?

Few sportives instil that feeling of dread. I have ridden the Fred Whitton Challenge in the past and gotten around it within the time cut (although once I didn't). I therefore know that I have it in me to complete the ride, and I also remember the feeling of elation as I crossed the finish line. So I really want to have that moment again. 

It will be less easy now than when I last did the full monty almost 15 years ago. By the time D-Day comes round I will be 55 years old. Age definitely has caught up with me. While I am still capable of doing lots of sport, I find that I need more recovery time, and am more prone to soft tissue injuries than when I was younger. So as well as the main job of training, there is the added dimension of monitoring energy levels and preventing injury.

Getting a place in one of the UK's toughest one-day cyclosportives is not easy. The ballot opens in early December and roughly 10 days later the draw is done to see who are the lucky (or some might say unlucky) 2,000 riders to suffer the steepest hills of the Lake District.

Hardknott Pass 

I had been in two minds about throwing my name into the hat. Having gotten a place in the Fred Whitton last year, I remember how tough it was to train for the event, how many miles I needed to get in as well as how much cycling uphill. When the big day came I didn't feel entirely ready, and in the end opted to ride the shorter version - the Lion and Lamb ride. I must say I felt quite relieved to have not had to do the ride feeling anxious about riding the most challenging climbs. I enjoyed being able to have my post-ride pasta in a room full of other riders and chat to people. Had I done the full distance it would have just been a survival ride to beat the cut-off and I am sure I would have been one of the last finishers, probably munching my post-race meal in an almost empty buffet tent as the organisers packed everything away. That's not what I wanted. Having said that, I also feel a sense of FOMO (fear of missing out) at the fact that I only did 73 miles.

So I entered the ballot in the hope of having the chance to sort out this unfinished business. Many people enter this ballot multiple times without ever having their name drawn out of the hat. So I feel lucky to have gotten a place in the Fred Whitton Challenge. But now, I have to go out train properly, and ride the thing.

Training has already started, given that I also have the Etape du Tour to also prepare for. My 2024 calendar is already looking rather busy.

One day one photo - 25: A massage ball does wonders for tight muscles

Massage ball - a key tool in injury prevention 

This is what has helped stop my legs from getting too shot after yesterday's Paris-Versailles running race. I actually bought it the day before the event from Decathlon at Place de la Madeleine, when I was making a few other last-minute purchases for the race.

I have a knobbly foam roller, but didn't bring it as I wanted to travel light. I had banked on getting in a few swimming sessions to loosen my legs, a post-race massage at the event, and maybe even a yoga class to do some deep stretching. I had managed to do all of those things apart from yoga, which was a bit tricky to fit in. 

When it comes to injury prevention I can never do too much. A significant chunk of the physical exercise I do involves keeping injuries at bay. I have had to deal with tendinitis between my legs and my ankles, over the years, including during the first part of this year when I was unable to do any sport because of a nagging problem. 

So I am very happy to have been able to run the 10 miles yesterday without any problems, and I am determined to do what I can to keep things that bay.

So when I saw this little ball, not only did I think it looked rather cute and a nice convenient size, I also saw how this could give me pleasure (well pain actually) when rubbing it up and down my illio-tibial band, my gluteus maximus, my soleus or even just under the ball of my foot.

The pleasure doesn't come from the act itself, but from the knowledge that this little ball is helping to keep me doing my favourite sporting activities like running, cycling, swimming, even the odd bit of rollerskating. 

Here's hoping I can carry on doing the sports I love.

One day one photo - 9: Richmond Park - the cyclists' (and maybe the prisoners') choice

Rider hang-out at Roehampton Gate, Richmond Park

It's been a couple of months since I was last in Richmond Park, so I thought I'd make the most of the good weather and my bursting energy levels to make the trip across into South-West London and do a few laps of the cycling mecca for London-based cyclists. Sure, places like Box Hill and Regents Park are also popular, but Richmond Park is the place for all cyclists - not just club riders. Recreational riders family bike riders and small children all like to come out to this expansive green space, the biggest park in London.

First thing in the morning from about 7 am it tends to be the hard core club cyclists as those mini pelotons want to be able to get a clear uninterrupted path around the circumference of the Royal Park situated between SW15, TW9 and KT2, without having to slow down for or even scare away non-club riders! 

Not being hardcore, I arrived at the Roehampton Gate entrance at around 8.30am and began my three laps. By this time the park was beginning to get busy as more club riders arrived as well as recreational riders. I enjoyed just being among a large loose community of people powered by pedals.

The area around Roehampton Gate where there is a cafe and a cycle hire hub is a prime meeting point for cycling groups and it's always an area where you can bump into familiar faces. I saw different cyclists from London Dynamo, a large local cycling club that organises rides there.

Apparently, the police had also been in Richmond Park searching for an escaped prisoner who had apparently absconded from Wandsworth jail a few days earlier. You do see some dodgy bike riding sometimes, but I can't say I saw any signs of shifty behaviour! Who knows he may have been hiding in some secluded bracken or among the deer.  

Although I cycled there alone, I ended up riding close to other riders who were of a similar ability to myself. Sometimes they were stronger than I on the flat, while other times I pushed myself a bit on the hills and would catch or overtake them. Then on the descent of Broomfield Hill, it was a question of who had the strongest nerves when it came to the fast descent and the sweeping right-hand curve. Generally, they were more confident than myself as I was slightly out of practice and so used my brakes at the top of the climb in order to not pick up too much speed. I wasn't in the mood to kiss the tarmac.

Since the time of lockdown, vehicular traffic has been a little bit restricted and there are a lot fewer cars than before - particularly on Sawyers Hill and Broomfield Hill - which makes it very pleasant to ride. 

In the end I cycled two full anti-clockwise laps, then did one small lap via the ballet school and Pen Ponds, then a clockwise half-lap from Roehampton Gate to Kingston Gate before exiting the park and returning home. I always feel inspired after riding around Richmond Park - the sight of the beautiful, varied woodland on undulating terrain as well as the deer in the background doing their thing always gives me a feelgood factor which gives me wings as zoom through Kingston, Raynes Park, Wimbledon, and Mitcham to reach my manor in Crystal Palace. I hope not to leave it too long before I am back in Richmond Park again.

Freewheeling: Cycling burnout - you can get too much of a good thing!

I have been slowly getting back into the rhythm of cycling regularly. I'm not doing any big-mileage rides, but just little outings around my neighbourhood of around 20km. Admittedly, an ongoing sports injury has prevented me from doing much more, and I have had to steer clear of hills.

But even if I hadn't had this misfortune I still wouldn't have done a lot of riding. In the latter half of 2022 my average monthly mileage fell dramatically from around 700km to about one-tenth of that amount.

Regular rides around my local lanes in Kent and Surrey, training sessions at Herne Hill Velodrome, plus rides further afield to the Lake District Peak District had bumped up the mileage. I even did a few trips overseas - to Milan and the Italian Lakes, the South of France, Northern France and Belgium, as well as my regular London to Paris run. I guess I was making the most of our new-found post-Covid freedom. 

These rides were also in preparation for a couple of cyclosportive events I'd signed up for - Fred Whitton Challenge, Ride London, and the Etape du Tour. I did the first two events, but ended up not making the trip to the Alps for the latter event.

In fact by the time the Tour de France was starting I could feel my enthusiasm flagging, and when the inaugural Tour de France Femmes - the big event we'd been anticipating at the end of July - I was ready to move off in a new direction and just watch the bike racing from a distance. 

There was no specific thing that happened to make me feel this way. It just seemed like an unexplained burn-out, and as a result I just felt indifferent about all things cycling. So as a result, after putting my road bike away in the garage on my return from Paris for the Tour de France, it and the other bikes stayed practically unridden for around two months. I didn't miss riding, and for a timecI felt relieved that I didn't have to feel guilty at not training or not doing a 100km ride. 

I enjoyed the fact that on a sunny Sunday I could do an alternative leisure activity like rollerskating, visiting an art gallery, or even indulge in an extended Sunday lunch.

Some years ago I recall the boss of an advertising agency where I worked, speaking disparagingly about cyclists who go out on these really long bike rides on a weekend. He laughingly talked about how he wouldn't be putting in place facilities like showers in the office as he didn't want to encourage this sort of strange cycling behaviour. At the time I thought he was being a little mean and uncharitable towards cyclists. Maybe he was even jealous that he couldn't have that level of fitness to cycle even 10 or 15 miles.

In hindsight I believe what he was getting at was the cycling culture of riding a bicycle all day on a Saturday and/or Sunday, effectively keeping you away from your friends and family. He was all in favour of pleasant leisure bike rides out in the countryside with others and maybe stopping in a pub or having a picnic. But doing all this Tour de France style riding especially when you're nowhere near being professional just seemed antisocial. He even questioned the mental health of folks who see it fit to do these bike rides week in, week out!

Funnily enough as I reached this burnt-out phase I was beginning to think the same. So you've gotten out and ridden your bike 200km and climbed over this iconic hill or ridden over that historic stretch of cobbles or unsurfaced road. Have a pat on the back, but does life really have to be about just that? Then you go home and spend three or four hours watching a bunch of guys or wonen doing the same thing on TV. It all seems like watching paint dry until the last 15 minutes or so, and then folks marvel over those final 15 minutes of the race that was won by an athlete who comes across with slightly (but not much) more charisma than a wet lettuce. 

I found the whole thing rather quirky. I found it especially as these cycling fans talk of the sport like it's the most important thing in the world and trounces every other sport on the universe for entertainment, and bemoan the fact that the mainstream news channels don't feature this event as the top story in their sports bulletins. 

I realised I didn't want to be part of this crowd, and maybe deep down I just wanted a break from this soup, so that I could re-establish the relationship I wanted with cycling. At the time I'd just bought a motorcycle and was taking lessons.

I was getting more and more into ensemble playing with my clarinet, and I was learning to play the flute. So in short there was no time to be doing 200km bike rides. More importantly, I felt happier at the end of my day to have done a 20km cycle ride, flute playing and even a bit of housework. It might sound like a more conventional and less adventurous way to spend a Sunday day, but thers are times when I am not after adventure. 

As much as I like cycling, sometimes you can get too much of a good thing. Nowadays I prefer to have well-rounded weekends where I do a selection of things in moderation. I will always continue to ride my bike, even if it is just for social, domestic and pleasure. Maybe my cycling strength won't be enough for me to hold my own in a race or get round a 200km and 5,000m altitude cyclosportive now, but the fact that I have been there already gives me a sense of satisfaction, and I feel I have a healthier approach to cycling and cyclesport compared with previously. 

Freewheeling - Keeping away from cycling activists

As someone who is into cycling I have found that my love for the activity has slightly waned of late. It's not that I have gone off cycling. It's more to do with all that swirls around it. 

I have always had a fairly simple relationship with bike riding. I get on my bike, I ride. Sometimes it is for a leisure pootle, sometimes for training, or for racing. Other times it's just to get from A to B. I could be riding in London streets, on country roads, or along off-road trails. 

Normally, whichever sort of bike riding I do, I always enjoy it and find it a pleasant space away from the more humdrum activities of everyday life.

However, in recent times I have noticed that cycling has come very ...politicised. Whether it's folks going on about the safety/lack of safety on Britain's roads, sexism, racism, all other sorts of -isms, sustainability, clothing sizes for women, colours, sponsors of cycle races and teams, even bike brands. Whatever is happening in cycling it just seems to attract some sort of shouty reaction from certain quarters, all aired on Twitter - of course. It's all a bit much for me. 

I just want to ride my bike and not give it too much thought. Apparently, even that puts you at loggerheads with folks. Folks have been known to throw at me the accusatory phrase - "If you don't see a problem then you are part of the problem." I am supposedly meant to feel guilty about this.

Let me elaborate on a couple of things:

Race and cycling

Last year, I was asked by a cycling magazine to write an advertorial for a clothing brand. This would have involved interviewing two black women - one of whom has a large following on social media - and who has been vocal on racial matters in cycling. She set up a group known for women of colour who cycle. I don't particularly agree with such groups forming based purely on race. It is a view I am entitled to, though as a professional journalist my personal views do not influence the way I work. However, I was later informed by the editor of the cycling magazine that I was being removed from the job because the two black women asked not to be interviewed by me. Apparently they didn't approve of my views. 

The advertorial was going to be related to training to cycle 100km - nothing to do with a person's race, but yet I was removed from the job! So suddenly I became the subject of "cancel culture". Ironically, these are the same women who campaign saying "representation matters" and want visibility of black people in various roles, including journalism! Absolute hypocrisy. I must also add that in the 12 years I have been involved in journalism this is the only time an interviewee has asked to not be interviewed by me.

I first became involved in club cycling in 2000. At that time there were hardly any black people who took part in club cycling. There were a few; just not many. Nevertheless I found the cycling community to be very welcoming. Sure it was dominated by white males - maybe even middle-aged, middle class males. I didn't ask them their ages or their class, and even if I could have taken an educated guess, I couldn't really have cared one way or another. I was just interested in being in a friendly environment, and that's how I found the cycling milieu to be. 

Fast forward twenty years and everyone is talking about cycling being racist and that the lack of black people involved in cycling is because we were being excluded. No one ever stopped me from riding a bicycle or taking part in events. 

I am not saying that I don't believe other people who say that they had a negative experience, but I think it's important to realise that people have different experiences in the same situation. When I say that I have had a positive experience I don't see why folks should look at me negatively. It's almost as though I have committed some sort of sacrilege because I am not going out and mouthing off about breaking down barriers. 

In my time I have known many black people (including members of my own family) who are just not interested in cycling, and who even wonder why I do it! That's been my experience, and for me to believe that the lack of black people cycling was down to personal preference rather than racial bias was not an unreasonable conclusion to draw. Because of that, some see me as a pariah for not joining them in their crusade. One black guy who has made his name by hosting an exhibition about Black Cycling Champions and claiming that cycling is a racist sport even blocked me from his Twitter account!

It is interesting how some of these people campaign for inclusivity, but yet their behaviour, by its very nature, is to exclude those who don't share their opinions.  

Militant Cyclists 

I have ridden bicycles around since the 1970s. My time as a commuter cyclist in London began in 2001. Back then, there were make-shift cycle lanes - mainly a line painted along the edge of the road but you weren't separated from traffic at all. I remember the first time I cycled from my home in Crystal Palace all the way to my office at the time, which was in Marylebone, I rode ever so cautiously and was quite nervous. But in fact, it wasn't bad at all. I quite enjoyed the experience and I was happy to continue riding my bike through the London. I have commuted by bicycle ever since. 

Nowadays we have the luxury of segregated cycle superhighways and special cyclist traffic lights to get you across busy junctions. I think these are great additions and have been instrumental in encouraging more people to cycle in London. I think that London is now an even better place to cycle, and its facilities are now comparable to (if not better than) some other major cities around the world. I can confidently say this as I always make sure to ride a bicycle (either my own or a hire bike) whenever I travel abroad. So I have ridden bicycles in cities around Europe, North America, South America, and the Caribbean, in my time.

The thing is, whenever I look at Twitter I see angry messages from various people about how terrible it is to cycle around London. I just don't share that experience with others. Sadly, if you respond on this platform saying that you have had an enjoyable experience people lambast you saying you don't know what you're talking about and asking you to produce statistics.

Campaigning organisations also want to suggest that every other city in Europe has better cycling infrastructure than London. I would take them seriously if the protagonists actually regularly commuted in those countries. Many of them have never cycled abroad - or at least when they cycled abroad it was in a holiday resort within that country as opposed to a city where people get on with daily life. These are not even like for like comparisons, so folks then draw their conclusions based on photographs of cycle lanes in these cities! 

A recently constructed segregated cycle lane in central Paris, running along rue Saint Antoine from Bastille to Chatelet, and on to Rivoli and Concorde has received much praise on social media. Granted it is a very useful cycle lane. But is this segregated lane better than an equivalent one in London? And does it mean that every cycle lane in Paris is in the same style as the one on Rivoli? 

I get astounded by how people take this cycle lane and extrapolate saying the whole of Paris has cycle lanes like this, and life as a cyclist in Paris is much better than in London! Have these people never ridden the Cycle Superhighway from Elephant and Castle to Clerkenwell? Or the path from Tower Bridge through Westminster all the way to the Royal Albert Hall? What is the difference? In fact I would argue that the London segregated paths are better than those in Paris because they are completely closed to motorised traffic. Cycle lanes in Paris still allow space for delivery vans - and the van drivers make the most of that permission! You certainly have to be on your guard when riding in a bike lane.

Then of course there's the "we hate cars" brigade. Activists have even taken to deflating the tyres of SUVs under cover of darkness and leaving notes reprimanding them for owning one. Interestingly, these will be the same people protesting against the regimes of Vladimir Putin of Russia, Kim Jong-un of North Korea or Xi Jinping of China. But yet, these urban rebels feel that it's okay to disrupt the lives of people who don't embrace their beliefs and behaviours.

And let's not forget the countless cyclists who jump the red traffic lights - some with fatal consequences. Campaigners continue to lambast terrible drivers of motorised vehicles. If you dared to question cyclists who flout road traffic laws they give a response along the lines of cyclists don't kill people when they don't jump lights. Some even refuse to acknowledge that this law-breaking occurs.  

I don't understand how they can't see that this brand of self-righteousness, and thinking they are above all other road users just doesn't endear them to the general population. It's not surprising that folks make negative comments about these militants on pushbikes, and display negative behaviour towards them on the roads. Travelling around a town should be about sharing the thoroughfares, not occupying them to the exclusion of others.

And so, in the climate of what I have mentioned above, I find it quite difficult to call myself a cyclist. I get concerned that people may automatically picture me as one of those scary angry folks who jumps red lights and refuses to give way to any other road user. 

These days I prefer to consider myself as a person who likes to travel by bicycle, among other forms of transport. In addition, I like to do club cycling and cycle races, as well as other sporting activities. I think it's better to not let myself get too immersed in the chatter of activists and militants.

It's nice to see that more and more people are taking to push bikes. London has definitely become more of a cycling city, than ever before. Though I must say that I personally don't feel any push to say that everyone should ride bikes, though I wouldn't dissuade it either. And I certainly don't believe that anything in society is discouraging others from getting into bike riding if that's what they want to do.  

Above all, bike riding is always about choice. You make your choice and respect the choices of others. Sadly, I think that what I have said here sounds much too reasonable, and is likely to once again attract the ire of others.

52 Cycling Voices - 34: Evie Richards

When speaking to mountain biker Evie Richards it's like a breath of fresh air, as I found when I interviewed her last year. Even though she is Britain's top female cross-country mountain biker she comes across as very modest and relaxed, with a well-balanced attitude to life. Having said that, when I spoke to her I found that things hadn't always been so easy-going for her, notably a few years ago when she suffered from disordered eating. Things have improved somewhat since then. She has fulfilled a dream of becoming an Olympian, when she competed in the Tokyo Olympics. She has since also become a World Champion, as well as Commonwealth Champion at the Games that took place on a course at Cannock Chase near Birmingham. Well done, Evie!

Evie Richards, aged 25

From: Great Malvern, Worcestershire

Occupation: Cross-country mountain bike racer

I always loved the Olympics. I just dreamt of being in the Olympics. It wasn’t necessarily cycling  when I was younger, that I wanted to get into. I just did every sport until I found one that I could go to the Olympics in. So for me it was the Olympians who inspired me – people like Jess Ennis, Tom Daley who were my true inspirations – or Jonny Wilkinson in rugby – we used to watch a lot of rugby, so it was …so for me it wasn’t until I started racing and I was racing world championships that ….I remember in my first world champs I sat on the side line and my friend was teaching me the names of all the riders. I never really watched cycling as a kid. So it wasn’t that I had an inspiring person in cycling. But now from me racing against different people and watching different races there are so many inspiring people. 

I got into cycling with my friends, and we used to ride around in the local hills. Local riders like Commonwealth Mountain Bike Champion Liam Killeen and World Downhill and Enduro Champion, Tracy Moseley (T-Mo Racing) would do coaching sessions.

Liam is the person who first helped me when I got into riding. He used to do efforts with me and friends on a Tuesday after school. On Thursday we would do Turbo in my friend’s garage and he would lead it for us. It’s funny because after four of five years of cycle racing I went back to him for coaching along with Matt Ellis, a GB coordinator. I also had Katy Curd as a coach. She's a retired downhill rider, and does all my technical coaching. Then there's Tracy. They are all people that I’ve grown up with, and they all live locally. So I feel lucky to have this team of people near to me. 

I feel like we’re probably freaks of nature around here in Malvern. I think from such a young age you don’t really go on the computer, you don’t really have a phone. If you do something you knock on someone’s door and you go up the hill and go adventuring or something. It’s quite cool. It’s like all the boys I went to nursery with are my best friends and if we wanted to see each other we’d just knock on the door and go on an adventure together. So I feel like we’ve always been brought up just being outside, and I feel that that’s probably had something to do with it. 

If you look at the men, like Tom (Pidcock) and Matthew (van der Poel) they can just do everything well. But for me, I prioritised the mountain bike because it was always my dream to go to the Olympics. I raced all the mountain bike races, and then I'd have a short break and use cyclocross races as training over winter. I never feel like I am going very well in the cyclocross races, but it is my favourite way to train. 

I love how crazy cyclocross racing is, and I do think I was born to do that discipline. I think for mountain biking I have to work a lot harder for it – all the skills don’t really come naturally, but I think I’m lucky that I am good in cold temperatures and I like the chaos of it, so I was pleased with my result at the World Cyclocross Championships in Oostende, where I finished 7th.

I love it so much. I think one year I would like to properly race it – be training for cross, and do loads of training on my cross bike and everything. But at the moment I can’t peak for everything like those boys do, so I focus on the mountain bike and use the cross to train through it.

I do put myself under pressure when I race. I’m a worrier and I feel like I always put pressure on myself – it’s not always from external pressure. Like I remember when I watched the Olympics when I was eight, I couldn’t watch the running, all the athletics because I wanted to be there so badly. I couldn’t watch it and I was already putting pressure on myself at the age of eight. 

I think without anyone around I put a lot of pressure on myself. As I grow older, I learn how to deal with that better. I work with an amazing psychologist and he’s taught me how important it is to work out what other people are putting on you, and how much you actually want it. I feel really lucky to have a great psychologist who helps me deal with all the pressure otherwise I’d be a nervous wreck at all the races.

In the past disordered eating and RED-S has been a problem for me. Sometimes you feel you have to grow up very quickly. When you I got into cycling and left school I just wanted to win so badly and I thought the way to do that was to be the lightest I could be.

I don’t think there was anyone to point me in the right direction at that age. I lived on my own and there wasn't anyone to pick up on it and say "You probably should be eating more." So it was actually when I moved back home after three or four years when my mum was like, "Oh my gosh you are so bony; you need to put on some weight." 

I was very lucky to have a very supportive family who caught it at the right time and helped me, and I realised how unhealthy it is for women not to have periods. Before that I remember seeing many doctors and asking if it was okay that I was not having a period. And always, the answer was yeah, that’s fine don’t worry about it. 

When I was growing up there was a lot of disordered eating in sport and you were aspiring to be like someone who wasn’t actually healthy. The difference now is if you go on social media there are so many people talking about their experiences, or encouraging people to fuel their riding. 

I worked with Renée McGregor and she was amazing. She helped me get better and it’s not even a problem anymore. I think it’s so important to educate people about this. Under-fuelling is something that can ruin a young rider and ruin their career from a young age. It can lead to a really short career. 

Covid made things very complicated when going to races because of all the paperwork and it was worrying. You need a Covid test, a letter from British Cycling, a letter from the race organisation saying that you’re racing. You need a higher status letter, so normally one from an Embassy, with an official stamp. There’s loads of other paperwork you need, though those are the three main ones. If you don’t have one of those there’s no chance of you getting across.

We have to travel from Heathrow Airport, which is nearly three hours for us. Once when we got to Heathrow we were told there was no way we would be flying, as we didn't have the right paperwork. So there we were - people who had travelled from all across the UK and we met at the airport -  only to have to go home as the trip was off. Then a few days later, we got a message saying, "Quick - book yourself in for a Covid test! We’re going in a couple of days!" We just about managed to get across to our race in Spain in time. It was so stressful!

I love riding my bike, but I also love non-cycling things. I’m very competitive but I think if you saw me in the street you probably wouldn’t think I was a cyclist. I don’t really like talking about bikes. Bikes are my day job. I don’t want to see my bike or my phone on my day off. I like doing mini holidays. Like me and my mum do a 48-hour retreat on my rest day just after training. 

My friends are really important to me and that’s such a really big part of my life. I like to go and have coffee with them or have barbecues up in the hills and stuff like that. Just doing anything that isn’t cycling with my friends is fun. I’m not really into shopping but I’d rather go to a little market when there aren't huge crowds, and I’m with people I really love seeing.

I do love sport. We’ve grown up doing it, and I love running, love swimming, wild swimming. I also like to play tennis or do anything outdoorsy. 

I think there can be a lot of pressure on young riders very early – whether it’s from parents or teachers or just from themselves. I think with me I was very lucky to have this group of boys and we would ride and have a camp fire or we would ride in winter to some random Tesco ages away and buy ice cream, sit outside on the kerb and eat it. So I think the importance at a young age is just to find a group of friends and just go on adventures, exploring places on your bike. 

I get a lot of messages from parents or kids asking me what training plan should they be doing, but I really think at that age you should just be having fun. If you want to race and do efforts then race each other, but don’t go out and thrash yourself because you feel like you ought to at that age. Find a group of people you can socialise with and make memories together. I think it’s so important because there are a lot of people who are so narrow-minded and all they do is cycling and that can only last so long, so you might as well, at a young age do as many sports as you can and just have fun really." 

Other Cycling Voices

Pauline Ballet

Tracy Moseley

Helen Wyman

Monica and Paola Santini

Janet Birkmyre

Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig

Emily Chappell

Michelle Webster

Caroline Martinez

Maria David

Rides on the Cote d'Azur: Col de Braus

Route on Strava

When I visited Nice earlier this year I made a deal with myself to ride the col de Turini, one of the most famous climbs in the Alpes-Maritimes region. On many previous occasions I had visited the Côte d'Azur I was supposed to ride up this giant of the Mercantour National Park, but a lack of time and/or fitness prevented me from tackling the ~25km climb that literally takes you into the clouds. 

So on this occasion in mid-June, with my legs primed with a few thousand miles of climbing I felt ready to give it a go.

Very helpfully, a bike hire shop in the centre of Nice, Bike Trip, had decent road bikes available, so I bagged one for the long weekend. After settling into my lodgings I hit the road, starting with a warm-up loop over the col d'Eze, dropping down to Menton and scooting across the border to Ventimiglia, then returning to Nice along the coast. 

Le Calendre

Being on the coast it would have been rude not to stop off for at a beach. So I broke up my ride with a stopover at the secluded Le Calandre beach, in Ventimiglia - a highly recommended place for a swim and drink.  

The next morning, I set off from central Nice, breezed through places like Saint-Roch, La Trinité and Drap in the suburbs and followed the route to L'Escarène. 

While the Côte d'Azur is associated with beautiful crystal blue sea, as its name suggests, don't forget about the abundance of gorges in this part of the world. 

These natural features cut into the rocks beside the local rivers are as spectacular as they are ubiquitous. 

Near L'Escarène was a gorge along the River Paillon, which wound in and out of the rock as the road twisted and turned. Considering it was the height of summer there was hardly any traffic. Perhaps unsurprisingly, folks had opted for the coastal areas where they could cool off in the sea given the oppressive heat. However, up here in the hills was really the place to be in my opinion. In fact, the many rocks and archways to ride through gave an automatic cooling effect. It was bliss to have these roads practically to myself. 

Gorge de Paillon

After around four miles my route took me to the hilltop village of L'Escarène. Although there weren't many motorists, there were still a fair few club cyclists. Many of them seemed local, but a few were not. One guy, an Italian, actually stopped and asked me in Italian directions to the col de Braus. I replied in Italian and pointed him in the right direction - as if I were a local, and speaking in Italian was the most natural thing that two random strangers would do on a road in France!

Later, while riding through L'Escarène, a woman overtook me and waved as she passed. She was in CAMS-Basso kit. I hadn't seen any of their riders back home at all this year. So the South of France is where I needed to be to find the UK-based team!

After a brief toilet stop and refilling of water at the fountain in the centre of the village, the business end of my ride began. By that, I didn't mean Turini, but the appetiser - col de Braus.

L'Escarène

Col de Braus has different memories for me. The first time I cycled up it, was towards the end of a longish day after I had spent time in the col de Vence area. 

At L'Escarène I stopped at a local shop to buy a few snacks, and chatted to the folks inside who gave the usual "I'm so impressed you're riding out here on your own". One woman was very fearful for me and said, "Are you really sure you want to go up the col de Braus? It's a very tough climb." Being young and cocky I replied, "Of course - I've got the right gearing and the legs - I'll be fine" Famous last words. 

This road that wiggled around interminably with 8-10% ramps was not the ideal climb to be doing at 6 o'clock on a Saturday early evening. After around three miles I stopped to look back down and see how far I'd come. That was one of the most impressive views I'd ever seen of a road. The wiggles were distinctly of Sa Calobra proportions [for those familiar with roads in Mallorca] and then some. Feeling impressed, but tired, I decided that it would be prudent to return to Nice via the way I had come up as the sun was still out, and I didn't feel confident in taking the descent potentially in the shade and arriving in Sospel, miles out from my base in Nice. Needless to say, the descent was a beautiful merry-go-round all the way back to sea level.

On another occasion when riding up to the col de Braus, I misread the IGN (French Ordnance Survey) map, thinking I could get there on a road directly from Gorbio and Saint Agnès. It is true that there is a road - just an unsurfaced one, known as Col des Banquettes. I hadn't factored in riding on gravelly roads, particularly as I was on a road bike. Thinking that this gravel would just be a momentary thing, I ploughed on up the road slowly, hoping that on turning the next hairpin tarmac would return. It didn't. 

So my ride became a long slog to the summit of Col de Braus, where finally my bike rolled over the welcome tarmac surface. It had only taken two hours to find it. Thank God I didn't get any punctures.  

Fast forward more than 10 years, where hopefully, today's ride would be just a straightforward formality before arriving at the main event - the Col de Turini.

Maybe because I am almost 20 years older than the time when I did my maiden visit to Col de Braus, I found this climb slightly more challenging than anticipated. Since the last time I rode along these roads I noted that the local authority had made efforts to make the area more tourist-friendly, so there were signs giving information about the area, as well as more important for me, information every km about the gradient, and the distance from the summit.

The long desolate road up in the midday sun

Although the average gradient is advertised at 6%, this can give you a false sense of security. The initial section was quite shallow, with sections of around 3 or 4%. But this would be immediately followed by sections of 8%, 10, even 12%. It's quite an irregular climb, which made it hard work. 

The saving grace was that a few (though not many) sections were under tree cover, so I was protected from the worst of the midday sun in the 30 degC heat. 

I saw many riders coming down the hill, and they gave me a wave though gave a knowing look that I was not from those parts, since no local in their right mind would go up this climb at this time of the day. Mad dog and Englishmen......!

I didn't care. I was looking forward to getting my share of these hills - even in this heat. It was too beautiful to miss out. I was overawed by this landscape that I had not seen for many years. As well as the rocky landscape there were hillside vineyards in the distance, and down below I even spotted some walkers who had stopped to bathe in the waterfall and pool. 

Every few hairpins I would stop and marvel at the convoluted roads that wound their way along the 10km, average slope of 6% and dozens of hairpins. It was definitely a day to take your time, make the most of the sights, and take lots of photos. 

View of the Redebraus Waterfall down below

On reaching the summit I was welcomed with the sight of a restaurant with a terrace. Maybe I should have stopped for a meal but I didn't. I did take more photos though. Some al fresco diners at the restaurant offered to take a photo of me. "Would you like me to take your picture, Monsieur?" The woman asked. I obliged, and as soon as I spoke the woman realised her error in getting my gender wrong, and apologised profusely. I didn't mind. It's something that often happens when out riding on my own. She said she was mighty impressed - that I had come all the way from London where there aren't roads like this, that I was riding on a blazing hot day, and that I was a woman riding alone. 

These are things that I don't really think about, but I guess it's not surprising that people assume I am a man. I rarely see foreign women riding alone when I'm abroad either, and get surprised when I see them!

Onwards, and I was faced with a 10km descent towards Sospel. Just as there were various steep ramps on the way up to the summit, I dealt with the equivalent on the way down. So the various tight steep bends required caution and concentration as I took quick glimpses of the surrounding landscape. This other side of the mountain was less leafy than on my upward route, and had areas that were quite deserted. It wasn't the place to get into difficulty as there really wasn't a soul around - not even a cyclist or a car driving up or down. Near the bottom, around the village of Saint Philippe, there were a few signs of life and more houses came into view. This road had also now become the Col Saint-Jean, which threw me down to an abrupt stop at a T-junction onto the main road to Sospel. Rather than turn right into this Alpine town I chose to continue with my plan to ride up Col de Turini, so took the left-hand turn ready to face 24km up to the next summit at 1607m. One thing about this ride is you very quickly learn to like hairpins. You need to, for there would be a lot more to come!

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