La Cyclauto 78 (165km), 27 May 2007

[Rich] For this fifth edition of the Cyclauto 78, the weather forecast was not good. In fact, given that it had rained miserably for the previous few days, I was pleasantly surprised to find clear blue skies as I pedalled out of Paris to nearby Ivry. There, I met up with Philippe (a fellow triathlon club member who was using these spring cyclosportifs as training for an Ironman event in the summer), loaded my bike in his car, and we set off in the direction of Poissy. This industrial town just north of Paris is home to the headquarters of the event’s main sponsor, Peugeot. It’s good to see Peugeot continuing its involvement in cycling after sponsoring a top professional team from the early 20th century up until the end of the 80s. (Eddy Merckx turned pro with Peugeot and Bernard Thévénet won the Tour de France in a Peugeot jersey, while the team had a tradition of recruiting Anglophones such as Tom Simpson, Phil Anderson, Robert Millar, and Sean Yates.) To mark the occasion, I had donned my own Peugeot cycling jersey.

Following a wrong turn en route, we arrived rather later than planned at Poissy. There was just enough time to collect race numbers (and a splendid Cyclauto 78 bidon), and line up right at the back of the 600-strong field. The start gun was fired by Stephen Roche, author of the Giro-Tour-World Championship treble in 1987.

I’d been warned the start would be fast – and it was indeed very, very fast. Philippe had ridden the previous two editions, and reckoned we should try and move forward in the peloton immediately; otherwise we risked finding ourselves riding 165km alone. I tucked myself in Philippe’s wheel, as gaps began to open up within the first few kilometres and, given the 45kph speed, I struggled to close them. Before I knew it, Philippe was out of sight ahead of me.

It was quite a relief when the first hill arrived after 11km. For one, I’m much more comfortable going up than I am riding all out on the flat. And, perhaps most importantly, the speed finally dropped, and I was able to settle down to a comfortable rhythm. As a regular cyclist in the Paris area, I was surprised by the length of this first climb, which turned out to be typical of the course. The Cyclauto 78 is littered with steep climbs, many of which are several kilometres in length. Indeed, it was the 1800m of total climbing that had attracted me to the event in the first place. On this first hill, I began to weave my way through the field, picking up Philippe on the way. By the top, I’d worked up enough of a sweat to take off my waterproof/windbreaker.

The first hill had done its job: I now found myself in a group of around 50 riders, which included Philippe. What’s more, our group was privileged to have its own lead motorbike clearing the way for us. I was extremely impressed by the security and marshalling at this event. Every single junction and turn was manned by volunteers, who stopped the traffic for us and assured our safety. Considering the second half of the race was conducted under constant rain and wind, I can only say “chapeau” (‘hats off’) to them.

Hills were a major feature of the course

The hills continued to punctuate the course at regular intervals. While not as steep as your typical Yorkshire or Welsh climb, these were nonetheless significant uphill grinds – and they suited me well. If my peloton-riding inexperience meant I lost several places within the group when we negotiated narrow roads or steep descents, my climbing prowess put me back at the front whenever we tackled a hill. In fact, I regularly looked around to find I’d left everyone in my group at several bike lengths. Rather than foolhardily pursue my effort alone, I made the most of this gap by stopping for a pee at the top of one climb, and donning my waterproof on another.

The rain had finally broken at about the half-way stage – and it would last until the end of the race. As the first drops came down, I’d watched a fellow competitor nonchalantly don his rain-cape while riding along on wet roads at 35kph. ‘Good idea’, I’d thought. Alas, my bike handling skills in the rain were clearly not up to his standard, as I fiddled around with my own waterproof for a good 10 minutes before almost causing a crash, and averting to plan B (stopping at the top of the hill to put it on!).

Rich rides in the rain (l) Typical countryside of the Cyclauto 78 (r)

On each climb, we picked up stragglers who had been shelled out of groups ahead; and we also lost of few riders off the back. In fact, Philippe had lost contact after about 65km, and had to ride alone for a long while. He would eventually finish half an hour behind me.

The finale was marked by a 7km hill on a wide, mainish (but relatively quiet) road; it was the hardest climb of the race. Before that, there was a long, fast stretch, for which I was thankful: my legs had still not fully recovered from the Paris marathon (run six weeks before), and I could feel cramps coming. I kept well sheltered (from the wind, but certainly not from the backspray of rain), tucked into the wheels of my fellow group members.

The Côte d'Evêquemont, as the last climb was called, combined with the heavy rain to finally split our group of 50. By the top, I found myself in the company of just four other riders, although this swelled to around ten on the final stretch. On the last, sinuous descent of the race, I lost contact with the front 4 or 5 riders, and I was left to tackle the final 10km on my own, or at the head of a small group.

According to my cycle computer, I finished the 170km (165km officially?) at 31.0 kph. My official time was 5h20’26”. This was good enough for 293rd place (of 512 finishes; the weather conditions resulted in a high abandon rate). Relative to my first French cyclosportif experience (95th/135 at La Saumuroise 2006), this result definitely shows progress. Over the last year, I have gained experience cycling in groups or mini-pelotons, which has surely been a help. What’s more, the hillier course of the Cyclauto is undoubtedly a better match for my skills than the flatter Saumuroise.

The day was rounded off by a meal, the prize presentation, and a tombola (where Philippe won a bottle holder cage and pedals). Stephen Roche did the honours, speaking in fluent French. The top tombola prize was a week’s training camp in Mallorca with Roche. Even though I had more chance of winning this than the cyclosportif, I still left empty-handed.

Looking haggard but happy at the finish, Rich (l) and Philippe (r)

Rich shows off his post-race helmet hair

OVERALL VERDICT: Even if poor weather put a damper on the second half of the 2007 event, this is clearly a classy cyclosportif. It benefits from excellent organisation, with marshalls positioned at every turn and junction to stop traffic and point riders in the right direction. My group, which was far from the front of the race, even had a motorbike leading and clearing the way. The course is well-designed to take in an admirable number of tricky hills, for the most part on quiet roads. Here's hoping the Cyclauto 78 continues to grow, and attracts an even wider range of abilities. For, at the moment, the inexperienced rider risks finding himself alone at the back of the race.