ECFR 06day 11 & 12

Scott and I are sitting in the foyer of the Mercure in Pau catching up on what has been going on in world in the last few weeks. The camp is now complete and the guys are on their way home.

Day 11

Yesterday huge cracks in the crew were turning into crevasses so who knew how they would react today.

There were thunder and lightning warnings for today’s route which didn’t bode well. As it turned out the guys had to go through about 1km of rain with the rest of the day being quite mild.

We started today at nearly 2000m and were finishing in St Girons around 500m so that meant plenty of descending. However…….. there was the small issue of the final KOM of the camp over the Col du Puymorens. Mike and Gordo had a sprint finish with Mike taking it by half a wheel. In the second group there was an equally ferocious sprint with Colm & Jonathon Kelly an apparent dead heat. From the top of the Puymorens there was about 40-50km of descending which was well appreciated.

On arrival in St Girons no surprises that the crew got lost yet gain despite clear instructions. They even asked a road worker which way then proceeded to ignore his instructions and go the complete opposite direction to the Hotel.

We capped the day off with a drink next to the river (I polished off a bottle of wine as it was my birthday).

A few brave performances today. Dr J swam 3km, ran 50kms, biked 210km then ran 1hr40. Jonathon Kelly joined him for all but the first 50min run as they both attempted to overhaul Scott in the point comp. Scott still had a few tricks in the bag as he pulled out the 1km bands on the final day (even though he was near vertical as I swam next to him). Also Michael Peters battled through sickness and rode the full stage having not eaten for a day and throwing up all night – he was 100% fuelled on Sprite. Gordo put up one last attempt to take the yellow jersey from Mike. After 3 50min runs (one before and after swimming and another at lunch) he was forced to raise the white flag as Mike was going to tail every move he made.

Day 12

We opened off with a swim and group run. The hoteliers were a bit bamboozled when the 1 croissant & 1 piece of bread they provided didn’t satisfy the groups appetite. So out came the food boxes from the van… chicken, fruit, bars, yogurt, creamed rice………

The team rode as a group today until the city limits when an all out attack from Molina split the group and they all hammered the last 10km to the Hotel. Colm took line honours from Jonathon & Scott.

We finished in typical epic style with a great French meal at the race course. There were no repeats from NZ where team Sweden tried to drink Christchurch dry. The guys were just too darn tired.

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Scott and I were talking about the hardness of this camp. He thought it was going to be much easier than it was. Had we made the route too hard?? Maybe, but the guys all made it!!!!!! We had one man down temporality because of an Achilles problem and another with a stomach bug but everyone else made it. Epic is supposed to be an incredibly challenging 12 day adventure into the unknown for many, and that’s what we provided. What’s more we had some of the most spectacular scenery in the world. Next week the guys will be able to sit at home and watch the TDF riders climbing the same Cols and will have a much greater appreciation of what they are going through.

Tomorrow I’m going to get out there and go over the Marie Blanc & Aubisque (arguably the 2 hardest climbs of the camp) to add to my trips up the Tourmelet & Luz Ariden. Then the torturous 3 day journey back to the NZ winter.

Special thanks to Ian & Julie from www. pyreneesmultisport.com and John Ellis for the help during the camp

Epic NZ in January is now open for registration. Contact myself, Scott or Gordo

Catching up – day 10 Events day

I’m falling off the wagon with my blogs but my saving grace is that I did some interview on my weekly podcast. Check out www.ironmantalk.com or download via Itunes.

So today was events day. We opened up with the traditional swim events (400IM, 200 Kick & 50 sprint). There was a bit of debate last night on whether everyone could make the 400IM at altitude. I knew that all theses guys could do it if that put their minds to it….. so the event went on. Plus it’s great entertainment value. Colm Cassidy gave the best value as his arms barely made it out of the water and he was near vertical – it was debatable that his arms were even in front of his legs at times. Monica walloped all the guys with Scott 2^nd and Gordo 3^rd. Next up was the 200 kick. Jonathon Kelly showed a clean set of heels in heat 1 and ended up getting 2^nd to Monica. Then the 50m free was taken by fast twitch Ken Wallace in 28.3. Not a bad time at 2000m elevation on day 10 of epic camp.

We then proceeded to the push up arena. There are some great pics on the photo’s page. Top effort by everyone with ex-footballer Ed Mcdevitt taking the honours with 61 (a little shy of Clas’s 90 odd in Australia). The 10min mountain run straight up a ski lift followed in what was a real gut buster. Navigation played a key role and Molina took the race in style from Gordo. Ian’s son Lewis went AWOL which resulted in me running up and down the hill 3 times – or was it planned by the guys as punishment for making them do the event.

Next; standing jumps. Fast twitch Ken again showed the boys how it was done with leap 222cm, gordo went off first and was staring down the barrel at the wooden spoon until Colm came to his rescue.

We then had lunch followed by a 350m run race with bike. Colm had a sprint finish with Gordo and took it by a length. The last ‘real’ event was a 4km uphill bike TT done in reverse GC. Molina surprised us by ripping the bike to shreds winning by 14sec from Mike with Gordo 3^rd.

The final event was mini golf on a very challenging course. There were plenty of max 7’s but Mike M (who plays 30 rounds a year) took the win (well actually I had the best score but that didn’t count).

Overall events day honours were shared by Scott & Mike M. Going into day 11 Mike has a 5 point lead on Gordo. With both guys looking completely spent it could be interesting tomorrow.

The guys are now completely toasted. There’s not a whole lot of enthusiasm to get out for our next two transition days. Tomorrow we are back on the bikes with a 150km ride to St Girons over the Col du Puymorens (over 2000m). The weather is not looking promising.

EC FR06 Day 6-8

I was as toasted as the athletes on day 6 & 7 hence no blogs. Simply no time in the day to write.

In Short:

Day 6

Massive bike from St Gaudens to Font Romeu over multiple cols. We extended the cut off time so that the tail enders could complete the ride. The left at 8:30am and arrived at 7:30pm!!!! In the process I think setting a new record for Epic Camps (that was on top of an aquathon in the morning).What made today so hard was is was baking hot until mid afternoon (around 35c) and then a storm rolled in late afternoon and it blazed with thunder and lightning.

Day 7

Easier day – the guys did a 60km or 90km option on the bike with the 90km option going up to the ski resort of La Molina (check out the pics)

Day 8

This was pencilled as the hardest day of the camp. We rode from Font Romue down the valley and up through Andora. For once we got the distance wrong and it was 180km instead of 200km. It was a breath taking climb out of Andora and we reached 2400m elevation.

Colm Cassidy did the performance of the day today when he was blown to pieces and way off the back going over the massive Col out of Andora only to come back and be first back to Font Romeu. Colm is only 20 but he NEVER complains and just gets the job done.

Last night Bevan and I interviewed Scott, Gordo and Ken Wallace on our podcast www.ironmantalk.com or you can reach via Itunes. It’s worth a listen.

This morning is optional with this afternoon being an aquathon

EC FR06 - day 5

EC FR06 – day 5 the triple wammy.

Yesterday I was writing from the Col Du Toumelet. Today I write from over the Col Du Port. It’s going to be a bit of a wait at lunch as the first group decided to completely ignore the directions and went 20-30km off course. Probably not the best idea on a 200km day with 3 BIG cols. Also Michael Peters said hello to the tarmac for the 2^nd time in the camp which added to my anxiety levels.

Anyway back to yesterday. We started the day with a leisurely run from our Chalet ontop of the Col Du Solour. This really is a great spot for bike groups and today the sun had finally come out and the views were spectacular. After a quick breakfast the road trip to St Gaudens began. This was 175km over the Tourmelet, Aspin & Pereysourde (this is basically a stage of this years TDF but they add in 2 extra cols – amazing what you can do with some extra blood in the system J ). The guys faired really well and everybody made our cut off times. The stops were short (our token Aussie Andrew Charles didn’t even stop at lunch!!). On arrival in St Gaudens they guys only had 30mins to freshen up before we were off for a Lake swim. This was a good chance to eye up the course for tomorrows aquathon. We then proceeded to Ian place (www.pyreneesmultisport.com ) his wife Julie had been slaving over the over all afternoon and put on a fantastic spread of salads, meat, breads, wine, cake…….. It was a great way to finish a big day at the office before we made a hasty retreat to bed.

Tonight we presented the jerseys. Yellow to Gordo (points leader), Polka Dots to Mike Montgomery (KOM) and Green (daily Epic Award) to Ed Mcdevitt for smoking Molina on the top of the Toumelet

The guys are now showing signs of significant fatigue which is normal. They are quickly becoming accustomed to the routine of each day and dealing with fatigue the best they can. We are starting to see their cognitive powers diminish day by day so it’s now our job to keep them on track, stay healthy, eat & drink well and concentrate on descents.

EC FR06 – day 4

I’m typing this as I sit on the Toumelet waiting for the guys to come past. It’s a magnificent day and it’s going to get very very hot.

Day 4 was an “easy day” with a trip to the pool followed by a run around Lac du Lourdes. We were lucky to have the services of Yves Tauberant who is an AG legend and Scott seemed to think he has won his AG in Kona. SO despite their frazzled state a few of the guys had to push the pace on the run to keep the Epic standards in tact and so Yves didn’t think we were a bunch of pussy’s.

The afternoon ride took the guys up the Ski station of Hautacam then back up the Col Du Solur. Today’s ride was a poultry 75km with some guys tacking on some distance to hit 90km for the extra point. Mike M took out the KOM from Gordo & Scott.

After 4 days in the mountains the guys are now learning how to ride the big Cols and I think whilst they are getting tired some of them are actually climbing better. After keeping impeccable nutrition for the opening days the requests for fattier foods are now coming and will accelerate over the next two days which are going to be the toughest of the camp.

Our masseuse John Ellis is working overtime in the evenings to keep the bodies in tact whilst Ian and myself slave over other duties

More to follow………