Just two weeks ago, Alpe d’Huez was swamped by an onslaught of cyclists and spectators as the Tour de France rolled through and Brit Tom Pidcock took an incredible stage win. Today, those iconic 21 bends are once again flooded with people, 220 included, but this time it’s triathletes taking part in the bucket-list long-distance race at the Alpe d’Huez Triathlon.
We arrive under the cover of darkness a few days before, experiencing the mythical climb not by sight, but by feel. The car engine screams as we gain altitude, swinging around corner after corner. Every now and then the flash of headlights reveals the chalky remnants of the Tour and the tight apex of a hairpin bend. The excitement is palpable, and we’re not even racing.
Our first sight true of the infamous bends comes the following morning. The air is still, there’s not a cloud in the sky and a winding ribbon of grey stands out in stark contrast to the sea of green trees and fields in the background. Across the valley we can see the jagged peaks of the Écrins National Park. It’s a formidable backdrop, and it’s one that competitors will have to conquer to reach the finish line.
There’s an energy here and it’s emanating from the road. We feel it all week. It ebbs out of the steady stream of cyclists tackling its 1,120m of ascent in the day and the atmosphere is thick with it as we sit out in the evening sun enjoying a pizza while athletes load up on carbs around us.
Denne historien er fra October 2022-utgaven av 220 Triathlon.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Denne historien er fra October 2022-utgaven av 220 Triathlon.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
The Olympic Champion - On 31 July, Great Britain's Alex Yee put together arguably the greatest one-day performance we have ever seen at an Olympic Games to win gold. And we were there at the finish line to speak to tri's new poster boy...
The opening line of the race report read how 20 years on from New Zealand’s first and only Olympic triathlon gold medal, Hayden Wilde had put in a careerbest performance to regain the title for his nation. Then Alex Yee comes around the corner.Yee’s charge, seemingly from nowhere on the final lap of the 10km run in Paris, didn’t just help him become the most decorated Olympic male triathlete of all time, and didn’t just cap a rivalry that has been building for six years, it left seasoned watchers of swim, bike, run in awe. It will go down as one of the greatest triathlon races; Yee, still just 26, as one of the greatest triathletes. His medals from Paris added to the two from Tokyo, leaving his haul at two gold, a silver and a bronze, and counting.
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