När jag detaljstuderade alla etapper avHaute Route nyligen så hittade jag den här (uppmuntrande) listan på deras hemsida.
Hur illa kan loppet vara egentligen kanske ni (och jag också för den delen) undrar? Ungefär såhär tydligen:
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The Haute Route is probably NOT for you if you…
• Don’t like getting up early in the morning, for 7 days in a row
• Prefer racing on flat roads, this event is all about climbing the biggest cols
• Don’t think you are capable of averaging 15km/h on a 4000m+ climb, over 150km, on 3 cols day after 2 or 3 days in the saddle
• Think you can turn up without having really trained for it
• Are not ready to push yourself to your limit
• Are new to the sport and aren’t prepared to train adequately and/or get some experience in mountain cyclosportives
• Are expecting it to be a luxury holiday, or a cyclo-tour – its a very tough, and certainly the highest, 7 day cyclosportive
• Think that it’s possible to stay in a 4* hotel for the duration of the event every night on our best accommodation package. Very few 3* or better hotels exist in certain resorts visited by the Haute Route events.
• Believe you will be staying right next to the start line every day
• Think you can have a massage every day within an hour of arriving
• Are coming just to do fast descents – dangerous riding will not be permitted and some new speed controls are likely to be in place
• Don’t feel it’s important to come to a safety briefing each evening – despite being tired
• Are not tolerant enough to understand that we need to brief and communicate in both English and French, and that there are many different cultures present to respect
• Throw your rubbish on the road when you are cycling
• Don’t understand that investing in media and communication of the event is important, as the event needs support from sponsors and host venues in order to be able to deliver the event at a top level and keep entry costs down as low as possible, and sponsors expect a return on their investment
• Expect every detail to be perfect, in a super-complex multi-day event with big logistical challenges (even if we are striving for perfection!)
• Think the roads can be completely closed for us – they won’t be, even if the riders will benefit from a priority of way between the real start and the finish lines
• Are not prepared to stop for a rider who has had an accident, or needs help
• Are not open-minded to get along with 35+ other nationalities, all with their own different views and expectations
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Redan på första raden så går det utför, att ta ut sig riktigt ordentligt rent fysiskt och inte få sova ordentligt och länge är ju den värsta kombinationen som finns för min del. Jag kommer vara i trött-trans (trams?) typ mer än halva veckan.
Jag har ingen aning om hur kroppen kommer reagera på så hård ansträngning så många dagar i rad, det kommer onekligen bli rätt så “spännande” att uppleva det. Jag är redo (typ), blir man någonsin riktigt redo för det här egentligen? Redo med en lätt (läs: gigantisk) sväng av nervösångest kanske vi kan sammanfatta det med!
Bara 6 små veckor kvar tills vi sitter där i Barcelona och väntar nervöst på att tidernas äventyr ska rulla igång.
