Page 80 - The Chapka 2016

78 REGIMENTAL JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL LANCERS (QUEEN ELIZABETHS’ OWN)
ally, with some setting a more leisurely pace to this mammoth climb. After the climb we faced the epic decent down to Lansle- bourg. The team pushed on to the next chalet in the rustic Vil- lage of Saint Andre. This picturesque village had us perched on the edge of a mountain with commanding views of the Italian border.
Day four was a leisurely ride up and around Lac Mont Ceni in preparation for the next day’s ask. Day five saw a pair of Hors Catergory cols on the route card, both notorious: one appearing in the Tour de France 33 times. The Col du Telegraphe and Galibier represented quite a brutal double-header. The route was 100km from the chalet to Briancon, with 2300m of height gained. Strava waited bristled with achievements and the team hit the chalet with a sense of achievement, if slightly hobbling after the long day in the saddle.
On day six the team enjoyed a well earned rest day in Valloire. Most of the team were not allowed to use the outdoor pool be- cause they had gone against the packing list and not brought swimming trunks. Major Davis and Lieutenant Jibb did not dis- appoint. On the seventh day the team cycled down from their accommodation, up the Col D’Ornon and then onto to the infa- mous 21 hairpins of Alpe D’Huez.
On day eight we set off from Alpe D’Huez and took on the Croix de Fer, a climb with nearly 2000m of ascent, over 90km. This picturesque climb also saw the riders summit Col du Glandon, which featured in the 2015 Tour de France. On day nine the team took another well earned rest day moving to our final ac- commodation in Méribel. The final day of cycling saw the team tackle the climb up the Montee des Belleville. This was 50km of pure climbing up to the highest resort in Europe. The ride up was particularly long, but this made the descent well worth it!
This capped off another great week in the Alps with all riders – be they first time novices or seasoned MAMILs – being suit- ably challenge. All had wore away more of their perineum’s than expected and gained more strava kudos than a lifetime of cycling the range-road. FOE depending, an attempt of the famous Étape next year to finish off the Freewheeeling Lancer trilogy, attend- ance on the RAC training camp and entering an inter-corps team are all on the slop-chit for 2017.
JJ
Lac De Cenis on the French-Italian border
Lieutenant Jibb making it to the top of Col du Galibier
The team at the top of Croix de Fer