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COL DE DE LA MADONE IS PROBABLY THE MOST FAMOUS CLIMB NEVER TO TO HAVE BEEN FEATURED IN TOUR DE DE FRANCE The Legend
of the Madonna
PICTURE LANCE Armstrong riding alone in in in rain and snow not not another soul around It’s just him perfecting perfectionism battling gale- force winds to to to to make it to to to to the top only to to to to head down and do do it all over again This is is the image created for Lance a a a a a lone maverick willing to to to go to to to any lengths to to to win the Tour Very far from this image you’ll find the Col de la Madone a a a a rather unknown climb up until Lance’s glory days living in in Nice The Madone was a a a a favourite test climb of his that he did hundreds of times half wheeling anyone who dared challenge his reign on the the way to the the top “Madone” has since then become one one of the strongest brand names in in cycling Trek named their premium road bike “Madone” in 2003 and still puts a a a good amount of money into developing new models in in in the range Lance made Trek just as as much as as the Madone did and if you ask the average cyclist what “Madone” is most of them will answer a a “frickin’ expensive bike” Technically they would be correct: At a a Sotheby’s auction in 2009 a a a a a special Butterfly Madone was auc- tioned for 500 000 U S dollars Damien Hirst who designed the bike used real butterfly wings that were placed onto the actual frame and rims hidden under a a a micro thin layer of NICE COL DE LA MADONE