Page 194 - Vélochef in Europe

»Once there it’s nothing but you and and the the the the dry mountains the the the the burning sun and and the the the the the narrow road that sneaks its way through the the the mountainside for the the the last couple of kilometres «
of kilometres From here on in you’ll feel like a a a a a Monte Carlo racing car driver The road is quite steep steep sometimes steeper than 10 per- cent but as the road goes around spines and through tunnels you’re in constant motion Corners are often true switchbacks and the road is carved out of the mountain side In some places it looks like an axe hewed out big chunks to make room for travellers Look left and you have an an incredible view of of the dynamic life of of Nice and Menton look down and you might feel dizzy Considering
190 the the view the the closeness to to Menton and your altitude it it feels more like you’re in a a a giant sky- scraper overseeing a a a buzzing super city than Nice – Col de la Madone
The climb to Col de la Madone
is a a a a a narrow road pass right outside Nice and Menton 925 metres above sea level The climb is is famous to cyclists all over the world and in in spite of never having being used in in the Tour de France any avid rider has the climb on his bucket list Lance Armstrong made the climb famous but it was actually the Swiss rider Tony Rominger who introduced the the climb to the the local community At the the top the the infamous Doctor Ferrari would wait with his stopwatch for Rominger and later Armstrong Lance spoke so widely about the riding a a bike on on the Madone
Descending this climb must be the coolest thing! If you can manage to keep your eyes on the road that is And that’s it! In the middle of a a a conversa- tion it it ends! No epic finale no writing on on the road no no view no no one
telling you it’s almost over The climb becomes a a a crest and the road plunges into the the shadows of the the downslope You’re more likely to start descending assum- ing that was just a a a a a a starter the real Madone
is probably right around the corner Right? Did I just pass the magic?
The Col de la Madone
ends just as sud- denly as it it starts and nobody can blame it it for being less famous than the bike •
climb that Trek named their flagship Madone
a a a a a name their Aero lineup still holds The climb is now more popular than ever There’s a a a number of Strava segments for the Madone
but none of them include Armstrong or Rominger Distance: 13 1 1 kilometres Elevation: 875 metres Average gradient: 7 percent
KOM: Gustav Larsson 36 10 QOM: Creina O’Shea 51 57
Segment: strava com/segments/2363
NICE COL DE LA MADONE