THIS MUCH I KNOW

STAY ON THE DROPS WHEN DESCENDING

Otherwise your hands really hurt! My dad and I worked on this before we set off. It’s easy to get caught up with the climbing involved in Les Cingles, but remember there’s an equal amount of downhill.

GET THE GEARING RIGHT

When we’d ridden up from Sault two years before I was on a compact cassette with only a 25-tooth cog at the back; this time I had a 32.

PREPARE FOR LIGHT CHANGES

Take lights with you as after 12 hours or so, it starts to get dark. Take sunglasses too, though I don’t usually ride with them and I handed mine back to the support car, but the sunshine can be quite fierce.