Alan Selby
Screaming through hairpin bends at 70mph behind my motorcycle escort, I felt like Geraint Thomas, Chris Froome and Bradley Wiggins all rolled into one. Just moments earlier I had finished a two-hour ascent of the Passo Rolle, reaching the summit drenched in sweat and gasping for air at nearly 6,000ft above sea level.
I had already clocked up more than 200 miles in the Dolomites, made famous in Italy’s national cycling race the Giro D’Italia, which starts in Bologna today.
Imagine massive exhaustion on the way up, white-knuckle speed on the way down – after a quick look at the view – and you know what it feels like to ride with Haute Route. The firm offers an experience that’s about as close to being a pro as you can get.
For three days I turned myself inside out to ape the superhuman accomplishments of Froome, Thomas and Simon Yates, who won the Giro D’Italia, Tour de France and Vuelta Espana respectively in 2018.
I saw
grown men cry as I battled to stay in the peloton and finish inside each day’s time limit.
I finished the ordeal barely able to walk, dreading the sight of another saddle. But would I do it again? Damn right I would. Why? Well, as Aidy Hill, who brings his Alpcycles clients to Haute Route events year after year, tells me: “There’s no feeling like nailing it down the side of a mountain with that motorbike screaming in your ears.”
As I glance over my shoulder halfway up the Passo Sella on day one, I ask the Dane I’ve been pacing up the side of this 7,000ft monster to take his turn.
While support vehicles surge up the road we share the effort and the summit drags near. We scream words of encouragement at each other not to give in now.
For the next three miles we are the only friend each other has. Later I’ll admit to him that the sight of somebody suffering more than me is what spurred me on. After what feels like a lifetime the climb flattens out and we hit the top. It’s over, and we fly down the other side to the finish, where mountains of pasta are ready for us to Phil Burt