Bringing up the rear
What Fergus Grant learned from shepherding riders at the back of the Haute Route peloton
A big part of magazines like this are about ‘what you can learn from the best’ but in my experience there’s much we can take from the riders at the back of the pack too. For three years, from 2014 to 2017, I was the ‘Lanterne Rouge’ of the Haute Route sportive series – amateur weeklong rides across the Alps and Pyrenees of 700+km. The job required me to ride with the riders at the back in their times of hardship and coax them through to the finish.
I’m originally from Manchester but have lived in the French Alps for the past 25 years, so being a cyclist and fluent in French, I fitted the job spec perfectly. Usually, the Lanterne Rouge is the cyclist at the back of a race, but Haute Route wanted it to be ‘Mr Motivator’ who supports the final 10 or 20 cyclists. There was no real plan on how it was going to work, but the outcome surpassed expectations. People appreciated the support, the naff jokes in a Manchester accent, and the impromptu singing during slow stretches.
I loved the job and did it until 2017, when I became the speaker of the series. They needed someone who could switch easily between English and French, and be a lively orator in both languages. Since then, I’ve been the face at the start line, the voice at the finish, and the anchor at daily briefings.
Among my cherished memories is on the Haute Route Alps during my time as Lanterne Rouge. Towards the end of one event, I accompanied a Brazilian surgeon. He was very, very tired – I knew how hard it had been for him – and we were the last two to finish. Everyone was waiting. The motorbike support team were there along with everyone at the finish line preparing a Mexican wave for the final cyclist to cross the line. I decided that we should give a bit of a show and hold each other’s hands as we went over the line. Ten metres from the finish line, we did exactly that, our bikes swerved together, and we both fell!
Despite the comical mishap, the camaraderie and sentiment were palpable. You feel it a lot during a week of endurance cycling when you’ve been in the thick of it together, and surprisingly it comes from the seemingly inconsequential gestures, such as when cyclists were in pain late in the day and often couldn’t talk. I would stay with them in silence and help them over the summit. The gratitude that they gave once they reached the finish was very moving. Sometimes they don’t even want you to talk; it’s just nice having someone cycling along with you.
In my current job of speaker, I see the full spectrum of cyclists crossing the finish line. The top 20, serious and focused, arrive first, followed by the still competitive but less fresh-faced next 20 to 150. Finally, there are those at the back of the pack, who’ve often signed on because their mate or partner persuaded them to. A lot of the time they don’t even know why they’re there, but they’re enjoying themselves. They stop to take photos and are often game for a laugh as they go. They take it easy and cross the finish line in six or seven hours. Among the top 20 you can see all the latest cycling fads – they’re doing blood tests and using the Supersapiens patch to track blood glucose levels. On the other end, you have people like me who still have a decades-old bike computer and wouldn’t know a power meter if it fell off their bike.
People look at the Haute Route and think it’s only for the watt freaks, that you need 12,000km a year under your belt and be able to ride at huge powers all day long. In fact, it’s more dependent on mentality and perseverance. We set the broom wagon to 16km/h – it’s not quite as fastpaced as the Tour de France! Even if you have a bad day, and most people do, you have the reassurance of an ambulance following, the broom wagon and the Lanterne Rouge – now a chap called Adrian Hill, who is fantastic – to keep an eye on you. There is no reason to be scared. To put it in perspective, we’ve had people turn up with only 900km of training, and they’ve still managed to finish.
Now under the new management of France Vélo Evénements for 2024, the Haute Route remains a formidable challenge for all, whether you’re chasing jerseys at the front or chasing the sun at the back. Whatever your goals, getting round the route is a testament to not only resilience and endurance, but also camaraderie and meaningful experiences, where the triumph of spirit beats sheer physical prowess every time.