Some like it Haute
The latest incarnation of the Haute Route is a bicycle odyssey from Venice to Geneva. Over seven epic days, the Dolomites and the Swiss Alps throw everything they have at Cyclist
High up on the exposed 2,284m Julierpass in Switzerland, at the start of Stage 5 of the inaugural Haute Route Dolomites Swiss Alps, the gruppetto, in which I’ve been dwelling, is engulfed by dense fog and stinging curtains of rain. Today is the marathon stage, a 175km odyssey from St Moritz to Andermatt laced with 3,600m of ascent. Some of the 344 riders from 40 different countries who signed up for the Haute Route’s latest seven-day event (a 933km journey from Venice to Geneva with 20,350m of climbing) began the day wondering if they’d make the daily time cut-offs. Now they’re concerned only with getting down this descent without tumbling off their bikes in a tremouring, sodden mess. For the next hour I squint through rain-drenched eyes at scenes of cycling Armageddon.
With visibility poor and winds clawing at riders’ soaking wet limbs, the stage soon feels like a polar journey gone wrong, although this section remains sensibly untimed, enabling riders to do whatever is necessary to plough onwards. Some riders raid cafes and stuff placemats, toilet paper and newspapers into their shoes and jerseys for warmth. Others huddle under trees or simply linger on bends, shivering and shocked. Lower down the valley an industrious few dive into a village store to buy clingfilm, which they coil around their soggy legs as if wrapping leftover sausages. The more troubled are picked up by the organisation’s vigilant medical team, wrapped in gold foil like sad little Christmas presents and posted off to the broom wagon. In total 26 riders quit within the first 40km - six months of hard training willingly abandoned in exchange for some much-needed shelter.
If this freakish storm lasts all day I’m not sure I’ll last the distance. God help the Brazilians and Portuguese in the peloton. At least, being English, I’m used to getting wet. When finally I reach the relative warmth of the valley I stop in a town to massage my sodden toes into life. Mercifully, the weather begins to clear. A man emerges from a sports shop and asks me about
this peculiar event that’s deposited groups of Lycra-clad zombies in his town, shuffling around the streets asking for hot drinks and dry socks. ‘We’re doing a new edition of the Haute Route – a seven-day mountain sportive,’ I say. ‘This one goes from Venice to Geneva. It’s the best yet, I think.’ He stares at my blue lips and quivering legs, absent of even a few hairs to keep them warm, and frowns: ‘You do realise you could just lie on a beach for a week, don’t you?’
Stage 1: Venice-conegliano-cortina d’ampezzo, 123km, 2,600m ascent, 1,650m descent
The Haute Route begins in balmier climes a few days earlier by the sun-drenched waterways of Venice. This new edition of the revered multiday sportive promises stunning landscapes, iconic climbs and a momentous challenge, with half of the cols exceeding 2,000m in altitude. Having completed the Haute Route Alps and Pyrenees in the previous two years, I am intrigued and petrified by the latest instalment.
During the Haute Route everything is arranged for you: your luggage is transferred
Lycra-clad zombies are shuffling around the streets asking for hot drinks and dry socks
to your new hotel each day; feed stations await you along the course; post-race dinners and massages greet you at the finish line; and an army of motorbike outriders guide you along. All you have to do is keep pedalling for 900km over some of the most colossal mountains in Europe – and beat the daily time cut-offs if you want to be crowned an official finisher.
Following a bus journey from Venice to Conegliano at the foothills of the Dolomites (Venice being unsuitable for a large group of cyclists) we set off from beneath the shadow of a 10th century fortress to commence our 123km journey to Cortina d’ampezzo. The first climb is the 706m Passo San Boldo. The road rises sharply through a series of tunnels, then follows a long uphill slog, during which riders smartly work together in groups, before we tackle the feared 2,236m Passo Giau.
The Giau, which averages 9% over 10km, was once described by Ivan Basso as ‘like a slap in
the face’. The steep gradient chews hungrily at our legs for the entire climb. But the upper reaches are starkly beautiful, with rock pinnacles jutting out of the earth like bayonets around a solitary road that meanders through a vast mountain pasture. When I finally crawl over the top I’m rewarded by being electrocuted – twice. In a bid for a toilet break, I’ve crawled under what I now realise is an electrified cattle fence. It’s a harsh start to the week.
Stage 2: Cortina d’ampezzo-merano, 140km, 2,500m ascent, 3,400m descent
Day two takes in some sublime mountain scenery. Travelling through the heart of the Dolomites, we ride past the Sella massif – a cluster of striking grey peaks that shift colour in the sunshine – turquoise lakes, fragrant pine forests and thunderous gorges. We take on the 2,105m Passo Falzarego, the 2,239m Passo Pordoi – the highest surfaced road over a pass in the Dolomites – and the 1,745m Passo di Costalunga, whose final kilometre rises to 10%.
The overwhelming reaction at the end of the day is that this is a stage to remember. ‘It was probably the most stunning ride I’ve ever had,’ says Canadian rider Dave Scott.
When I finally crawl over the top I’m rewarded by being electrocuted -
twice. It’s a harsh start to the week
Stage 3: Merano-bormio, 151km, 4,000m ascent, 3,100m descent
Bonked. Blew up. Cracked. Whatever your preferred terminology for that terrible moment when your muscle glycogen stores are depleted and every pedal stroke suddenly feels like an ordeal, that’s what happens to me today. Stage 3 isn’t officially a marathon stage but with 4,000m of ascent over 151km it feels like one.
The first climb to the 1,518m Passo Padale averages 7% but hits 12% in places. The second ascent to the 1,884m Passo del Tonale is guarded by mellower gradients of 6% but the weather is baking hot and I feel dizzy by the time I start the third ascent to the colossal 2,652m Gavia, which the Gazzetta dello Sport once lyrically referred to as ‘a voyage, an adventure, a novel’. Although it averages 8%, there are patches at 16% and prolonged sections of 10-12%. A snow storm on this climb in the 1988 Giro d’italia saw some riders forced to take shelter in mountain refuges.
After the bonk, the reward is one of the most dazzling descents I’ve ever seen, a swirling journey past pristine pine forests, glacial valleys and twisted needles of rock. As so often on the Haute Route, the pain delivers rich dividends. But I’m not alone in my suffering today. Fellow rider David Graham admits, ‘That was the hardest day I’ve had on the bike yet. I was all over the place, emotionally and physically.’ Gretchen Miller of New Zealand adds, ‘The hardest climb was the Gavia – the 14% section was brutal. But the views at the top were amazing.’
Stage 4: ITT Bormio-passo Dello Stelvio, 21km, 1,550m ascent
With no rest days the time-trial day is cheekily dubbed ‘the day off’ by some riders. Hardly the case. At 2,758m the Passo dello Stelvio is the highest point on the 2014 course and a 21km time-trial up this monolithic slab of rock cannot be underestimated. A legendary scene of Giro d’italia drama, the Stelvio was first included in the race in 1953 when Fausto Coppi said he thought he was ‘going to die’. The route averages 7% but there are kicks of 12% and the famous coil of hairpins halfway up is a daunting sight after three consecutive days in the saddle.
The time-trial begins in the town of Bormio under light drizzle, which intensifies as the day progresses. In the eerie silence of the climb I can hear the thundering of distant waterfalls and the buzz of giant electricity cables overhead. As the altitude soars, glimpses of the sheer drops from the side of the road into the valley leave me wincing. Depleted from the day before, I cautiously trundle up in two hours, but the buzz of tackling this famous serpent of asphalt lingers long after I’ve crossed the finish line. For Gretchen Miller this was just as special: ‘The tunnels and switchbacks felt great and set you up with lots of little mini-goals, and the views back down the valley were spectacular. The whole week was worth it just for that one climb.’
Stage 5: St. Moritz-andermatt, 175km, 3,600m ascent, 3,100m descent
The storm at the start of Stage 5 is biblical, but once Mother Nature’s impromptu ice bucket challenge ends the remaining cyclists rekindle their body heat on the 1,549m Lenzerheidepass which features a gentle 693m climb over 14km. Following my dramatic bonk on Stage 3 I force myself to eat and drink, even though the cold has diminished my appetite. But by the time I start the final climb to the 2,046m Oberalp Pass the events of the day have taken their toll. It requires a soul-searching final effort to grind through the brooding high-altitude landscape and when finally I reach the windswept summit I realise I’ve been on my bike for almost 10 hours.
The truth is that such melodramas only add to the epic quality of the Haute Route challenge. Back in the race village I see riders nursing hot mugs of tea, eagerly swapping tales and comparing war wounds. They’re proud, not traumatised. Australian Stephen Stanley sums it up best: ‘I cried three times today and when I get back to my hotel I’m going to bawl like a baby again.’
Stage 6: Andermatt-crans Montana, 142km, 3,100m ascent, 2,350m descent
Following the carnage on day five, riders arrive at the start line wearing every item of clothing they own. Nobody is getting cold today. Fortunately, after a chilly descent of the 2,436m Furkapass – scene of the famous car chase in Goldfinger – the day remains blissfully sunny and riders get to wallow in the pristine Swiss
One rider sums it up: ‘I cried three times today and back at the hotel I’m going to bawl like a baby again’
Alpine scenery. We ride on smooth asphalt roads past sparkling glaciers, emerald pools, tranquil valleys and snow-crowned peaks. Not even my saddle sores can dilute the enjoyment that comes from riding through such majestic mountain landscapes – and staying dry.
Stage 7: Cras Montana-yvoire-geneva, 181km, 3,000m ascent, 2,700m descent
At the start of the final day a ripple of excitement goes through the peloton. The end is near and the 1,369m Pas de Morgins and 1,230m Col du Corbier seem like speed bumps after all the immense peaks, although the accumulation of another 181km of riding and 3,000m of climbing will sap every rider’s aching legs.
The finish of the timed section, after 156km, is one of the most spectacular so far. We glide through sun-baked fields towards the glittering shores of Lake Geneva, before arriving in the medieval town of Yvoire, whose castle walls, moat and cobbled streets provide a fairytale finish to the week. Some riders devour burgers and ice cream in the sunshine. Others sit in silence, staring at their legs in disbelief.
Eventually the peloton reforms for an escorted procession into Geneva. As we ride along the shores of Lake Geneva, I have plenty of time to contemplate the question posed by the bewildered man outside the sport shop: would I rather have just been lying on a beach this week?
There were moments when I might have been tempted, but not if it meant I missed out on conquering some of the most sublime climbs in Europe. It’s precisely this ebb and flow of emotions, fortunes, climates and landscapes that make the challenge of a multi-day event so special. But despite its brutal course, and the unpredictability of mountain environments, the Haute Route remains an accessible challenge for any amateur rider who dares to commit, to train, to plan, to endure, and to grimace or smile through whatever obstacle blocks your path. Just make sure you pack your rain gear.
Mark Bailey still feels electric, and is still in shock
Despite its brutal course, and the unpredictability, the Haute Route is an accessible challenge