Paul tackles the longest stage of Tour de France

GUERNSEY Velo Club rider Pierre Paul has been telling how he survived one of the toughest stages of this year's Tour de France. Paul completed the Etape du Tour ' an event in which amateur club riders can tackle a stage ridden by the pros in the main event.

And this year the Etape organisers made life as hard as possible for the amateurs. The entrants were challenged with the longest stage of the Tour itself ' the 237km ride from Limoges to St Flour.

The Etape, organised for the past 12 years by Velo Magazine, has grown in popularity such that this year a limit of 8,500 riders was set.

All places were taken within 10 days of the entry opening.

'It was a shock when I realised that in three months I would have to race 147 miles on a course that included 10 testing climbs, including a category-one mountain.'

Paul's training consisted of three two-hour rides and one three-to-four-hour one each week. He bought a Specialized Allez Elite bike and made two important changes ' a new saddle 'to replace the original which was shaped like a moose's jaw and was about as comfortable', and the addition of a triple chain ring.

He travelled to Limoges with his father, Francis, who was his official 'accompagnateur' on the day. At the host village, he was among the first to register and then he checked out the course.

'We drove through the beautiful Limousin countryside. Linards, at 30km, was the first elimination zone: the rules stated that the first 30km had to be completed within an hour.

'I was number 6,069 and although the head of the peloton started at 6.30am, we didn't start to roll until about 6.45am.

'The first few miles were a bit slow but once we cleared the roundabouts out of town we got into a good rhythm at about 25mph. My fears, or hopes, of being eliminated at Linards did not materialise as we got there in under an hour. After that everyone relaxed and the pace dropped below 20mph.

'The first real test came at 49km as we left Chamberet at an altitude of 376m. The road rose steadily for 18km to the Col de Lestards at an altitude of 856m. I knew that there was a long way to go so I didn't push too hard and on reaching the summit felt fresh enough to enjoy a fantastic descent on marble-smooth tarmac. I discovered later that my speedo had registered 46mph.'

The first feed-zone was at 89km at Egletons.

'There were a few testing climbs, notably the C'te de Soursac, after which we descended to the Barrage de l'Aigle, a hydro-electric dam across the Dordogne.

'The climb out of the Gorge de la Dordogne was steep to start with, then the gradient eased, but I knew from the route profile I had studied in the morning that what lay ahead was 50km of uninterrupted climbing to the summit of the massive Puy Mary.

'On this section I probably did not need to use my 'granny ring' but it was there and there was a long way to go so when the going got tough I dropped down the gears allowing my legs to spin easily, conserving my strength.'

But Paul said he then was a little over-confident and started trying to pick off riders ahead.

'When we got to the medieval town of Salers, I stopped only briefly at the feeding zone and took on some fluid and added a power bar to my back pocket.

'Off I went again and fairly breezed up the Col de Neronne noting that I had now completed 100 miles of the route.'

Then came the Puy Mary.

'Like an idiot I took no notice of the information on the sign at the start of the major ascent. It said '5km to the summit. Height to the summit 500m': climbing, therefore, at 10%. The first bit was at a lot less than 10% and I fairly zipped up this, forgetting the equation which meant that later on I would have to face sections of 12%.

'My delusion was shattered as I cleared the tree line and saw the summit ahead and realised that cyclists were bent double over their handlebars struggling to the top.'

That shocked Paul, who knew that he would have to dig deep into his reserves of strength to carry on.

'Signs on the roadside told me there was only 2km to the summit but all around people had got off their bikes and were walking uphill. I gave up. I thought it would be better to conserve some energy by walking.

'As I did I felt guilty but I also felt a lot better. I expected cries of 'cheat, cheat' but everyone else was too tired to care. I re-mounted and soon found that I was making good headway to the summit.

'Suddenly I realised how cold it was and was glad of the advice to buy a pair of arm warmers. I began the descent on very steep, gravelly tarmac. As I dropped to lower altitudes the temperature rose but no sooner had the road levelled out, it started going back up again.

'This time the climbing had lost its appeal and I was fed up and tired.

'This climb was the Col d'Entremont and was nothing special but I was nearly finished.

'Over the top, the descent should have been academic but my head was spinning and I felt sick. I wanted to carry on but at speeds of over 30mph I had the sense to realise that it would have been dangerous. I stopped at the verge, sat on the grass, took off my crash helmet and grabbed the power bar.

'I washed it down with half-a-litre of water. I put the crash hat back on and wobbled off on the bike to see what lay ahead. Luckily it was another food stop at the town of Murat.'

Paul ate a sandwich, oranges and dried food and decided that he would carry on steadily in the hope that he would improve.

'Out of Murat, the road was easy and the food began to have a beneficial effect. Soon the road began to rise, this time for the final major climb, the Plomb du Cantal.

'I knew if I could get to the top, I would finish. There were two reasons: first, the final elimination zone was at 202km and the plomb was at 205km; second, it was all downhill to St Flour after the plomb.

'This realisation, and the food, gave me a boost. I was overtaking people again and it felt good. I realised that I needed to be careful because I still had 30km to go. Fortunately, there were no last-minute surprises.

'Trance-like, I hit the streets of St Flour. There were crowds thronging the barriers and I felt like a champion only to realise that after 10 hours and 36 minutes there were at least 8,500 other champions.'