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The only time I thought the E-W was a factor was the final run into Brest. It was hella stormy. I'm used to fighting headwinds and shit coming from a flat desert but I've not often been blown around with such force for so long. It was kind of a freak weather day though (https://www.france24.com/en/20190810-france-luxembourg-tornado-southwest-lorraine-injuries-homes-storms) so it might not be such a factor if you're not cursed with Storm Magnet powers like me.
By the time I hit the French Alps I was getting over my knee dramas so I was just 'normal' slow rather than 'broken slow'.
The whole route was harder I reckon, simply because they'd designed the parcours to eliminate people like me taking flat shortcuts and it kept people off bigger roads a lot more it seemed. There was less of the head down TTing along a main road kind of riding. It made more a slightly more chilled event but physically harder. Maybe without the crash I'd have no had the knee problems but it's hard to say.
hippy-
There was less of the head down TTing along a main road kind of riding.
Depends on your route!
You saved some distance with hilly options but I had 1000km of flat TTing all the way from Vranje to the alps. Unfortunately my neck wasn't up to it. I also had planned another long, flat bit across Switzerland, and my route across France was selected for flatness.
The parcours were hard but my total climbing was just over 38,500 metres, with 4050 total kms. For people who planned it that way, this was one of the flattest TCRs, so very disappointed to have missed out!
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The only time I thought the E-W was a factor was the final run into Brest. It was hella stormy. I'm used to fighting headwinds and shit coming from a flat desert but I've not often been blown around with such force for so long. It was kind of a freak weather day though
I spared a thought for the TCR racers on Friday. I'd planned to go for a ride on the way back from a work trip but the 38 degrees plus the high winds anywhere outside the valleys just made it seem like a really bad idea. So I had a couple of beers instead.
Kudos for riding through it.
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Interesting, hope it doesn't make a return for PBP.
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without the crash
When did you crash? I missed that. Must have been when I was still riding.
frank9755
atz
jakemcree
Well done @hippy! Interested to hear your thoughts on going east to west instead? From what you've said above harder with the alps coming later in the race?