The Grand Depart Loop - stages 1-3
What a Grand Depart!
We always knew that the thought of Florence (sunshine, pasta, wine, cycling) was so beguiling that we might turn a blind eye to the massively high kilometres of each stage, or the amount of climbing involved in stage 1, or the potential for weather (either steaming hot, or pouring with rain) to make this harder than we might have convinced ourselves it would be!
And so it proved! After a fun first evening, briefing everyone on the essentials (how to follow our yellow arrows, how to get organised on time, the yellow horn award for foolhardiness etc) a nervous but excited crowd of Loopers headed to bed to try get some sleep.
We woke up to sizzling temperatures and bright blue skies and knew we were in for a tough day on the bike: over 200km is a punchy ride by any standards, but coupled with high high temperatures and the inevitable over-excitement of the first stage made for a monster day one.
But there were huge smiles throughout the peloton, with old friendships rekindled and new ones readily made. This is what we love about Le Loop – the camaraderie is legendary for good reason! We’re all in this together, and only by working together will we all get through each stage. It’s a beautiful thing!
It takes a long time to ride 205km – and even longer if that includes a whopping 3,600m of ascent!
With the last riders reaching the hotel past 11pm, the prospect of doing it all again was probably daunting for some.
Stage 2 and we woke to a beautiful morning but with the promise of some rain through the day making for slippery surfaces. Another 200km day heading West once more to Bologna. The Imola racetrack provided some entertainment (who doesn’t love a roaring fast car?) and our regular feedstops every 40km or so provided the culinary highlights every cyclist craves. Our regular Loopers know that these are something to be rightly excited about … our new comers soon cottoned on! An army marches on its stomach after all.
Long flatter stages (particularly on Roman-straight roads) lend themselves perfectly to group riding, which also helps the process of settling into friendly groups of fellow riders. The beauty of stage 2 was that with the exception of a stiff climb at the end, it was pretty much a flat stage. 200km is a lot easier without hills in the way! We saw some great team work and loads of laughter and smiles as the Loopers knocked the kilometres off efficiently.
Italy hasn’t disappointed in terms of calorie-provision! When dinner begins with a huge pasta starter it’s always going to put a smile on a hungry cyclist’s face!
Waking up to stage 3 we discovered that the weather forecast hadn’t lied, so the waterproofs were pulled out of bags again and even plastic bags and sellotape were put to good use to try (vainly, it turns out) to keep the water out of shoes. There was no escaping getting soaking wet today – but at least it wasn’t too cold. Coffee Ian was kept busier than ever producing road-side coffees to keep everyone’s spirits up.
This was the final and longest of the series of long long stages in the Grand Depart Loop at 225km. We gave our Grand Departers a great send off with another high-calorie Italian meal and their new-look 2024 trophies. Folks – you did us proud! That was a tough Grand Depart by any standards and you can all head home feeling suitably chuffed with yourselves.
Just as importantly, we have already raised over £465,000 for the William Wates Memorial Trust – an incredible achievement! So to all you riders AND your wonderful supporters, a heartfelt thank you for working so hard to raise so much money. You’re all, frankly, brilliant. Chapeau!!
We’ll post our next blog in a few days time – meanwhile you can follow us daily on Facebook or Instagram.
Vive Le Tour!
