Today’s stage took us from de Ceyennes to the Pyreneees. According to the presenter of the “evening stage” – our nightly ritual in which one of the teamies presents next day’s stage – it was going to be a day with lots of climbs and descents.

Luckily being prepared for a tough stage can mean reality does not live up to the expectations. It was hilly, but not very steep, which means we could keep rolling at good speeds, which makes all the difference in a climb.

So even though it was another 200km stage with 2000 m climb, we made it through rather leisurely. We even had time for a swim in a very nice little lake close to the finish, where we were able to showcast our impressive farmer’s tans. 

Meppie looked like he had spent the night in a washing machine. Not hungry, not thirsty and nauseous. He probably had suffered from sunstroke the day before. Not a great start for him.

For this to happen to our ‘iron man’ shows us again that it the heat, sun and hours of intense exercise can be precarious and we are balancing on a fairly thin line of what is physically possible. Meppie got on his bike nonetheless with the intention of just making it through the day.
We were expecting a tough ride. Lots of climbs and descents. The big advantage: a cloudy morning with a 10 degree drop in temperature. This meant it actually was quite an enjoyable stage. Beautiful views, idyllic villages, cows and wonderful ancient trees.

After lunch, where were joined by the most happy fans yet – the little Schukkens – Meppie’s suffering increased, but the peloton decreased its speed and he was able to hang on. The final km’s of this 210 km stage offered the steepest climb yet. A 300 climb over a 3 km stretch. We might not have conquered it as fast as monsieur Jalabert himself, but we all made it nonetheless. Another stage done.