The Valleys of the Pyrenees in Pictures

A visual guide

An image guide to cycling the valleys of the Pyrenees mountains in France. In August 2010 I wrote a cycling travel blog post describing the valleys of the Pyrenees. Today I offer a pictorial cruise through the same valleys. Perhaps if you can see images grouped by the valleys, it will help you get a feel for where you would want to travel in the Pyrenees. Please read the earlier post at PedalDancer.com: The Valleys of the Pyrenees, for a list of the big bike climbs and Cols in each valley. Now journey from the west to the east through the Pyrenees - enjoy the images here.

*All images by PedalDancer.com from 2001-2010 travels to the Pyrenees and my love of cycling in France.
 
Description: Pyrenees Atlantique: Beach cities, Basque Country, and the Haute Soule
Valley: Valley du Petit Nive [Pays Basque and Bearn]
Region: Aquitane
Department: Navarra & Pyrénées-Atlantiques
Main Towns: St-Jean-Pied-de-Port, Oloron-Ste-Marie, (Pau)

Description: Central Pyrenees: charm, majestic scenery, wine and farms
Valley: Vallee d’Aspe & Vallee d’Ossau
Region: Aquitane
Department: Pyrénées-Atlantiques
Main Towns: Pau, Gan, Oloron-Ste-Marie, Arudy, Bielle, Laruns
*this is my favorite area because the Basque country is just to the west and the Tourmalet country is just to the east and this valley is in the middle and just right.

Description: Heart of the Pyrenees - big climbs, big roads, lots of cyclists
Valley: Vallee d’Arrens & Vallee Lavanden
Region: Midi-Pyrenees
Department: Hautes-Pyrenees
Main Towns: Lourdes, Argeles-Gazost, Saint Savin, Arrens-Marsous, Cautarets, Luz-Saint-Sauveur
*my best guess is this is what your are going to expect from cycling in the Pyrenees

Description: Midi-Pyrenees: big cities and small towns, road to the Tourmalet
Valley: Vallee Adour & Campan Valley
Region: Midi-Pyrenees
Department: Hautes-Pyrenees
Main Towns: Bagneres-de-Bigorre, Marie-de-Campan, (Tarbes)

Description: Central Mountains and Cols of the Tour de France, & Tourists
Valley: Vallee d’Aure
Region: Midi-Pyrenees
Department: Hautes-Pyrénées
Main Towns: Arreau, St-Lary-Soulan

Description: Eastern Cols: spa tourist area, hard obscure climbs of the TDF
Valley: Vallee Barrouse &Vallee Luchon
Region: Midi-Pyrenees>
Department: Haute-Garonne & Cataluna
Main Towns: Bagneres-de-Luchon, (Saint Gaudens)
*this is by far my least favorite valley

Description: Ariege: green hills, rivers, steep mountains, unpopulated
Valley: [Couserans & Sabarthes]
Region: Midi-Pyrenees
Department: Ariege
Main Towns: St-Girons, Foix, Massat, Tarascon-s-Ariege, Ax-les-Thermes, (Toulouse)

Description:  Peage, dry rolling hills, wine country, castles to the Mediterranean

World Road Championships 2011

Thor Hushovd won the 2010 Road World Champion on Sunday October 3 in Geelong, Australia 

It was a Sprint Finish after 262km:

1	Thor Hushovd (Norway)	6:21:49
2	Matti Breschel (Denmark)
3	Allan Davis (Australia)
4	Filippo Pozzato (Italy)
5	Greg Van Avermaet (Belgium)
6	Oscar Freire Gomez (Spain)
7	Alexandr Kolobnev (Russian Federation)
8	Assan Bazayev (Kazakhstan)
9	Yukiya Arashiro (Japan)
10	Romain Feillu (France)

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Rider Profile - Fabian Cancellara

Cancellara is one impressive cyclist 

Fabian Cancellara won his 4th World Championship Time Trial last Thursday in Geelong, Australia at an average speed of 47.048 (on a bike!). Cancellara won by 1:02.75 seconds in 2010 in Australia, he won by 1:27.13 seconds in 2009 in Mendrisio, 0:52.1 seconds in 2007 in Stuttgart, and 1:01.29 seconds in 2006 in Salzburg. He dominated!

Taylor Phinney recently beat out Levi Leipheimer for the US National Time Trial Championship by only 00:00.2 seconds. It was that close. That is usually how it goes in time trial races - unless Fabian Cancellara shows up! Considering every man out there was giving it his all, Cancellara won Worlds by a lot of seconds, 62.75 seconds!  Plus Cancellara's bikes have changed over the years, his competitors have changed, and each of the 4 courses were completely different. It is an amazing achievement to be World Champion 4 times. He is more than a Champion he is one of the best cyclists of all time.

A Rider Profile - Fabian Cancellara 

Born in 1981 in Wohlen Swizterland to Italian parents who had immigrated from San Fele, Cancellara found an old family bike in the garage at age 13 and was immediately hooked on cycling. Four years later he was the Junior World Time Trial Champion, for two years in a row. At age 19 he came in 2nd at the U23 World Time Trial Championship.

That same year he signed with his first professional cycling team - Mapei. Cancellara had moved from the Juniors to the Pro level, pretty much avoiding the U23 category. At that time, it was believed that doping was more prevalent in U23 than in the Pro ranks. Giorgio Squinzi, head of Mapei at the time, both acknowledged this and recognized Cancellara's potential. Squinzi commented that Cancellara was going to be "the future Miguel Indurain".

After two seasons with Mapei, Cancellara joined Fasso Bortolo from 2003-2005, where he worked as lead-out man for Alessandro Petacchi. By 2004 he began to show real results in the big races, coming in 4th at Paris-Roubaix, and winning the Prologue of the Tour de France.

In 2006 he changed teams again to CSC and really started producing big wins. In 2009 he joined Saxo-Bank. In 2011 he is rumored to be joining the Luxembourg Pro Cycling Project team along with his good friends Andy and Frank Schleck.

One of the most surprising facts about Fabian Cancellara is his height and weight. He is larger than the average Pro Cyclist at 186cm (6'1") and 80kg (176lbs). He supposedly also enjoys snowboarding and mountain biking. He is married with one daughter. He has his own Fabian Cancellara Fan Club.
Nickname: Spartacus

Fabian Cancellara - Amgen Tour of California ITT in Los Angeles Photo by: PedalDancer.com

 Fabian Cancellara   Photos by: StrawySuz

 Fabian Cancellara - finishing stage of the Tour of California 2010, Photo by: PedalDancer.com

In his racing career Fabian Cancellara has won an Olympic Gold Medal, The Road World Time Trial Championships four times, the Paris-Roubaix two times, the Tour of Flanders once, the Tour de Suisse once, Milan-San Remo once, and has worn the yellow jersey for 19 days during the Tour de France. He was the National Road Champion of Switzerland in 2009.

Cancellara is so amazing to watch on a bike, I think videos might be the best way to profile him.

This video from 2009 gives a good sense of not only how fast Fabian Cancellara rides a bike in comparison to the other competitors, but how much nerve he has through the corners. Video Worlds ITT 2009

I also think it is very interesting to look at the difference of form between Tom Boonen and Fabian Cancellara. Cancellara has so much strength in his back and hips. This video is from the 2010 Paris-Roubaix, when Cancellara famously rode away from Boonen. 

Video Paris-Roubaix 2010

Here is Cancellara's 2010 World Champion interview after his 4th win:

From the 2010 Individual Time Trial in Los Angeles at the Tour of California:

Full Gas: Riding a Time Trial with Fabian Cancellara (Intro) from Halo Films Ltd on Vimeo.

Other Fabian Cancellara blog posts on PedalDancer.com:  Fabian Cancellara

Fabian Cancellara writes on the Suisse Olympic blog: Fabian Cancellara: «Nicht von einem anderen Planeten» von fabian.cancellara, 22. November 2010 17:03

Fabian Cancellara career wins & highlights:

2010 

World Champion ITT, Geelong (Au)

1st, Paris-Roubaix

1st, De Ronde van Vlaanderen

1st, Tour of Oman, General classification

2009 

World Champion ITT, Mendrisio (Sz)

1st Swiss Championship, Road 

1st Tour de Suisse, General classification 

2008 

Gold Medal Olympic Games ITT

2nd Olympic Games Road

1st Milan-SanRemo

1st Tirreno-Adriatico, overall rankings

1st Tour de Suisse Points classification

1st Swiss Champion ITT

2007 

World Champion ITT, Stuttgart (D) 

1st Swiss Championship road ITT

2006 

World Champion ITT

1st Paris-Roubaix 

1st Swiss Championship ITT 

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Predictions for Worlds

For Pro Cycling Fans this is a good read

Trying to predict who will win the road World Championships on Sunday?

World Champ By Numbers

What happens when a winner is a loser

Alberto Contador is now accused of taking drugs

The winner of the 2008, 2009, 2010 Tour de France is about to generate huge amounts of bad press for the sport of cycling. What happens when a winner of the Tour de France is found guilty of doping? Well first he denies it, makes up a far-fetched excuse, then he goes to court, finally his titled is taken away, and he is banned for 2 years from competing in the sport of cycling (and in Alberto Contador's case he misses out on his 4.5 million euro a year salary). This all takes years, by then no one can remember who came in second. 

History tells us the sad story of a Tour de France winner named Floyd Landis from 2006. And so the story goes ... TDF winner denies allegations of doping, collects over 1 million dollars from fans during a "free floyd" defense campaign. Writes a book, earns more money, tells his own Mennonite Mother he is innocent, and spends a reported 2 million in legal costs and expenses. When he finally hears 14 months after winning the Tour de France in Paris, that he has lost his case and will be stripped of his Tour de France Title, he walks upstairs in his home in California and throws his prized Tour de France trophy off of his balcony shattering it into pieces. He is disgraced, labeled a cheater, and ostracized by most of his friends. A few friends stick by him, fans try hard to believe in his innocence, his Mother begins to doubt him, his marriage begins to crumble, he begins to drink even more. After a two year ban his return to racing is not going so well. He has jeopardized the reputation of other professionals. He has no money to pay anyone back, not the Sponsors, not the Tour de France, not the fans.

Frustrated and feeling as if no one else has had to suffer the toll he has, he begins to talk and write and speak - too much. No one is taking him seriously. He becomes angry. He finally admits his own guilt, he was a Doper and admits to spending over $90,000 a year on performance enhancing drugs, he claims everyone did it. Now his Mother is really pissed and his friends won't even talk to him, fans ridicule him and no one invites him to come race a bike anymore. So he talks even more, he offers details and accuses others. He has found his purpose, he becomes fully committed to bringing the same misery to others. The End. Only I wish it was the end.

I want a new sport to follow, this one is SO not fun anymore.

just so we start remembering now ... Andy Schleck came in second in the 2010 and 2009 Tour de France. Cadel Evans came in second in the 2008 Tour de France.
.
I know you want to read about the Tour de France prize money again so here you go. How much do they make for winning the Tour de France. By tradition, a team's winnings are pooled and shared among the riders and support team. A team's prize money is not awarded if a rider of the team tests positive during the Tour de France.

Maybe we need to hire Accountants instead of Lab Technicians to catch dopers. Just a thought.

Cycling The Peak to Peak Highway

Recommended Ride in Colorado: Boulder - Lyons - Ward Bike Loop

I did a classic climb in the Boulder area this past weekend, the first time I had ridden in Boulder County all year. In the foothills between Boulder and Rocky Mountain National Park stretches a 48.5 mile ride along the Peak to Peak Scenic Byway. The loop ride is popular with Pro cyclists training in the area, groups of motorcyclists, and various Cycling Events. It is also known for catching people off-guard in cold weather or winds. On this day the Aspen trees were changing color, and it was very warm at 9500 feet.

The ride begins on Hwy 36 on the outskirts of Boulder, Colorado, and heads north to the town of Lyons. Lyons has a visitors center in a small park (with a water fountain), a brewery, and a nice coffee shop on the back street (The Stone Cup, 442 High St). The real climb begins in Lyons and continues up S. St Vrain Canyon (Hwy 7), through a beautiful winding rock canyon, with a river. There is car traffic on this road, but the shoulder is wide enough. 

Take a left turn off of Hwy 7 to the town of Raymond and be sure to buy water, there isn't much more until you reach the town of Ward. After the discovery of Gold nearby, Ward was one of richest towns in the State of Colorado in 1860. Today Ward is a small shabby town, well-known for it's General Store (and picnic table outside) and the tickets given to cyclists who don't stop at the town's 2 stops signs. 
 

I didn't see too many people out today, it was super hot. Six cyclists total heading up the canyon, one was in a full-out lime green and navy Liquigas kit (without a helmet). He really stood out as he passed me by in no man's land on Hwy 72. I had stopped in the shade to take a photo (that was an excuse) and a goo, he asked if I was "going up" (as if I had a choice), I said "sometime soon," and we both laughed. It was a hot, and quiet ride. In fact so quiet, that not one car passed me during the entire descent down from Ward. I saw 2 other riders as I reached the intersection of Left Hand Canyon Rd. That was it.
 

The climb up was challenging and filled with good views. The ride down was boring! 
 

I am riding new Maxxis road tires on my Mavic Cosmic Carbonne wheels and the combination together is so fantastic that my Scott bike corners and rolls like a dream. All I had to do was rest on the handlebars and change my foot position. I kept reminding myself to look at the pretty trees, look at the pretty river, but about half way through the descent down Left Hand Canyon, I sighed and thought, maybe I should have brought a magazine. It was a long (way too long) 16.5 mile steady (avg 4% grade) descent. 
 

When the wild-flowers are in bloom or you are with a pack of riders, this is a nice coast downhill. Otherwise there are so many other fantastic descents in Colorado with fun technical turns and rapid speeds that are much better (every person in Boulder is going to argue with me - but they need to get out more). The Boulder-Lyons-Ward loop is all about the ascent, the funky towns, and the majestic scenery at the top - that is plenty to make it a recommended ride in Colorado. 

Some photos of the ride: this is the area around Boulder, Colorado (the mountains are behind me, Nebraska is in front of me)

Interesting views up St Vrain Canyon

The road to Raymond, Colorado. To say that the Raymond General Store is "funky" inside, is being kind. It's kind of scary in there, but a good place for water or Gatorade.

There is an inordinate amount of purple paint used for house trim in Boulder County, and weird art:

Very beautiful scenery

The next stop is the Millsite Inn, a popular stop for friendly motorcyclists (road cyclists tend to regroup here, the town of Ward is just up the road, as is Brainard Lake - another option to add some miles and scenery). 

More weird Art and the General Store in Ward. From here - it is all down hill.

Map of the Boulder-Lyons-Ward Loop bike ride:

*If you cycle in Boulder County, avoid Hwy 66/36 from Lyons to Estes Park (heavy tourist traffic) and Hwy 119/Boulder Canyon (high speed heavy traffic from Nederland with local drivers who don't like cyclists on their road). The road to Jamestown is a nice ride. 
 
SuperJames is another steep ride above Jamestown; more info at map and photos on Bicycling.
 

Average Grades in Boulder Canyons
 

Peak to Peak Hwy – north from Nederland to Allenspark. Four miles north of Nederland sustains an average grade of 7.7%for two miles. The return trip from Allenspark has 7.5% for one mile (three miles south of Colo. 7)

* the recent tragic fires in Boulder CO were located west of town between Gold Hill and the mountains south.
* the recent tragic floods in Boulder County greatly damaged Lyons, St Vrain River Valley, and Jamestown. 
 

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Recommended Reading: Sports Nutrition

Recommended Reading:

Eating practices of the best endurance athletes in the world  

by: Owen Anderson, Ph.D.

For Active.com

Quiznos Pro Challenge - Colorado, August 2011

A real Pro Tour coming to Colorado!  

The Route of the 2011 Quiznos Pro Challenge was announced Thursday, November 4, 2010:

11/4/10, The Stages and Host Cities of the 2011 Quiznos Pro Challenge were announced 

Quiznos Pro Challenge Route 2011:

The 2011 Quiznos Pro Challenge Stages
    -------------------------------------
    August 22 - Stage 1, Prologue time trial, Colorado Springs
    August 23 - Stage 2, Salida to Crested Butte, mountain-top finish
    August 24 - Stage 3, Gunnison to Aspen, mountain stage
    August 25 - Stage 4, Vail, time trail, former Coors Classic stage
    August 26 - Stage 5, Avon to Steamboat Springs
    August 27 - Stage 6, Steamboat Springs to Breckenridge
    August 28 - Stage 7, Golden to Denver

Race information:

Race dates and routes, what teams are attending, which racers will be racing, recommended viewing and riding, Pedal Dancer.com USA Pro Cycling Challenge information page.

• Read more at the official website: Quiznos Pro Challenge
• Quiznos Pro Challenge Official Press Release on Podium Insight
• Official Tour Route and Map to be announced in the coming months
• The location and description of the Host Cities can be seen on a Quiznos Pro Challenge Map 
• Read other PedalDancer.com posts about the old Quiznos Pro Challenge new USAPCC
• Read the race details here on my recent post today 11/4/10, 10:45am.
•  More information about other Cycling races and events in Colorado in the summer of 2011 including Bicycle Tour of Colorado and Ride the Rockies.
  

 

(original post from September 26, 2010)
I really think they should stop referring to the old Coors Classic in referencing the new Quiznos Pro Challenge. Isn't that giving free PR to Coors, and isn't that really old school by now? The old Coors Classic course hardly resembles itself now that suburbs and gambling towns have been built on it's path in the past 22 years. It's outdated - let's move on. Let's give Quiznos all the attention they deserve, they are the ones willing to sponsor the race.

This is a new race with new riders and a chance for Colorado to shine. This past week was the deadline for Colorado towns and cities to submit their bids to host a stage start or finish of the Tour. It will take weeks to review the choices and plan the final route of the Quiznos Pro Challenge. In a recent blog post, I listed the cities that are known to have submitted a bid for 2011. I'm not going to say much more until after, I make either new friends or my own hotel reservations along the route.

The most interesting announcement about the race is that the Tour of Utah and the Quiznos Pro Challenge will be one week apart on the race calendar. Both races are applying to be UCI 2.1 sanctioned races in 2011.

The other interesting announcement is the new logo image for the bike race. Reportedly it was designed to attract new American fans to the sport. I cannot help but notice the similarity of the logo to a few of our other popular sports. Ah marketing at it's best.

Where you can find the Quiznos Pro Challenge online (good old fashioned urls):

Website: http://www.quiznosprochallenge.com/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/QProChallenge

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/QuiznosProChallenge#!/QuiznosProChallenge?v=wall