Yesterday, I went to ride part of the first stage of next year's Tour. It's easier to do this than ride the whole stage - it means you can make a loop and start and finish at the same spot. You can pick the good bits too and avoid the inevitable sections of busy main roads that the race uses to link places together. I don't try to follow the exact route either. So, if there is a choice between a quiet country lane and a busier main road for the Tour, and they both go to the same place, then I will choose the quite lane every time.
So, I set off yesterday morning from Grassington with a good friend. The planned ride was to follow the Tour route over Kidstones to Aysgarth, then Butter Tubs, before making our way back from Muker via Hawes and Fleet Moss. So the route was ideal to look at the key climbs of Kidstones and Butter Tubs.
After a good 15km warm-up in Wharfedale on the minor road through Coniston (not the official route but a much nicer road to ride), the climbing starts at Buckstones with the ascent of Kidstones.
Now this is the first time I'd climbed Kidstones. It is a steady grade to start which meant a fast tempo for us helped by the tail wind. And by drafting a tractor and heavily laden trailer! A flatter section towards the pub at Cray - where we were distanced by the now faster moving tractor (I'd like to think we could have kept up if we wanted, but it was early in the ride to be going hard) - gives some respite before the steeper top section. It never feels that steep though, I think because of the hairpins and the interesting geology to look at - if you like that sort of thing. The steepest section is very short, and will be a sprint for the pros. Even we managed to sprint to the top, catching up and then overtaking the tractor!
The descent through Bishopdale to Aysgarth is fantastic and quick. Amazing scenery and a super fast twisty road. This is all going to add up to some fantastic helicopter shots next year, especially if the weather is good and the roads are dry. Once in Aysgarth, after cutting the corner after Grange Farm, the minor road through Askrigg is the better option. The next 15km or so shows off Wensleydale at it's best. Limestone drystone walls and barns in every field. It is a good chance to recover too before the second major climb of the day.
Butter Tubs is a well known climb in these parts. From Askrigg, it starts with a steep right turn, a shock to the legs after the tempo of the valley road. But the steep section is only short with the gradient easing at the first corner as you enter the wood, and this pattern sets the tempo for the climb. The road sign warns of grades up to 17%, which seems about right, but height is gained in three relatively short steps and the pros will sprint up these. If anyone is gapped, there are chances to re-group. Watch out for the cattle grid on the final steep section. Although challenging to keep momentum going over the grid, it marks the end of the steep grades and the start of the false flat to the summit. Big ring gears all the way if you're feeling strong!
Butter Tubs is the high point of the day at 526m. So it beats Holme Moss, my local big climb and the high spot of Stage 2, by a mere 2m!
The descent to Swaledale is going to be interesting. Grades of 25%, bends and narrow roads is going to make the racing exciting to say the least. At least the road will be swept for loose gravel, or at least I assume it will be, so the pros won't have to contend with this as well. It is going to be a sight to see large bunches descending these roads at speed. And making that sharp right turn at the bottom!
After Muker, we left the Tour route and headed back to Askrigg over Askrigg Common. This was a new road for me, and far and away the best of the day. So, go and ride this one if nothing else. After this, it was Fleet Moss into a stiff headwind. This was just payback for the helping hand earlier in the day. At least it was either steeply up or downhill most of the way back to Grassington!
Having ridden the Tour hills of Stage 1, I can't see them ruling out a sprint finish to this stage. Kidstones is neither long nor particularly steep and is on good tarmac and wide roads. I think I can see now why this road was chosen ahead of Fleet Moss, which could have been much more influential on the stage finish. Butter Tubs is a more severe test for most, but the steep sections are short for the pros and there should be the chance to regroup on the climb or the false flat to the top, or failing that on the flatter valley roads afterwards.
A break could and probably will go early in the stage given the nature of the route and the road conditions. They will have an advantage, probably as far as Swaledale, but once on the wider and flatter roads of the last 50km or so, odds are they will be reeled in. And I can see the sprinters being there in the bunch. So would anyone bet against Cavendish coming first in Harrogate, his mother's home town? Here's hoping for a GB yellow jersey in the Tour in Yorkshire.
Next: Stage 2 through the South Pennines.
