Stage 4 - Col du Petit St Bernard (Etroubles to Bourg St. Maurice)

Friday started off badly when I took a left turn in the direction of the Grand Bernard instead of a right turn towards the Aosta valley and the majestic Mont Blanc. Etroubles to Aosta is approx 30km downhill, so as I ascended a hill out of Etroubles it struck me that I might be going the wrong way.

So once again I found myself time-trialing to get back into contention. Nice way to warm up the legs! We stopped for an early lunch at around 10am because failing to do so at that point would mean no food until the
summit. We had a splendid view of Mont Blanc as it towered up in front of us, completely covered in snow, which is the case all year around, hence the name!

Pre Sanit Didier lunch stop

The Col du Petit St Bernard is 2188m in height with an average gradient of 5.3%. The total climb is 22.6kms. Quite long, but very doable and after the mammoth Grand St Bernard it was enjoyable. Having said that, no climb is really enjoyable because there is a certain degree of pain associated with it, so bittersweet might be a better descriptor. When I hear some of the crew saying that the climb was great I always think how short the memory of a human mind really is. The experience of suffering on the mountain climbs and the elation of reaching the top leads to an overwhelming sense of achievement nonetheless...

La Thuile - Italian Ski resort, busy all year round

Writing on the road from Le Tour de France

Summit

Pre-descent View from Petit St Bernard

The group of us first to the top didn't hang around too long as it was feckin cold as. On with all the cold weather gear and a rapid descent which seemed to be all of the 30kms to our destination. Bourg St Maurice was our first French campsite and with it came those archaeic and annoying squat toilets which are the last thing a weary cyclist wants to encounter. The campsite was really nice though. The oul Frenchies have a serious fascination with camping it seems. This particular site was full of Dutch punters. You will find hundreds Dutch cycling fanatics around the Alpes. They are good skins and love to bike. Indeed our support crew are a mad bunch of hooers from Ze Netherlands. I enjoy the craic out of them immensely!

Sat would take us to Lanslevillard via the Col de L'Iseran (2770m) and the famous Val d'Isere ski resort.