After the drama of riding up the Col du Tourmalet yesterday, today we plotted a gentle route that would take us over two cols and be a relatively easy leg stretcher.

So we rolled out from Velo Pyrenees, our host for the first three nights of our stay in the Pyrenees, and headed for the Col des Ares. At 797m this is a minor col in comparison to the leg-killing climbing on Saturday, and approaching from the west side, the opposite direction the Tour de France would use it, proved a good recce. It was probably one of our most enjoyable cols; a low gradient percentage meant we could turn a good pace in comparison with the slog on the first two days’ col total.

Following the road down the valley we stumbled across a sneaky extra col, the Col de Buret (599m) bizarrely on a flat stretch of terrain. A challenge it might not have been, but it still counted as another col in the bag and so a photo was taken.

Following the road further presented the Col de Portet d’Aspet, another climb steeped in history, but not all of them glorious moments of cycle racing. In 1995 on stage 15 of the Tour de France, Fabio Casartelli, Olympic Road Race Champion in 1992, crashed on a tight left hand corner. The subsequent head injuries proved fatal, Casartelli losing his life during the helicopter flight to the local hospital.

The Col de Portet d’Aspet has further significance as it was first used way back in 1910. Octave Lapize was the first rider over the summit on the day the Tour passed through the Pyrenees. It’s been a popular choice for Tour organisers, featuring 27 times since 1947.

Having paid our dues, along with many other international cyclists doing the same, we carefully descended back down the road, noting the severity of the corner in which the incident occurred, and carried on our journey up the valley.

A quick detour down a gravel road to a rapidly flowing river to top our bidons, and we settled into the climbing rhythm for our next and final climb: the Col de Mente (1349m). In comparison to the previous cols we’ve so far ridden on this trip, Monte proved a nice change. Just under 11km long with an average gradient of 6.6%, though ramping up to over 10% in places, it was a climb I really enjoyed. The reason being the number of hairpins breaking up the savagery of the gradient and hanging onto the wheel of Mr Ironman, who caught us up at the foot of the climb.

While the climb made a nice change from the relentless nature of the Col du Tourmalet yesterday, most unwelcome was the return of the heat. Temperatures back up into the mid 30s meant the sweat was literally raining off our faces. Upon reaching the Col sign at the summit our clothes were completely saturated with sweat. Fortunately a nice little café offered the chance to sit and enjoy a can of Coke while watching other cyclists roll over the crest of the mountain.

Today was a good day. Bakingly hot but with climbs less severe in their gradient made for a nice change from the torture on the Tourmalet.