RCUK readers will be well-acquainted with the endurance riding exploits of Mike Cotty, and with his informed training articles.
Now Mike, who once rode non-stop for nearly 700km across the Alps, will start in a new film from the Cyclefilm team, intended to help riders prepare for arguably the best-known of all European sportives.
“The Road to Hautacam 2” film, available on DVD or to download, is billed as a “recon and ride guide”, covering the route of the 2014 L’Etape from Pau to Hautacam, which riders will tackle on Sunday July 20.
The signature climb of this year’s L’Etape is the Pyrenean climb of the Col du Tourmalet, a 17.1km ascent that has featured more frequently in the Tour de France than any other climb, and which in 1910 famously inspired Octave Lapize to brand the race organisers, “assassins”.
In the film, Mike rides from Pau to Hautacam ski station, dispensing the benefits of experience and providing a detailed insight into the experience of climbing 3,000m in a gruelling 148km route.
He describes the separate challenges of the Tourmalet and the climb to Hautacam, their different characteristics, and how the rider might prepare for the consistently unfolding gradient of the former, and the ever-changing pitches of the latter.
“Are you ready to tackle the highest road pass in the Hautes-Pyrénées followed by its smaller, although arguably more cocky, little brother?” Mike asks. Knowledge is the key to success, he argues, and there can be little doubt that a rider of his experience will have gained some along the way.
“Focus on the road, enjoy the ride and above all bon courage!”
