Stage 7 – Royat – Commentry                       107km

And guess what – yes, another day of 43 degrees but with a very strong wind to add to things.  I cannot believe this weather.  I am fortunate to be accustomed to hot weather but racing at 2pm such extreme heat is starting to make us all feel tired.

The stage commenced with a 4km climb, which I rode during my warm up so I knew what to expect.  This climb was categorised as a category 4 climb but it felt more difficult than that.  In fact, most of the riders found it difficult and by the top, there were only 7 riders in the front group.  You guessed correctly that I was not one of these 7.  I was back in the grupetto again with all my team mate, except one.  The climb had shattered many of us and after 6 days of racing we were starting to feel the fatigue.

No-one in the group wanted to work and our speed was ridiculously slow.   About 2 hours into the race, the commissaire (race judge) dropped back and told us to pick up the speed or we would be time cut.  With 20km to go, he dropped back again and told us we had 17 minutes to get to the finish or we would be eliminated.  I panicked and started driving it on the front.  I wanted more than anything to finish this race and was getting frustrated that no-one else would pull a turn.

As it turned out, we easily made time cut and it was a trick by the commissaire to get us to ride a little harder.  I was angry that I had used up valuable energy unnecessarily.

I was wearing new Carnac’s that Bob had brought over from Australia for me.  They are the new 4 strap Elipse model that are so comfortable but in 43 degrees I was starting to feel hot spots under the balls of my feet.  Several times during the stage, I had to squirt water over my feet to keep them cool.

We had a lot of spectators today, sitting on the edge of the road in the little villages, or on the tops of hills where they could see us weaving up the climbs.  This area of France had many castles as well as forests and open fields.

It was a requirement that the hotels provided all the riders with food as well as accomodation.  That night our dinner consisted of boiled (blanched) chicken and boiled green beans.  I couldn’t believe it.  Where was the carbohydrate in that?  After 100km and 7 days of racing we were given a tough piece of inedible chicken.  Our director rang the UCI to complain while the rest of us started pinching food from a buffet in an adjoining room.  We found a platter with couscous on it and devoured it before the waiter could take it from us.  I found some yoghurt, cereal and bread and ate this to fill up the empty spot.  I bet in the mens Tour de France they don’ t have to endure the burdens of horrible food.