Posted by: Kyle

Today I had my race, the Alpe d'Huez long distance triathlon. It started with a 1.2 mile swim in Lac Vernay, a beautiful mountain reservoir near the town of Vaujany. The lake is used for hydroelectric power generation and is only open to swimming for these two races. The water is extremely clear - I'd guess the visibility is probably at least 50 feet or so. It's fairly cold too, at about 63 degrees. Here's a picture of the chaotic mass start.

After the swim was a 115km bike ride. The route started out going west down the Romanche river valley following the main road, then turned south to climb up L'Alpe du Grand Serre. This was a very long steep climb up a narrow mountain road with switchback after switchback. After topping out, there was a long winding descent toward Valbonnais, before beginning the long climb up to Col d'Ornon. The road from Col d'Ornon back down to Bourg d'Oisans is a long twisting descent down a narrow mountain road.

From Bourg d'Oisans to the end of the bike, the course climbed up the legendary 21 switchbacks of the climb to L'Alpe d'Huez. This climb has been included as part of a stage in the Tour de France 26 times. Each of the 21 turns is marked with a sign dedicated to a winner of a past stage (they've had to start sharing signs).

The bike was followed by a hilly half marathon (a very slow one after that bike ride) around the trails and roads of the Alpe d'Huez ski area.

Just under seven and a half hours after starting the swim, I made it to the finish line. The food at the finish included prosciutto, brie, dark chocolate, pasta with meat and cheese, along with the usual fruit and things. Here I am with a piece of prosciutto.

We had a great dinner in Alpe d'Huez before heading back down to the valley for the night.