Stage 9: Tour De France

May this route be kinder to the peloton than it was to me.

Having missed riding our new best friends at @donnonsdesellesauvelo (DDEAV) peloton on stage 8, there was no way we were going to miss it again. Stage 9 featured 10,000ft+ climbing and 184km. This is not the kind of elevation and distance you want to cover as two people when there is an option. Of course Javo and I did it more then twice already but why not have company when you can.

Needless to say, the goal after waking up was to be with the peloton which often sets off at 8:30am. Fortunately we had found camping van parking close to the start point. And by the time the DDEA wheels were up, ours were ready to roll as well.

Stage 9 finishes at the iconic puy de dome which is a summit finish. The DDEAV team had made a small modification since puy de dome climb was closed off to everyone except the pros. So we instead biked around puy de dome and covered more distance (190km instead of 184km but ended with the same elevation.

Honestly speaking this was my hardest stage yet. Even harder than Tourmalet. This is because I discarded my strategy of keeping a medium cadence pace around Zone 2/3. Today, I got a little excited and wanted to stay with the front group. That meant zone 3/4 with lots of power. By the end, I was gassed and looking forward to the rest day.