What it feels like to ride up a Tour de France mountain

Out of practice before attempting to ride up the legendary Alpe d’Huez, is it a case of mind over matter for Sean Russell?

Sean Russell felt like a pro as he rode through the crowds (Phil Gale)

Alpe d’Huez is brutal. No, it’s not the longest climb in the world, nor is it the steepest, but it is relentless. It is 14.4km long and 1100m high and has an average gradient (or steepness) of around 7.9 per cent – a flat road being 0 per cent.

To put that into context the highest climb in the UK, the Cairnwell Pass in Scotland, is just 670m high, 8.2km long and has an average slope of 4 per cent. Suffice it to say, I had never ridden anything like Alpe d’Huez before and if I’m honest with myself, I did basically no training. This was going to hurt.

Halfway up the mountain, sweat dripping on my sunglasses, I look up from my bicycle handles and see the alps spread out beside me, sharp blue ridges in the distance beneath what few clouds there are in the sky. The tops of the very tallest peaks are brushed with white snow. Yet all I can think about is finding a place to stop pedalling.