Ujamaflip
New Member
- Location
- Karlsruhe, Germany
I cycled the Quebrantahuesos this weekend (Saturday 18th June). I started cycling about 2 years ago, first cycling to work, then about 18 months ago I bought a road bike and began cycling in the hills of the Black Forest. A couple of colleagues at work, one Dutch, one Spanish, suggested the idea of competing in this sportive last year, so we signed up and began to prepare for it. And what an amazing experience, cycling together with 8,700 other participants!
Quebrantahuesos is Spanish for "The Bone Breaker", also the Spanish name for the Osprey which occasionally graces the peaks of the Pyrenees where this event is located, but the name is probably more relevant to the 205km and 4,000m of climbing. The Quebrantahuesos begins in the small Spanish town of Sabiñánigo, the route takes you through Jaca before climbing the Col du Somport through the winter village of Candanchu and into France at the 1,640m high peak. After entering France there is a long descent to Escot where the Col du Marie Blanc begins. Marie Blanc is a tough mistress, whilst only 11km long she steepens as the climb continues to 11-13% gradients. After a descent and some distance on the flat the next climb begins, the Col du Portalet. An average incline of 4.4% doesn't sound too challenging, but Portalet stretches for 29km - it just keeps going and going, right to the 1,794m peak. After this there's just one more short climb left, Hoz de Jaca, a 5km climb with an average gradient of 10%, and then it's mostly downhill back to Sabiñánigo.
By last weekend I had trained about 2,400km this year. I had learned a lot about eating correctly and hydrating correctly from training rides. I participated in the Grenslandklassieker and learned a little about how sportives and organized events work, unfortunately the weather at this event was atrocious (cold, wet, hail, wind!) so I also learned to dress appropriately! I'd been out on a couple of informal club rides and learned about riding in a peloton. All of this was great help for the Quebrantahuesos.
My Dutch colleague and I drove from Germany to meet my friend in Jaca the Saturday before the event. On the Sunday and Saturday we cycled the route of the Quebrantahuesos in two stages, this really helped to visualize the challenge and have an idea about what we were in for. It also helped to acclimatize to the weather, which was so hot on the Monday that I developed a heat rash. On Tuesday and Wednesday we cycled a little more, but tapering down in preparation for the event. On Wednesday evening our friend arranged for us a massage from a physiotherapist working for the Movistar team in Pamplona. By now we were prepared, legs, body and mind for the event on Saturday.
Thursday and Friday were rest days, we cleaned our bikes and loaded up on pasta. On Friday evening we went to Sabiñánigo to register for the event, collecting our numbers, timing chips and Quebrantahuesos Jersey. Sabiñánigo was already buzzing with activity as thousands of participants hit the town in preparation for the next day.
On Saturday 18th we awoke at 06:00, checked the weather, dressed in bib-shorts, undershirt, jersey and arm-warmers, with a rain coat on the ready, and after a hearty breakfast set off towards Sabiñánigo. The roads were blocked with traffic trying to approach the starting point, so we stopped early, took out the bikes and cycled the last couple of km to the start. We took our place in line amongst the 8,700 participants and after the starting rocket was launched we waited patiently for the pack to move forward, as helicopters hovered over our heads and motorbikes surveyed the streets around us.
Once on our way we joined a reasonably paced group for the flat section before the back began to disperse a little on the first climb to Somport. Taking it easy in knowledge of what lay ahead I patiently ascended to the peak, where I was greeted by hundreds of onlookers shouting support (Aupa, aupa!) - an amazing and energizing experience! The same greetings awaited us at the peaks of Marie Blanc, Portalet and Hoz, and gave me the will to keep going!
Somport, Marie Blanc and Portalet were challenging, but achievable. The weather forecast the days prior had been warning of rain, cold and wind, fortunately the weather on the day was relatively warm and the only rain was on the descent of Marie Blanc. My arm warmers and rain coat came in handy and I was lucky to be well prepared, volunteers were handing out newspapers for cold cyclists to pack in their jerseys and the red cross were offering thermal blankets to those who needed them. After summiting Portalet I knew the worst was over, and sheer determination got me up the Hoz de Jaca. After reaching the final peak my legs were empty, fortunately most of the remaining 28km was down-hill, but I had trouble sticking with the faster groups on the flat. Nevertheless I made it to the finish in 9h22m, in 5,981 position out of 8,715 participants, winning a bronze medal.
The organization was amazing, there were multiple food and drink stops along the way, maintenance cars patrolling the route and at several stops, ambulances, police and volunteers along the route indicating dangerous bends. At the end of the event there was a secure bike parking site and a tent providing complimentary food and beer. Complimentary masseurs and physiotherapists available. The certificate and medal where available for collection within within minutes of completing the course.
All in all it was an amazing experience, a personal achievement that a few weeks ago I didn't think was possible. I will hopefully return next year to try to beat my time!
Quebrantahuesos is Spanish for "The Bone Breaker", also the Spanish name for the Osprey which occasionally graces the peaks of the Pyrenees where this event is located, but the name is probably more relevant to the 205km and 4,000m of climbing. The Quebrantahuesos begins in the small Spanish town of Sabiñánigo, the route takes you through Jaca before climbing the Col du Somport through the winter village of Candanchu and into France at the 1,640m high peak. After entering France there is a long descent to Escot where the Col du Marie Blanc begins. Marie Blanc is a tough mistress, whilst only 11km long she steepens as the climb continues to 11-13% gradients. After a descent and some distance on the flat the next climb begins, the Col du Portalet. An average incline of 4.4% doesn't sound too challenging, but Portalet stretches for 29km - it just keeps going and going, right to the 1,794m peak. After this there's just one more short climb left, Hoz de Jaca, a 5km climb with an average gradient of 10%, and then it's mostly downhill back to Sabiñánigo.
By last weekend I had trained about 2,400km this year. I had learned a lot about eating correctly and hydrating correctly from training rides. I participated in the Grenslandklassieker and learned a little about how sportives and organized events work, unfortunately the weather at this event was atrocious (cold, wet, hail, wind!) so I also learned to dress appropriately! I'd been out on a couple of informal club rides and learned about riding in a peloton. All of this was great help for the Quebrantahuesos.
My Dutch colleague and I drove from Germany to meet my friend in Jaca the Saturday before the event. On the Sunday and Saturday we cycled the route of the Quebrantahuesos in two stages, this really helped to visualize the challenge and have an idea about what we were in for. It also helped to acclimatize to the weather, which was so hot on the Monday that I developed a heat rash. On Tuesday and Wednesday we cycled a little more, but tapering down in preparation for the event. On Wednesday evening our friend arranged for us a massage from a physiotherapist working for the Movistar team in Pamplona. By now we were prepared, legs, body and mind for the event on Saturday.
Thursday and Friday were rest days, we cleaned our bikes and loaded up on pasta. On Friday evening we went to Sabiñánigo to register for the event, collecting our numbers, timing chips and Quebrantahuesos Jersey. Sabiñánigo was already buzzing with activity as thousands of participants hit the town in preparation for the next day.
On Saturday 18th we awoke at 06:00, checked the weather, dressed in bib-shorts, undershirt, jersey and arm-warmers, with a rain coat on the ready, and after a hearty breakfast set off towards Sabiñánigo. The roads were blocked with traffic trying to approach the starting point, so we stopped early, took out the bikes and cycled the last couple of km to the start. We took our place in line amongst the 8,700 participants and after the starting rocket was launched we waited patiently for the pack to move forward, as helicopters hovered over our heads and motorbikes surveyed the streets around us.
Once on our way we joined a reasonably paced group for the flat section before the back began to disperse a little on the first climb to Somport. Taking it easy in knowledge of what lay ahead I patiently ascended to the peak, where I was greeted by hundreds of onlookers shouting support (Aupa, aupa!) - an amazing and energizing experience! The same greetings awaited us at the peaks of Marie Blanc, Portalet and Hoz, and gave me the will to keep going!
Somport, Marie Blanc and Portalet were challenging, but achievable. The weather forecast the days prior had been warning of rain, cold and wind, fortunately the weather on the day was relatively warm and the only rain was on the descent of Marie Blanc. My arm warmers and rain coat came in handy and I was lucky to be well prepared, volunteers were handing out newspapers for cold cyclists to pack in their jerseys and the red cross were offering thermal blankets to those who needed them. After summiting Portalet I knew the worst was over, and sheer determination got me up the Hoz de Jaca. After reaching the final peak my legs were empty, fortunately most of the remaining 28km was down-hill, but I had trouble sticking with the faster groups on the flat. Nevertheless I made it to the finish in 9h22m, in 5,981 position out of 8,715 participants, winning a bronze medal.
The organization was amazing, there were multiple food and drink stops along the way, maintenance cars patrolling the route and at several stops, ambulances, police and volunteers along the route indicating dangerous bends. At the end of the event there was a secure bike parking site and a tent providing complimentary food and beer. Complimentary masseurs and physiotherapists available. The certificate and medal where available for collection within within minutes of completing the course.
All in all it was an amazing experience, a personal achievement that a few weeks ago I didn't think was possible. I will hopefully return next year to try to beat my time!
