As the Tour of Britain rumbles its way through the West Country, I set out to preview one of the upcoming stages which luckily passes in the vicinity of my house. The route in question is Friday's Stage 6, which transfers riders from the west of the country to the east, crossing the belly of the Home Counties and, in so doing, scaling the hilly Chiltern ridge which percolates the entire day's riding.
The latter part of the stage is similar in profile to an Ardennes classic, with short, steep hills and nippy downhill sections that should have the Classics specialists, like Omega Pharma Quick-Step's Michal Kwiatkowski, licking their lips. The rather ambitiously categorised Chinnor Hill and Kop Hill (both listed as Cat 2 in the race manual), provide short albeit exceptionally steep interludes to what is otherwise a wonderful ride through some of the most pastorally idyllic countryside England has to offer.
Thus the stage also provides a delightful ride for the budding amateur, and being a short train ride out of London (to Chesham, Princes Risborough or Wendover), the route is possibly the most accessible of this year's Tour to those in the capital. The extremely pleasant 60-mile loop which I undertook is easily extendable and offers multiple starting points.
Wendover was the starting point of choice for me, and from there it's a quick dash skirting the top of the Tour route, through Chinnor and on to where I would turn to join the race route near Nettlebed.
The section of the race route from Nettlebed back to Chinnor allows riders to maintain a frantic high average speed before an extremely fast descent through Kingston Wood and down to the picturesque village of Kingston Blount. Don't be surprised to see riders approaching speeds of 90 to 100 kph on this section, and maintaining similarly high speeds all the way through to the day's first climb, Chinnor Hill.
This incline takes riders on a zig-zagging route up the tree-covered ramp, which, despite the status accorded it by race organisers, provides little challenge, maxing out at 12.5%. This gain in altitude does, however, provide ample ammunition for yet more speed as riders tumble down through the sweeping Chiltern landscape to the intermediate sprint at Princes Risborough.
Pros and amateurs alike should, nevertheless, keep one eye on the horrendous road surface. Gigantic potholes and other scares in the tarmac come thick and fast, and although they tend to be located along the edges of the road, thus providing more of a hazard to those riding when the roads are not closed, don't be surprised to see a pro or two being catapulted into the undergrowth by the dreadful surface.
Princes Risborough, which should provide some of the stage's best spectating with its wide and grassy banks adorning the road, quickly drops away before the day's second categorised climb. Kop Hill is undoubtedly the toughest climb of the day, topping out at a crank-bending 22% near the very top.
While the steep ramp provides a strenuous test for the straw-legged likes of me, it will be a mere blip for a peloton battle-hardened by a season of gruelling racing, and after cresting the summit they will soon steam on into Chesham.
While the pros will continue on their way to Hemel Hempstead, my route turned back towards Wendover, passing through yet more tranquil Chiltern countryside as I made the most of what will possibly be one of the last truly summery weekends of the year.
Despite the fact that the route will provide little challenge for the pro peloton, it is a beautiful ride that will provide intermittent challenges for the amateur looking to follow in the footsteps of a world-tour race; not something that one gets to do too often here in the UK.
Stage 6 starts in Bath at 10:15 on Friday 12 September and is expected in Chinnor between 2:00 and 2:45 and Hemel Hempstead at between 3:26 and 5:00. For more information visit the stage page at the Tour of Britain website.
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