In just three days the Tour de France starts in Yorkshire, with stage 1 setting off from Leeds to Harrogate. Flicking through this year's guide to the Tour you'd be forgiven for thinking that the first stage is flat. Yes, it's horizontal when compared to, say, Stage 14, with its jaunt up the Col d' Izoard and 3,500 plus metres of ascent, but it is by no means a flat stage, as I found out when on reconnasance ride in late June. What appear as tiny little teeth on the stage's profile can most definitely bite.
The race starts with what is sure to be an unprecedented fanfare in Leeds and rolls on out to Skipton. Despite the high numbers of cyclists on these roads they are not terribly bike-friendly as heavy traffic plagues the route. From Skipton onwards, however, the ride is delightful, snaking north up into the heart of the Dales. The route I undertook, a 78 mile loop from Grassington, takes in the best parts of the first stage, avoiding the busy roads out of Leeds and into Harrogate whilst also traversing some of the most beautiful countryside this island has to offer.
From Grassington, 49 kilometres into the stage, to the Cote de Cray, the Tour's first categorised climb, the route is unrelentingly undulating. The climb up to Kidstone is, in my opinion, the hardest of the day as its steepness (5% average with 15% maximum) is continuous and there is no respite whereas Buttertubs and Grinton have stretches of 1% or 2% that allow riders to catch their breath. The descent down the other side feels as if one is just falling off the top one of the daunting cliffs lining the climb. From here on to Buttertubs is fairly straightforward; ever-undulating and, apart from the odd village, not really very spectator friendly as most of the road is lined with walls, bushes, and trees.
Buttertubs, the day's marquee climb, starts off tough with steep 17% and 15% sections before flattening off and opening up into a striking, sweeping valley that should provide some wonderful helicopter shots of the peloton. Like Kidstone the descent is short but steep with one particularly juicy hairpin midway down that is sure to provide some excitement if the road is wet - not to mention the steep drop-offs on the other side of the cable road barriers further up the descent, which are sure to keep one's hands tightly clenched around the drops. After a slightly hairy T-junction the peloton will continue down into the tranquil Swaledale Valley where each village - Muker, Gunnerside, Strands, and Reeth - are more than ready to welcome the Tour. Every village was fully decked out in yellow jersey bunting and "Bienvenue" signs even as I passed through two weeks before what I'm sure will be a slightly nimbler peloton.
Out of the valley riders will rise up the Grinton Moor, a climb that some have touted as the toughest of the day. Whilst it is lengthy by Yorkshire standards (4,400 metres), it lacks the steep gradients of Kidstone and Buttertubs. The pros should find it routine and from here the stage is comparatively orthodox as riders descend past the Army firing range, where the odd tank on the road is not out of the ordinary, and on to Leyburn. From there it will be a high-paced rip on to Ripon and on to what is sure to be a memorable finish in Harrogate.
What does strike you as you ride through these silent hills is the sheer contrast the hysteria and noise of the Tour will bring to these lanes that, for the rest of the year, maybe even the rest of their existence, are quiet country scenes that have likely not changed for decades. They will however always be touched by the yellow brush of the Tour, an event I am sure will live long in the minds locals to these spectacular Dales.
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