Vertical Metres: 2,740 m
Passes: Foza (1,083m), Melignon (1,508m) / Passo del Frica (1,117m)
The penultimate stage is the longest of the Transalp at 146 kilometres, however, with only 2,740 metres of ascent it is not the the hardest. The stage starts downhill from Crespano to the centre of Bassano del Grappa and on to Valstagna; where the first climb of the day starts - a remarkable switchback path beaten into the rocks up to Foza (14.5km at 6.5%) and on to the green high plateau at Asiago. After the descent to Arsiero the route climbs again towards Vena (19km at 6.3%). From here the route proceeds downhill for the final 45 kilometres via the Fricca Pass to the Cathedral Plaza in the city of Trento.
Photoblog...
At the start of Stage 5. It is already 25 degrees C at 8:30 am. This is going to be a scorcher:
Positioning our bikes at the front of Pen B:
And we're off. The Race Director Car leads out the race:
The first 24km were neutralised due to the nature of the roads, so the race director held the pace steady in the run down and through Bassano del Grappa and on towards the first climb. I say steady, but this was still at over 30kph. Race marshalls (on motorbikes also kept a space (100-odd meteres) between pens A&B, B&C, etc.:
Shortly after the above, things started to go wrong. Frist, MM had a flat rear tyre. At this time we were barrelling along at 35kph comfortably within the Pen B pack. We pulled to the side and, to his credit - performed a super quick tyre change (4 mins). We were straight back on the bikes and it joined the pelaton in the middle of the Pen D riders. The problem was two: 1. the narrow streets (below) made passing tricky:
2. Theses riders, further down the overall standings, had less impetus to keep the pace high, close any gaps, etc so the pelaton was braking up which meant more effort to work our way back towards the front:
By the time we got to the first climb, we had got through pen D and were mostly with pen C riders. The climb to Foza, whilst beautifully scenic, carved into the rock as it zigs & zags its way up the rockface with views accross the valley it is narrow. And we were climbing together riders who we would expect to be out pacing, this meant working our way through a crowded pack.
This is when the next issue of the day occurred. MM & myself lost sight of each other. I felt I had been ahead and dropped the pace a little looking out for MM. Then was concerned that he had had a 2nd flat. I continued on, but at a low power, all-the-while looking for him. I decided that I would get to the top and wait 5 mins before pushing on to the feed station where I'd wait again. Very frustrating. At the top MM was there; no puncture, he had also lost contact and had thought I was ahead. He had been waiting a few minutes, and was moments away from setting off.
I took my frustration out ion the traverse across the plateau to Asiago before the main descent. Pushing on to try and make the second lot of time we had lost on the day.
The first descent, the chase for lost time is on:
The start of the second climb.
19 kilometres and over an hour later. Still climbing. Pushing on, as whilst there is still 45km to go it is mostly downhill and is all fast.
Stats...
Averages ~ Speed: 25.9kph ~ Power: 192w ~ Heart Rate: 130 ~ Cadence: 73 ~ Temp: 28.4
Max ~ Speed: 71.7kph ~ Power: 797w ~ Heartrate: 152 ~ Cadence: 190 ~ Temp: 35.0C
Metrics ~ TSS: 317 ~ NP: 221w ~ IF: 0.738
Conclusions...
Stage 6 - Pos 240/664 teams (36th percentile). Overall - Pos 242/695 teams (35th percentile). A frustrating day all, but we didn't do to bad coming in 240th on the stage and holding onto 240th spot in the overall standings. Once again, it was tough out there due the intense heat - up to 35 degrees again as per yesterday. One to go.
Tomorrow...
The finale - 102 kilometres and two passes; one significant (Viote) and one less so (Passo del Ballino) for a total of 2,125 metres of climbing. And the forecast for the final day: yup, very hot again...
Stage 7 Route Profile and Preview
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