07/06/08
Manitoba Boy Flattens the Pyrenees
Taking this weekend from the flats of Frankfurt to the peaks of the Pyrenees, Manitoba boy turned Calgarian Joel Goralski puts the hammer down and crushes the Pyrennean peaks in his first Etape du Tour, the famous amateurs-only race on a stage of the Tour de France. More from France...
Category: results
Posted by: marc
With this year's course running from the flatlands in Pau to the heights of Hautacam via the fearsome col du Tourmalet, it was going to be no prairie picnic to apply a spring of wet training to the steep gradients of the Pyrenean climbs. While the famous climbs of the Alps conjure up images of glacier-fed vistas and long, winding ascents, the ardent cyclist knows that the climbs of the Pyrenees are the more relentless challenges, merciless to the unprepared because of their long stretches of muscle-sapping steeps.
With this knowledge in hand, ironguides Head Coach and two-time top-twenty Etape finisher Marc Becker set about shaping Joel Goralski from prairie boy to raging 1100m vertical gainer cycling climbing machine over the course of Spring, 2008. Following a weekly regime of climbing-specific drills and specific workouts to build strength and climbing endurance, and using the tools at his disposal (HR monitor and altimeter), Joel steadily improved from his initial climbing threshold pace of 800m of vertical gain per hour to the 1100m per hour of vertical gain he was able to hold on the Tourmalet and on Hautacam. A couple of flat tires on frozen fingers knocked a half hour off his time, but that didn't stop Joel from putting the hammer down when it mattered.
Congratulations Joel on an epic Etape du Tour! Join us next year for our week-long mini Tour de France: Five days of cycling point to point through southern France, culminating with the Etape du Tour. toursdefrance.com for more information.
With this knowledge in hand, ironguides Head Coach and two-time top-twenty Etape finisher Marc Becker set about shaping Joel Goralski from prairie boy to raging 1100m vertical gainer cycling climbing machine over the course of Spring, 2008. Following a weekly regime of climbing-specific drills and specific workouts to build strength and climbing endurance, and using the tools at his disposal (HR monitor and altimeter), Joel steadily improved from his initial climbing threshold pace of 800m of vertical gain per hour to the 1100m per hour of vertical gain he was able to hold on the Tourmalet and on Hautacam. A couple of flat tires on frozen fingers knocked a half hour off his time, but that didn't stop Joel from putting the hammer down when it mattered.
Congratulations Joel on an epic Etape du Tour! Join us next year for our week-long mini Tour de France: Five days of cycling point to point through southern France, culminating with the Etape du Tour. toursdefrance.com for more information.