The idea for this ride was born on the roadside of the Tour de France this summer, watching stage 18 around two kilometres from the summit of Luz Ardiden.
There, sat in the sun, waiting for the race to arrive, I was chatting to our guests about previous Tour stages in the area. I began scouring maps to assemble an off-road version of the parcours. During that process, my new gravel bike arrived and then all the pieces fell into place to give this ride real significance. It was over these mountains that Eddy Merckx performed one of his greatest exploits, a km solo break across three cols, in on his way to winning his debut Tour.
Go back further, to , when the Tour made its first visit to any high mountains. The race had never previously tackled more than two medium mountains in a single day. Given that this bike is designed to handle anything you can think of, including an epic day of high mountain gravel, FiftyOne thought Assassin a very fitting name. As it happens, I told them this story in the first place, so me riding this bike on this route was perfect.
The 14th century gothic church marked the beginning of Jamie's adventure and it was km 0 also of stage 14 of the Tour. Photo: Alice Alphrey. The first line of mountains is getting closer and, seemingly, bigger, and a powerful anticipation builds as I contemplate the route that will take me over it, deep into the range beyond and up to one of its highest points.
As soon as he hits the gravel, Jamie sees what's in store for the day. Mountains, mountains and more mountains. The forest is a grim mud bath, tested and eliminated during recon rides of this route.
