ACT 2 - EIFFAGE COL DE LA LOZE TIME TRIAL - Sunday 30 June 2019

The Col de la Loze polka-dot jersey… You have to earn it!

The great divide: more than 30° of difference between the 1st round of the Eiffage Col de la Loze Time Trial on 12 May, which took place in snow with freezing temperatures (-7° at the summit) among walls of snow, and the 2nd round on 30 June, run under a glorious sun but in a heatwave (25° at the summit, more than 30° lower down)! Conditions which, for the moment, do not allow solid reference times to be set. Fortunately, this 2019 edition is played over 3 rounds, with the final scheduled for Sunday 28 July, the day after the decisive Tour de France stage finishing in Val Thorens.

Even though, since the launch of this competition, it has been difficult to control all the parameters for reaching the summit of the Col de la Loze, which peaks at 2,304 m altitude and whose last 5.8 kilometres are dedicated exclusively to cyclists, the times are nonetheless impressive on the two courses on offer:

- the "Eiffage" trophy, with its 22.6 km and 1,510 m of elevation gain starting from the Carrey roundabout
- the "Felt" trophy over 8.6 km and 580 m of elevation gain starting from Courchevel 1850.

This 2nd round marks a major innovation: the creation of race-specific bike bottles, an extra motivation for all the competitors. The maximum times to achieve for the Eiffage Trophy are as follows: under 1h30min to win the Gold bottle, under 1h45min for the Vermeil, under 2h00min for the Silver, under 2h30min for the Bronze, and the "Finisher" bottle for performances beyond that.

For the Felt Trophy, you need under 30min for Gold, under 37min30s for Vermeil, under 45min for Silver, under 1h for Bronze and over 1h for the "Finisher" bottle.

Participants on electric bikes, who start 5 minutes before the official start without being timed, just for pleasure, are given the "Finisher" bottle.

Among the 55 participants registered at the start of this 2nd round was Laurent Brochard, road world champion in San Sebastián in 1997 and patron of the race. He finished with the Gold bottle in a time of 1h28min12s on the Eiffage Trophy: "This finish at the col is magnificent, with this view of Mont Blanc and the Vanoise glaciers. The last 5.8 kilometres of this climb reserved for cyclists are exceptional, with some good little ramps and high gradients in places that would class it as 'Hors Catégorie' in the Tour de France. This new col is very promising, it will attract a lot of cyclists and probably the Tour de France!"

Eiffage Trophy: New records for Yohan Sert and Camille Udny.

The reference time of 1h08min20s set by Florian Hudry (present at the Elite French championship this Sunday, which he finished) in the opening round was lowered by nearly a minute this Sunday 30 June by Yoann Sert of ASC Macôt la Plagne. He takes the leader’s polka-dot jersey in a time of 1h07min24s. Vincent Arnaud (Bourg Ain Cyclisme) in 1h08min02s and Will Juillaguet (Courchevel Sports Outdoor) in 1h11min36s complete the podium.

Among the women, Catherine Juillaguet, winner of the opening round, despite improving her time by more than 8 min with 1h35min34s, could not resist Camille Udny of VC ST Julien en Genevois, who wins in 1h32min, a new women’s record. Caroline Rainieri takes third place in this round in 1h49mi26min.
Overall, Melanie Batchelor (1h46min07s) drops to third position, as does Florian Hudry.

New record for Pierre-François Gachet and victory for Sam McGree in the Felt Trophy.

The heat put off a good number of female participants, leaving only two on the start line. In the end, Sam McGree wins in 38min18s ahead of Madeline Stocky in 49min34s. In the provisional overall standings, Laura Deplanche remains in the lead in 31min22s followed by Sam McGree and Alice Niemaz.

Among the men, the podium was decided by a whisker in under 27 min. Pierre-François Gachet, a member of the French ski mountaineering team, takes the polka-dot jersey in 26min04s followed by Éric David (26min34s) and the Spaniard Josed Termens Nadal (26min49s). In the provisional overall standings, this trio sweeps the top 3 places.

Everything will now be decided in the grand final on Sunday 28 July, in the thick of the Tour de France finale. By then there will be no more room for hesitation: you will have to give your very best to aim for the podium or set your own personal record. The male and female winners will don the polka-dot jersey of the 2019 best climber, together with a crystal trophy and prize money. A fine bit of suspense in prospect, which delights Philippe Mugnier, the mayor of Courchevel, and Pascal Chatellet, director of Eiffage Route, a partner of the race, who, present at the finish line, did not fail to congratulate the competitors and the volunteers at the end of the prize-giving for this second round.