Day of Records

stats of the week: run 17km, cycled 274 km
L'etape du Tour: 181km, 10:14 h, 1060th of 1502 in age group, 5082nd of 6888 overall

As expected this year's L'etape turned out to be my toughest day ever. And it was a day of personal records:

- my longest competition ever, lasting 10 hours and 14 minutes
- longest distance cycled ever with 214km completed, included the way home to our bus
- biggest ascent ever done, Col de Marie Blanque, Col de Soulor and Col de Tourmalet added up to 4,350 meters of climbing
- highest speed ever ridden on the bike 70.1km/h (43.8mph)

Col de Marie Blanque 1035m:


Col de Soulor 1474m:


Col de Tourmalet 2115m:


On the final ascent to the very steep Marie Blanque we had to push our bikes for nearly a mile due to a traffic jam caused by walking cyclists - I lost about 25 minutes. The route was beautiful and I enjoyed every part of it. Although my performance wasn't as good as last year and I didn't feel as fit as in recent races. Anyway it was still a day I'll be dreaming of frequently.
Now I look forward to watching the professionals doing the same stage on Thursday.

Worn out by heat

stats of the week: run 17km, cycled 158km

Call me crazy, I know I am, but midweek I had to squeeze in a 5km track race. Our local town championships took place so I had to be there. After weeks of long distance cycling it was no use to take part in a 5km run. As expected my performance was limited. I finished after 22:02 min, under different circumstances a disappointing time. Nevertheless I was the only finisher of my age group what let me take home a champion title ...

To keep fit on the bike I completed a popular bike event in the nearby mountain area Sauerland. It's a challenging route of 158km and 1800 meters of ascent.

It was the unbearable heat what made the day more than tough. Reaching the finish after 6:20 hours of cycling I was so worn out that I wasn't able to eat anything and it took me until Sunday evening to recover reasonably. The result is that I don't feel really fit for Tourmalet - next Sunday will be the most challenging day of my 2010 sports year.

Day of Sweat

stats of the week: cycled 210km

Maratona dles Dolomites: result see below

The Maratona dles Dolomites is Italy's most popular cycling event, with this year's 24th race finished by 8,800 thrilled cyclists. More than 20,000 applied to get a bib. The whole day is broadcoasted live on TV, 140km of road are closed for the bikers - and nobody bothers. 3 routes can be chosen during the race - 55km/106km/138km, the longest distance covering 4,100 meters of height difference.

See and feel the sweat:

It was the hottest day of the year to go up Pass Giau. It made me feel my head being close to burst and I had to concentrate to stay on my bike. Smiling is just a second's window dressing.

At my third year of Alpine cycling I am still passing my apprenticeship as the result unmistakably shows:

Name Ulrich Sauer
BIB 9600
Land/Town D-Witten
Category 138km Uomini/Men 50-57 anni
Start time 6:53.42,5
Finish Time 14:55.48,3
Race Time 8:02.05,8
Ave Speed 17,174 km/h
Rank Overall 3016. M of 4151 (73%)
Rank Category 479. M50-57 of 753 (64%)

Splits on route
Place Hour Time Rank Overall
Gardena 9:53.51,0 3:00.08,5 587. 3447.
Corvara 10:08.14,2 3:14.31,7 578. 3426.
Campolongo 10:34.28,5 3:40.46,0 537. 3285.
Selva Cadore 11:38.31,0 4:44.48,5 529. 3230.
Passo Giau 12:51.41,6 5:57.59,1 496. 3131.
Falzarego 14:09.41,8 7:15.59,3 476. 3009.

Hill Time Trial Corvara - Campolongo 6.4km, Height diff 353m
Time 26.14,3
Ave Speed 14,635 km/h
Rank Overall 2179.
Rank Category 279.

Hill Time Trial Passo Giau 10.6km, Height diff 900m
Time 1:13.10,6
Ave Speed 8,691 km/h
Rank Overall 2879.
Rank Category 429.

A Biker's Smile

stats of the week: run 12km, cycled 276km

3LaenderGiro (Austria-Italy-Switzerland)
168km, 3,500hm, 8:49 hrs, 1,315th of 1,681 men, 519th of 721 men aged 50-57

Being 2 years older but with 2 more years of cycling experience I managed to cut 47 minutes off my recent time on this challenging route, passing Stelvio and Oven Pass. Two years ago I had to dismount my bike with just 1km to the finish, this time I made it to the end by a constant smile. Smiling was undoubtedly increased by overtaking the unconcerned novice race biker Holger K. just at the same point where I had to walk last time.

My Local Alps

stats of the week: run 22km, cycled 278km, 2 gyms

Most people who have never been to the industrial region where I live, the "Ruhrgebiet", think it's a rather flat piece of land.

However, on my Wednesday bike ride I managed to collect 970 meters of height difference over a distance of only 53 kilometers!

The surprising awareness is that it would be possible to add up the same amount of gained height like biking in the Alps. Anyway, next Sunday's elevation map is still looking more demanding:
(official pic by dreilaendergiro)

Cross Training

stats of the week: run 10km, cycled 335km

Did more climbing work this week, enjoying another local pass, the one to Veserde. It's a climb which let you imagine to be in the Alps ... However, after finshing today's long ride of 160km and more than 1,500 m of climbing I felt even too tired to read the Sunday newspaper!

Cross training is highly recommended for runners. Not just cycling. Very popular here in my home town Witten is Dragon boating on the river Ruhr. The boat shown on the left is full of runners ...

Climbing Work

stats of the week: run 12km, cycled 330km, 1 gym

The week taught me that a lot work is to be done to reach the cycling performance I had last year. Though it was a good week and the mileage was higher than expected. And I was able to collect some ascents like the pass of Asker Steet which I enjoyed twice this week.