Minimum altitude: 192 meters
Distance: 36.1 km
Slope Aspect: North-West
Vertical Climbed: 558 meters (1,831 feet)
Vertical Descended: 559 meters
Rating: 3
It's been a decade since I climbed Montaud from St Quentin. Partly because it is a long way from home and partly because I'd been working a lot over the last 10 years and not found the time. Today I had to be in Grenoble for 9am but back home by midday. A little tour up this well worn climb seemed like a grand idea. After a hard ride yesterday my objective was recovery - lots of Zone 2 and keeping things under control on the climb. Objective largely achieved as I kept my HR around 155bpm for the climb. 39 minutes for the 6km climb at a VAM of around 780 m/h, not too shabby. Ok local climbing specialist Mikaël Gallego's VAM was 1550 m/h for the same segment but Miki was banned for doping. According to the French Anti Doping agency Gallego's urine contained corticosteroids (prednisone and prednisolone at a "respective concentration of 1720 and 3790 nanograms per milliliter"), morphine ("5 microgrammes per milliliter") and testosterone were detected.
All that for a few Strava KoMs.
Quite chilly early on, 18C but warm enough to descend the NE (sunny) side in short sleeves. A good choice. More tree roots than I remembered on the cycle path.