BASTILLE DAY AND ARCABULLE ODRISCOLL RACES AGAIN!

By Debbie Bulloch



On Saturday, July 14 (Bastille Day) my dear and close friend Arcabulle Odriscoll raced on the second part of the 2012 L’Etape du Tour – Acte 2. The race took place over the same route that Stage 16 of the Tour de France (TdF) will travel on Wednesday July 18.

The course is one of the toughest in Tour history. The 197 km course offers a classic succession of great Pyrenean cols: the Aubisque, Tourmalet, Col d'Aspin and Peyresourde. This is an up-and-down course which calls for a mastery of all aspects of cycling. Arcabulle finished the race in very good time, averaging 20 km/h over the entire 197 kilometers of the course.

Arcabulle is a very strong rider, whose mental toughness keeps him pedaling long after his jambes go into lactic acid debt and scream for him to abandon the race. Here is a description of the various mountain passes that Arcabulle had to climb on his way to the finish line:

Mountain passes & hills

Pau / Bagnères-de-Luchon 197KM • Km 53.5

Col d'Aubisque (1709 m)16.4 kilometre-long climb at 7.1% - HC • Km 120.5

Col du Tourmalet (2115 m)19 kilometre-long climb at 7.4% - HC • Km 150.5

Col d'Aspin (1489 m)12.4 kilometre-long climb at 4.8% - Cat. 1 • Km 181.5

Col de Peyresourde (1569 m)9.5 kilometre-long climb at 6.7% - Cat. 1

This year Arcabulle has already completed the 150 km of the Paris – Roubaix race and the 148 km of Stage 11 of the TdF. Last year Arcabulle raced the 208 kilometers from Issoire to Saint Flour (Stage 9 of the 2011 TdF). In previous years Arcabulle has raced up Mt. Ventoux (where British racer Tommy Simpson died in 1967 after his heart just gave out before reaching the summit) and he has also raced up Le Tourmalet,  another epic mountain in Tour history.

Arcabulle has been my dear friend, French tutor and bike mentor for nearly five years. He is a a good friend of Between Homes and a personal friend of many of our residents. I encourage all of you to send him an IM and congratulate him on an impressive race. Félicitations mon cher, cher ami and Happy Bastille Day. Viva France !