L'étape Sanfloraine
L’étape Sanfloraine is a smaller cyclosportive but definitely worth attending. We attended the race in 2023 and there were just below 200 riders for the longest distance. The race starts at 08:00 in the morning. The first kilometers are the most heavy ones as after kilometer 105 there is a decent and then a more flat part. To start in the cyclosportive you will need to deliver a medical attest of less than 1 year which proves your doctor has confirmed you can compete in races.
As soon as you enter a cyclosportive you start to think about the final ranking. Or at least, that’s what happens for me. I was aiming for a top 80 place, but after a great preparation I got fever in the week before we left for France. On Wednesday evening I had 38° degrees fever and I want afraid I would not be able to compete the race. Luckily the race was on Sunday and not on Saturday. I managed to recover to a state I could decently ride.
The race
In the start I moved gently towards the first 40 to 50 positions which went well. The pace was acceptable and everybody clearly decided to stick together for a while. After a few kilometer there were 2 gentle hills, and there I instantly felt my throat was still hurting and I was not at my best. I decided to let the bunch go and find my own pace. Afterall, I was already very happy that I was able to compete in this race.
The first 50 to 60 kilometers I was really enjoying the race and temperature was still enjoyable but it kept on going up and around 11:00 am it was already showing more than 30° degrees. It had a negative effect on me and I really felt my powers going down. It become only worse when after noon temperature went up to 38° celcius.
I had some hard moments but then the weather changed and in front of me it had rained and temperatures dropped to 28° which made it way better for me. Combined with the track that became less hilly made that my last part of the race was good gain, despite the strong headwind. A pity of the part where I suffered from the heat.
Views
L’étape Sanfloraine is a really nice race and the views are marvellous.
Improvements
The race is very well organised and the organisation can count on plenty of volunteers. These are spread across the track and all cars are stopped by them. The really did a great job and are the best I have ever seen. They were also very much motivated at the rest points to provide us with food and drinks.
So what could be improved? At the start there was only 1 public toilet which was causing a big queue and also on the stops there were no toilets available. This could definetly be improved.