Sunday 11th September: Weather: 4°C to 25°C: Cold 4°C in Courmayeur and 28°C in Pont St Martin
Pont St Martin: 5k
Ascent/Descent: Nil
Accommodation: Agriturismo la Grange Pont Saint Martin
A beautiful day for start of TdG
10am First wave of Tor de Geants
A perfect for a coffee in the Garden
Alessandro and Jan at start of TdG
Ian filming from his perch
Alessandro in blue cap
Countdown 10,9,8 to start
Start of 2nd wave Tor des Geants
Alessandro bottom right corner with Blue hat
An early start - we are awake at 5am and have a cup of tea before tidying up and going down to a leisurely breakfast at 8am. There’s too much to eat but we manage to have a croissant, tart, fresh bread roll, muesli and yoghurt and Ian also has bacon and eggs. Back to our room to pack and get ready for the first wave start of teh Tor des Geants at 10am.
We leave at 9.30 and it’s just a short 5 minute walk to the start. It’s an exciting atmosphere, a cross between the Noosa Triathlon and the Tour de France. There’s bands playing and dancers flinging around, while runners of all kinds young and old, fit and not so fit walk to the start line with their flimsy gear - no ponchos, rain jackets, or fleecy jumpers - just trekking poles, headlights and small water bag on their back. We stand 3 and 4 deep watching the runners line up, trying to comprehend the Italian announcer. The only bit we understand is the 10,9,8 etc countdown for the runners to start.
The first wave has about 500 runners, the best half of the competitors, and they disappear through the narrow streets of Courmayeur. We then go to the bus station to buy tickets for the 12.35pm bus to Pont St Martin before returning to Hotel Crampon to pack and leave then go to the hotels’s garden setting for a Jet Boiled Coffee with real cream. At 11.30am, it’s time to wander up the street for the start of the second wave at 12pm, and we’re hoping to wish Alessandro good luck. We also hope to see Giuseppe from the Rifugio Delle Marmotte who told us he would be there at the start representing Karpos as their brand manager. Karpos is a new brand and style of Sports gear, and they are one of the sponsors of the Tor des Geants.
Ian fils from a perch near the start and we spy Alessandro in the midst of the runners near the start. We take a photo shoot and wish him well before climbing back on a perch to see the start. And just like that, they’re off to a gruelling 350k ultra trail that the winners will finish in a bout 66 hrs and the cut off time is 150 hrs. We head on down to the bus station and wait for the 13.35pm bus to Aosta. It’s a one hour hairy scary ride down the valley to Aosta where we need to wait until 2.15pm for the Pont St Martin bus which is even scarier. These bus drivers must take this route many times a day and know each twist and turn, but it’s still a nerve racking ride. We arrive in Pont St Martin at 4.15 and the bus drops us off at the back of Conad’s supermarket. Twenty minutes later, we have enough food to feed an army, and we’ll only need it for the two days we’re in Pont St Martin. It’s only 10 minutes walk to La Grange Agriturismo, where we find Martine, and unload our stuff into the kitchen, sit down, and enjoy a cold beer and cheese to celebrate yet again. It was so good, Ian had to walk back to the supermarket to buy more beer, returning to have the salad dinner I had prepared while he was away - without the ham - and that’s another story.
Bed at 9pm after we test tried a small shot of genepy.