After a short stop the next stage was the one no one was looking forward to as it had a 120m fireroad climb in the middle of the stage. I really didn’t have the motivation for this today as I kept telling myself ‘this is my holiday’ as I was wheezing away up the hill. I set off right behind James and as I started the climb I could see him ahead and gave him some shouts of encouragement. This is a role reversal trip for us as James normally spends the year following me around the races, but now it was his turn to race too and I think my cheer spurred him on as the last thing he wanted was for me to catch him. Anka (Martin) was also on a stormer and came pedalling passed me on the climb. I just about managed to keep her in my sights and slowly during the final descent I managed to pass her on one of the most hairy downhill sections so far. A high speed loose rocky canyon with massive drainage ruts, you had to hop otherwise you would have had the biggest crash ever! I definitely lost some time to the other girls on this stage but I really couldn’t find that extra motivation for a stage like that in my off–season. I was also glad to see James make it down safe as he is lying in second in the expert category at this stage behind Jonesy, so I know those boys will be taking this very seriously.

The next liaison stage was a lovely ride mainly on roads up a pretty isolated stunning valley. We had enough time for Marc Beaumont and a few of the other guys to stop off at a lake for a swim before we started climbing to our final stage. I got going immediately, really wanting to get back to the campsite in time to get my washing done and hung out whilst the sun was still out. 45km done and 1475m of climbing and day 3 of the Trans Provence completed and another night where I will sleep like a log once again.

Villars–Comars – Guillaumes

SP12  +60m/-887m

SP 13 +110m/-422m

SP 14 +20m/-298m

SP 15 +10m/-314m

After three long days, more than 5000m of elevation and 150km of riding, today sounded like a rest day with only 32km and 900m climb. At this point I was second, only five seconds behind Sir Nicolas Vouilloz, so fast in the technical stuff and only 14 seconds in front Mr Mark ‘Horsepower’ Weir, my teammate who smashes us as soon as we need to pedal. To sum up, I’m the dick in the middle and I don’t know if it’s better for me to have hard and physical stages to try to make time on Nico or if I should prefer technical, twisty trails to keep Mark away from me.

Today I will be between a rock and a hard place with four stages that are very different, so I’ve no other choice to ride as fast as I can to stay in the hunt for the victory.

We started with the longest shuttle ever to drop us at the border of Alps Maritime, with a scenic view of several mountains around in a grassy area under a wonderful mid–morning sun. Everything that a rider needs to be happy and to put a bigger smile on our face, Ash told us that it’s one of his favourites, the longest and biggest descent of the week.

A small downhill to reach the start, not enough to really warm up, the beginning of the stage was really physical with five minutes of undulating open field before we jumped in to a endless descent. The first part was open and you have to find your line between gravel, woodland and grass. Then when your legs and arms started to be tired, we entered a five minute rock garden where each pedal stroke can throw you into the ravine. It was like a long pump track where you can never find your flow and have to battle with your bike. I tried to stay fast and smooth but that was not very easy, especially after ten minutes of demanding downhill. We were all happy to find pedalling parts in order to find a second wind, enjoying the view over the valley before reaching the last part in the wood, full of sketchy switchbacks, where you always have a rock under your wheel when you want to turn. I managed to do it in one go without big errors and I was relived not to have made too many mistakes or ruined my week with a puncture or a stupid crash.