I did the Alp Everest, rested almost a week, then returned with some crazy ideas. I am crazy.
Four Horsemen: Beating the 2:37 best time!
This is a very tough challenging climb. But, I can take it because it isn't just up like the Alp or Ventoux (which has one little dip for 30 seconds or so). I ran this the other day and recorded all of the sections that were 10 % or higher. There's quite a bit. There's about 6 sprints at the lower half, then another in the middle, On the upper half there's a series of steps that take about three minutes with a very short respite of 4% before the final sprint. The scattered flat spots are my reprieve, where I can rest a bit.
As a background, I put in a solo effort to take this title. I did some great wattage at a steady 15 minute effort with a few power strokes and a final kick to the line. It was a level zero Aethos. But the time was 15:39. Now, I wanted to try again, but a bit smarter, harder on the steep parts.
15:39 Level one Aethos on June 3 2024. Level 5 Aethos November 26 2025....15:13 (beating Julia's remarkable 15:17 by 4 seconds!) Naturally, I had an aero power-up to seal the deal, saving it for my final attack to the line. It was fast, it was perfect. It was much harder than I expected. But, I stuck to the plan and went as hard as I could in the red sections.
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Start.. 30 seconds sprint, 44 seconds, 35 seconds, 33 seconds, a long 60 seconds, 45 seconds. A bit of breathing and another 60 seconds, then the preparation for the final set of steep inclines: 24 seconds, 31 seconds, 104 seconds of endurance followed by two 20 second sprints. A lone 41 second sprint to the line. I wanted to start it sooner but I was on the verge of collapsing in pain. I saw 5:17, then 5:15. One more push to sprint harder and I came over the line at 15:13!!!
I noticed on the boards that Julia has the fastest time before my record. However, she finished in 6th place! So how did she end up in the number one slot? Hmm, someone flagged the top five times after their effort? How crass! Some of the people don't get notifications or know how to deal with flagging harassment. (and yes, some of the times were absurd but there's always a few 'flyers' just slow pedaling, sight-seeing at 402 watts average with 110 heart rate)
In the long run, this ride only matters to me. I don't really care about being faster or pacing better than anyone else. It's the goal and then reaching it. Someone will come along eventually and either beat it or cheat it. That's what happened in Makuri, after I worked so hard, so many times until I got it just perfect. Even with a level 5 Cadex, it seems impossible to beat. I am obsessive some times and I may just get it stuck in my head again. I would have to train precisely to do a seven minute all out effort, followed by 30 seconds rest, followed by 30 seconds do or die sprint. I don't know if anyone can legitimately beat the current time. Possibly drafting in a tiny race, possibly in a level 5 Tron, possibly with cheetah leg muscle implants.
This gave me a bit of training and racing stimuli. It's very important to work to some goals. I was very sore the next day, and still too tired the second day to ride. Tomorrow starts anew.
I didn't want to write about it until after I finished it. I was going to do it next week but I decided rather last minute to jump in and give it a go. I had planned to go up twice in a row (which is usually my breaking/cramping point), then take a break, relax, change clothes, eat, jump back on hours later. I even thought of doing two assaults, sleep, and do two in the morning, two in the evening, sleep, two in the morning. I know that goes against the "official" rules. But, I'm a sprinter. My legs are not built for nine hours of endurance full-gas efforts. If I am doing this, I am doing this my way. (I can do an official one some other day when I feel insane)
I will add a bunch of details. But, when I asked Emma Pouley about it, she told me, "It was the worst decision that I ever made." I basically agree. I sprained my right ankle getting off the bike after the second Alp. It only hurt when I walked on it. Yet, on the bike, it was fine. I used every single outfit I have, including one that is very tight and has an annoying seam. I got a pimple. I had bike problems, butt soreness/numbness issues. I had moments of greatness and moments when I had to just try to focus. Having a long ten minute downhill is great. I would never want to do the radio tower or the grade. You need the time to recharge a bit physically and mentally.
I rode the full Alp six times. Two times, one and a half, two times, one and almost two full times. Eight and a half in total for 8901meters uphill. I felt the best on the fourth climb. I felt strong and the power just felt easy. I finished two minutes ahead of my Holo. The fourth was way slower and the final one, I had very sore legs. I should have been in an easy gear but I kept it in the main gear I use as it seemed faster? I was afraid that once I used the small gear, that my power would evaporate. It was a bit dismal in the end. But by then, all I wanted to do was to finish. I did pedal just enough to take the 8849 to 8900 before cruising down to the start line. And no crash, no dropouts, no failing batteries. Yeah! I can't believe that I didn't give up.
Edit: It took me a week to recover before I could get motivated once again. Then I did three hard climbs: I did the Ski Lift climb which was designed for torture. It is massively steep (forget the Angrilu and some others) Then I rode the Stelvio, which is longer and has no steady rhythm, just hard and harder. Then I dared to summit both sides of Ventoux. It took over three hours. It was mentally hard but also took a lot of strength. I nearly had a PR on the Petite. The rest was dosed to survive the physical difficulty of 3100 meters. But, it is long and boring and hardly anyone on the climb. At least the Alp has a good number of riders to keep you from getting lonely.)
Edit: I just added another long ride or two. I hope to reride one or two routes where I lost the top spot.
