2017 Albi Gran Fondo World Championships
Becoming a World Champion • by Richard Barville — We arrived in France about 10 days before the event, and joined a small crew from Bikestyle Tours to spend a few days in Toulouse, a few days in nearby Castres, then into Albi on the Thursday before race day. The weather was mostly fine and warm. We acclimatised to the time change and did several hilly rides in those lead-up days, then did a recon ride of the last 65km of the course on the Friday – checking out the main hills and the last few k’s into the finish. Saturday was mostly a rest day, but I did check the first and last 10 km of the course again, so that I knew where all the hazards were (road furniture etc) and what the finish looked like. Sunday – race day. At the start location, in the centre of the old
