One gran fondo day is obviously not the other. Saturday I arrived forty minutes before the start in the sun-drenched beach village of Sainte-Maire-la-Mer and was able to join in at spot 327. Sunday I cycle into the church square of the almost mystically misty mountain village of Banassac forty minutes before the start and the start box is still empty. Okay, there are just under two hundred participants in the longest distance, half the number of participants in the 66 Degrés Sud, but still. The atmosphere is convivial, everyone seems to know each other. Not only the organization which consists of just about every resident of the village, but also the participants among themselves.

© La Lozérienne

La Lozérienne is part of the Cyclo'Tour Rotor which consists of a total of seven events. Ultimately, a final classification is drawn up here. In it, La Lozérienne is the second race and with 155 kilometers in total and over 2600 meters of elevation still quite spicy. After a neutralized start, where everyone stays at ease behind the car, warns each other about obstacles and the roads are excellently lined, we soon start the first of the three long climbs in the course.

Unusual climbs

For anyone - like me - unfamiliar with the Massif Central, the climbs take some getting used to. The French Alps are often characterized by long, steady climbs, 8% being 8%. The Pyrenees, on the other hand, are characterized by irregular climbs: 8% is 1500 meters at 12%, descend a bit, climb again in double digits, descend a bit and so on. The Massif Central goes a bit more towards the Pyrenees, but without the really steep percentages. 8% is the climbing maximum, then a bit of a descent and then a stretch of another maximum 8% climb and so on. So the first climb of the day is really only about 14 kilometers at about 4% average. But when you get to the top in the Alps or Pyrenees, you go back down. Not here, here you keep riding on a kind of plateau. Not like in the Vosges where the mountains are shaped like balloons, where it thus gradually flattens out before slowly, but ever faster descending. No, here you ride a kind of mini-Amstel Gold Race after you have just done the ascent. Those who have only taken a first quick look at the course and see three bigger climbs there will therefore be somewhat disappointed. In total, my Garmin indicates sixteen climbs, three longer ones, but so a total of thirteen on the tops of these longer climbs. Always only 1 to 2 kilometers long, never really steep, but anyone who ever does a long ride in South Limburg knows that the Loorberg or Bemelerberg can be quite tough.

© La Lozérienne

Social echelons

In the now bright sunshine, I quickly had to let go of the first two groups on the first climb. I'd already ridden the 66 Dégres Sud yesterday and use that in my head as an excuse as to why my legs don't want to keep spinning around in the threshold zone for too long. I'm good at keeping my own pace, though, which is exactly what I do. After 32 kilometers I reach the highest point of the route, the col du Trébatut at 1100 meters above sea level. Here is also the first supply station of the day. On the descent I am swallowed up by the third large group that has now formed. In the valley there is no cooperation at all and we finally ride in a 'social echelon' to the foot of the next climb.

The pace picks up and the group is torn apart. As the first of the loners I dive into the descent. At the bottom everyone is quickly in my wheel again, but the game of not wanting to ride immediately starts again. I don't mind very much and just ride my own pace. On my own I cross the Gorges du Tarn. Take all the superlatives about beautiful scenery out of the dictionary, they all fit here. Twisting and turning, the river, the road and so I on my bike find a way between the mountain walls. Up a little, down a little, tunnel here, rocky outcropping there, suddenly a vista and another village that would not be out of place in a painting. If I hadn't been riding alone with a headwind, I could have made 62 of these 26 kilometers.

© La Lozérienne

Aligot

From Saint-Enimie, it's over 7 kilometers of climbing out of the Gorges again at an average of 4.5%. It's kind of like the finale of the Amstel, over 45 kilometers spread out we're riding up the Loorberg six times. Meanwhile in the pouring rain, I finally return after the descent to the church square of the misty mountain village of Banassac. Under party tents, the 37 participants of the gran fondo who finished before me and a larger number of the shorter route are already sitting there having a delicious meal with the villagers. Local sausage and especially the local mashed potatoes with cheese: aligot.

Riding gran fondos to measure yourself against others as an amateur is incredibly cool to do. Of course you want to ride the monuments like La Marmotte, Les 3 Ballons and the Maratona in the process. But in the big events, commerce often wins out over quality, competitive spirit sometimes wins out over sportsmanship and massiveness wins out over charm. 

For me, these kinds of days and events are why I love getting on my bike. All the big gran fondos are also on my bucket list, but these are the gems. So look especially for smaller, lesser-known gran fondos in the calendar. Maybe a less cool story at the drinks table with (cycling) friends, but you can't find much better food for the soul.