Photo of Mike Slack in July, climbing the Col du Tourmalet the day before the arrival of Lance Armstrong and the Tour de France.

By Bruce Hildebrand

Located in the Pyrenees, the Tourmalet was the first mountain ever climbed when the Tour was introduced in 1910. The 10-mile, 4000-foot climb is a leg breaker that tops out at a lung-searing 6,900 feet above sea level.
In the 1913 Tour, race leader Eugene Christophe broke his bike descending the dirt and rock terrain. Undaunted, he shouldered his bike and ran downhill seven miles to find a blacksmith’s shop where he repaired his bicycle himself. He lost the race but won the overall title a few years later.

As a journalist for Bicycling Magazine, Cycle Sport, Ride Cycling Review and other outdoor publications I have the opportunity to travel the world and meet lots of interesting people. It was a pleasure to ride with Mike on this memorable trip. He acquitted himself nicely on this giant of mountains that has shaped the lives and careers of so many cyclists.