l’Étape du Tour Daily Blog – Thursday

by Barry Doyle Cryotherapy and Sun Finally we caught a break today. The day started overcast with the first splashes of light rain evident from our "depart" in Argeles-Gazost. We were joined by some new riders today including partime St Tiernans member John Brennan. There was a stark contrast between those of us who ... More

l’Étape du Tour Daily Blog – Wednesday

by Barry Doyle The weather here has been miserable for the last two days. All those romantic notions of ascending to summits that stretch as far as the eye can see, in 30 degrees heat, have been reduced to views of mist and clouds sweeping across your path. This may appear to be of little concern to the reader but the ... More

l’Étape du Tour Daily Blog – Tuesday

by Barry Doyle An Education What have we gotten ourselves into. Only Kevin and Dave knew what was in store and even then we sensed some unease. Today was a lesson. A class in what we do not know about climbing, a tutorial in how small the mountains are at home and a grind in the grim reality of the Pyrenees. Brendan ... More

l’Étape du Tour Daily Blog – Monday

by Barry Doyle Prologue Intimidating isn't the word, frightening, awesome, inspiring. Crammed into a minibus we looked on, as two hours into our journey south, the Pyrenees loomed large. Six months after signing on for the Etape Act II we are finally here. The long hard days of training are coming to conclude with the ... More

l’Étape du Tour Daily Blog

Our crew of club hard men and l'Étape veteran Kevin McNamee are making their way to France today to prepare for the epic l'Étape du Tour Act II. They are going post here daily on their cycling adventures the Pyrenees throughout the week. A tough challenge faces them next Saturday as they start in Pau then the course ... More

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Tour of Flanders 2012 Report

The Ronde van Vlaanderen continues to dominate our thoughts in the way that no other sporting event in the year's calendar. It continues to draw you back year after year. This year I did it with 3 seasoned campaigners in Craig , David and the ever present Seamus, never far from a Tiernan's rear wheel. This year Joe from ... More