Day 8: Category… « carrément chiant »

Category… « carrément chiant »

Even Union Saint‑Gilloise is carrying us — what a win! ⚽

Our supporter souls are already satisfied…

(until Sunday… 😇)

On the cycling side, though… 😬

Barely underway, and we get absolutely soaked. Properly.

Drenched to the bone.

When, after just 10 minutes, you’re already dreaming of a hot bath… you know it’s going to be a long day 🛁

And let’s be honest:

not the most enjoyable stage…

Long. Flat. Cold. Monotonous.

Not exactly cheerful.

At this point in the trip, this gloomy weather since day one is really starting to wear us down…

Silence for the first two hours.

We pedal, we complain, each retreating into our own bubble 😶

Then… a ray of sunshine 🌤️

And everything changes.

It warms us up. It relaxes us.

Conclusion: morale is clearly photosensitive — photographer’s word 📸🍷

But nature decides to spice things up a bit 🌩️

As if we needed more…

Tailwind — that helps 💨

But it also scatters threatening storms along the route.

So we play it smart 🧠

We stop, we go, we adjust the pace depending on the colour of the sky…

And it works ✅

We manage to avoid the worst towards the end of the stage,

ease off slightly for the final kilometres,

and finally enjoy a bit of sunshine and a Rhône that feels welcoming again 

In the end, the strength of the group, a purpose bigger than ourselves and above all, your support   That’s where we find the last bit of energy we still have to give.