The FastandFemale SUI organised group ride to see behind the scenes at Tour de Romandie Feminin was on Sunday 17th September 2023.
The Basel based group met at Olten station and we were off on the train to Yverdon-les-Bains station where we met up with another rider. After a quick introduction, we set off on the 70km ride to Nyon. The route was organised to avoid meeting race coming the other direction. Before we got to that though, we had a few climbs to get over and views to admire. The sunflowers looked sad to see the sun start to leave after the summer heat.
After a few more rolling kms was a wheech downhill to see the see. The essential toilet stop was taken at Morges, after we avoided eating kgs of flies as we cycled along the trees by the water. Suitably refreshed we set off again arriving in Nyon just before 12:30, where we were met by our FAFSUI organiser with goody bags with a drink & snacks. We all smiled for the camera before heading down the the event village.
After cheering the race through the finish line to start their last lap, we had time to go behind the scenes and see where the SRF TV production at work. The studio was small so we had to visit in small groups. I thought it was great. Having watched cycling racing for years on a screen it was fun to see how they are made.
We managed to get a good view of the finish again and only had a short time to wait before the helicopter above meant the race was close. The announcements being in Tannoy French meant I could understand nothing but it was clear who won. Congratulations to Leane Lippert for the stage win and Demi Vollering for the GC win.
We headed home, but first we had a spontaneous visit to the team busses and were rewarded by the gift of full team SD Worx bidons! I was already a fan, now I have something to use and it needs to compete for space with my 2022 Tour de France Team Jumbo Visma bidons. The ride back to Yverdon was taken a good pace, with few stops and we arrived at the station hungry and happy. Quick trip to the Coop for food, rest then the train trip home with a few millions commuters getting ready for the week ahead.
A huge thanks for the organisation of the TdRF and FAFSUI for the day and to the women who came to ride. See my Strava links for the ride recordings.
Total distance - 135km
Total climbing - 1400m
Average speed - 21.5 kph
