Retiree ready for Tour Down Under Challenge Tour after conquering famed French summit
Adelaide retiree Graeme Gilbertson has cycled up legendary Tour de France summit Mont Ventoux three times in one day. So the 73-year-old is confident of finishing the 158.7km course in his 15th Challenge Tour.
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ADELAIDE retiree Graeme Gilbertson cycled up legendary Tour de France summit Mont Ventoux three times in one day earlier this year.
So the 73-year-old was confident of finishing the 158.7km course in his 15th Challenge Tour and then riding home for good measure.
Gilbertson will join thousands of amateur cyclists on stage five of the Tour Down Under from Glenelg to Strathalbyn on Saturday, January 19, just before the professionals hit the course.
The event, presented by The Advertiser, would come seven months after he rode all three ascents on the Provence peak, which has provided the finish for 10 Tour de France stages.
“My bucket list before I packed up was to do the three sides of the mountain,” said Gilbertson, who climbed 4500m on Ventoux in 11 and a half hours.
“But I tell you, I won’t be going back now I’ve done it because hell it was tough.
“The last 3km of the last climb was awful riding into a headwind.
“As I was struggling up I’m thinking, ‘what in the bloody hell am I doing here when I should be home knitting or something?’
“But it was the most satisfying thing I’ve done in my life.
“The exhilaration when I finished was like when they climb Mount Everest.”
Gilbertson’s adventure was his 12th European cycling tour and made him the second oldest Australian to complete all three climbs on Ventoux.
The self-confessed “cycling nut” took up the sport while living in Mount Gambier, before becoming more serious when he moved to Adelaide as Channel 9 general manager in 2008.
Gilbertson said the TDU was an annual opportunity to share his passion for two-wheeled action with like-minded individuals.
He had added to his time in the saddle during recent Challenge Tours, riding before and after the event to clock up to 350km in a day.
“I’m an endurance rider, but not a racer,” said Gilbertson, ahead of returning to Europe next year to climb the 2800m Col Bonette in the French Alps.
“I’m slow, but I always get there and I love climbing.
“I’m a big fan of the Tour Down Under and I’ve got a group of good friends who come from Queensland and NSW every year.
“The Challenge Tour is unique in the world and that’s why it attracts such enormous interest.
“The course and the scenery is fantastic.”
The Challenge Tour, which was first held in 2003, offers four distances to participants including the full course, as well as 102km, 60km and 35km options.
While many use it as a chance to raise funds for the Cancer Council’s Ride for a Reason, others, such as Gilbertson, had made it a catalyst for improving their own health.
“I originally took on cycling because I was heading towards diabetes.
“My asthma was getting worse and needed to be managed and exercise was the best cure.
“From then on, there’s been no holding me back and I’ve ridden as much as I could.
“We live in cycle heaven here in Adelaide.”
Individual and team registrations for the 2019 Challenge Tour are open until January 9. Visit tourdownunder.com.au
Originally published as Retiree ready for Tour Down Under Challenge Tour after conquering famed French summit
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