After a relatively gentle easy introduction to Knight Frank’s Cycle to MIPIM on day one (mileage-wise, at least), day two is a much more daunting prospect with more than double the distance to cover from Calais to Soissons, 264km away.
The day starts warm – and stays dry – but the headwind is constant for most of the day. And in this part of north-east France there’s also very little shelter to be had as the peloton winds its way through exposed farmland dotted with enormous wind turbines.
The morning is split into three stages, each one led out by a different team. Team Lockton takes the first stage, Team Vectos the second and Team Civic Engineers the third. It’s a solid 160km to the lunch stop at Combles, with the healthy salad on offer rustled by crew members Lewis and Harvey and provided for by AHMM. The sports injury therapists, sponsored by Start Advisory, are also on hand to ease sore shoulders and necks and are kept busy throughout the lunch break.
The balmy sunshine and the relentless headwind continues throughout the afternoon but the mood in the peloton remains high and there are smiles all round as the riders find their rhythm on the relatively flat stages. They ride as the sun sets and arrive into Soissons in full darkness after a solid 12 hours on the road, ready for a well-deserved dinner.
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