Next week and for the very first time Corsica will host two pro cycle races in the same week. The first edition of the Classica Corsica and the 84th edition of the Criterium International. The Classica one day stage race has high hopes of achieving 'classic' status and is on the 26 March. This is the Crit's sixth consecutive start on Corsica so it has history and form. This year's three stage race will run over the usual format on the weekend of 28-29 March.
I've been disappointed to note that some of the major teams such as Sky and BMC have been giving Corsica a miss. But take a look at the racing calendar and who can blame them - it's very congested.  At the same time as these two events the following are also taking place: E3 Harelbeke; Volta a Catalunya, Gent-Wevelgem and, the Settimana Coppi e Bartali! 
I haven't yet found any TV coverage for the Classica but Eurosport will be live on the afternoon of Sunday the 29th for what is always a picturesque and usually exciting conclusion on the way up to Ospedale.

One of the most popular questions I get asked is whether or not a particular month or time of year is a good time to ride on Corsica. Out of the main season there are three considerations to take into account depending on your needs: bike hire, places to stay and the weather. The first two can be overcome if you go to the right locations the latter is unpredictable. 
This is a mountain range in the sea with 21 peaks above 2,000m packed into less than 9,000 square kms - that's an area the size of Yorkshire! The density of peaks greater than 2,000m is  75% more than in the French Alps and there are 150 passable road Cols. This is not Majorca, where the highest peak rises to 1,445m, this is Corsica where Monte Cinto soars to 2,706m. It's alpine and consequently riding this time of year means you need to be prepared for a number of eventualities.
I experienced some 'variable' conditions during the first week of March. You can always ride the coast in Corsica and there are some 700 kms of paved roads available to you which unlike inland Corsica very rarely sees lying snow. Coastal temps during the winter range from 5-15˚c. This year my main challenge was the wind which blew all week and regularly gusted over storm force strength. Temps largely remained mild at the coast and peaked at a very pleasant 20˚c. Riding inland and consequently up into the hills requires a little more planning and layers but gives shelter from the worst of the wind. Check France Meteo for the forecast, layer up and Toe Thingy's on especially for the descents. The snow line varied during the week sinking as low as 600m but most of the time stayed above 1,000m. I tend to plan on the temps averaging half that at the coast but much chillier descending.
You do have the roads to yourself during the quiet months like March which is good because as my gallery shows there is some truly rewarding scenery to take in.

Welcome to my first blog for 2015 and the second anniversary of CorsicaCyclist.
I just want to let you know about a new development I’ve just launched on my website. All my routes are now downloadable to your Garmin or other GPS device and smartphone, whether it’s an iPhone or Android. My routes can also be printed from the same link. CorsicaCyclist remains completely commerce free in every respect so there are no charges – all the routes are absolutely free as is the RouteYou app you will need to download to your phone. All I ask in return is for any feedback you have about a route you ride especially so if you think a correction is required!
Corsica remains a hugely under developed road cycling destination and that is one of the great attractions about riding here. Whilst there are more cyclists around particularly post Tour de France, it's not on nearly the same level as say the Alps or Majorca. Having said that visitors to my site have exceeded 10,000 in the last twelve months and the number is growing with around 1,200 in the last four weeks. I can see from Google analytics that just 5.5% of visitors are in my age range, 75% are 18 to 44 years. I had expected the gender split to be more male dominated but it is in fact 45% female, 55% male. Clearly the females are riding different routes to me! The largest proportion of visitors are from the UK (28%) followed by France (13%) and the US (10%). Interestingly in the last month I had one visitor from Yangon in Mynamar who stayed for 3 minutes and twenty seconds - I wonder if they'll make the trip to ride here?
So please help yourself to the routes and as always if I can help with any questions feel free to ask.
Bonne route in 2015!

My first visit to Corsica was in 1976/7 when, as part of my French degree course, I worked as an English assistant in a lycee in Bastia and spent the summer working at a holiday camp near Poretta airport.  I found the island to be a delightful place and the “piano, piano” (slowly, slowly) pace of life suited me down to the ground.  I’ve been back several times since with and without the bike and am always struck by the island’s ability to remain immune to aggressive touristy development, it's rugged beauty, the quality of the food and wine and the friendliness of the people. For the last few years I’ve been pestering friends about a cycling trip to Corsica. Thanks partly to TV coverage of the 2014 Tour de France, the bait was taken.
So a group of 9 of us (inc 3 non-cyclists) spent a very enjoyable week at the end of May, based in Patrimonio, at the south west base of Cap Corse. The weather was perhaps a degree or two hotter than ideal for serious cycling but from the village it was easy to reach St Florent, Desert des Agriates and the west coast of Cap Corse. Bastia and the east coast of the Cap are also within reach though some of us (that’ll be me) failed to manage the ascent of the Col de Teghime. I’ve only ever toured the Cap anti-clockwise before and it’s amazing how the backdrop changes depending on the direction of travel.  Still stunning scenery either way though.  I last tackled the Agriates about 6 or 7 years ago and my faulty memory led me to misinform my compadres that it was a gently rolling ride - more like a stiffish, longish climb as it turns out. I also forgot that outside the main towns many eateries shut up shop at 2pm, so we didn’t get the slap-up feed we’d anticipated at journey’s end.  
Some of the gang tackled the Col de Santo Stefano and the circuit taking in the hillside towns of Oletta and Olmeta-di-Tuda returning to base very pleased with themselves.  I hope to return in the near future and tackle that circuit myself.  We all enjoyed the west coast of the Cap and I particularly enjoyed my lunch at the Hotel Marinella in the Marine de Giottani.  Some of the crew made it over to the eastern coast of the Cap but were disappointed to find it busier traffic-wise and less interesting scenically. 
We managed to fit in some down time as well and were all very pleased at the warm welcome extended to us in the restaurants and bars we patronised in Patrimonio. As a treat we had our final meal at the Auberge du Pecheur in St Florent, where the meal was worth every penny (and there were plenty to pay). You enter the restaurant rather prosaically via the fishmongers shop but then find yourself in a secluded sub-tropical rear courtyard.
We hired road bikes from Europe Active. They were just the ticket for the terrain and rates - including the charge for delivery to and pick up from our accommodation - were reasonable.  
It seems from the local press that the Tour hasn’t brought about an instant tourist bonanza - the global economic downturn may have seen to that - but cyclo-tourism has evidently taken a big leap forward since I was last there.

Stan Surgin, UK

There's a roundabout on the N193 south of Bastia with a weather beaten sign for the Biguglia war cemetery.  I noticed it quite a while back and made a mental note to visit. Finally this summer we followed the sign into Biguglia and discovered, in a corner of a foreign field, a beautiful memorial commemorating sixty Commonwealth WW ll casualties. 
Like much of Europe and all of France, Corsica was occupied during the war. On the 16 September 1943 it became the first part of Metropolitan France to be liberated. Some 12,000 local partisans known as the Maquis drove out the occupying German and Italian forces. After this the island, sometimes referred to as USS Corsica, became a vital strategic  air base for the allied forces.
The memorial in Biguglia is funded and maintained by the Commonwealth Wargraves Commission. It is maintained to the highest standards and is an idyllic and peaceful spot for a memorial. The graves are predominantly for British forces but also include nine Australians, one South African and a Canadian soldier. They ranged in age from just 19 to 43 years. 
We read each of the headstones and interestingly the very first one we looked at was James Hillier - the same surname as my mother in law's maiden name!
This is the only Commonwealth war cemetery in Corsica. It is a fitting tribute to and commemoration of the fallen as well as a timely reminder of the terrible cost of conflict.

Warm on the wheels of the Tour de France 2013 Grand Départ from Corsica Bernard Hinault has been here to join the presentation of a new UCI one day race, Corsica Classica. The inaugural edition of the race will take place on thursday 26 March 2015 shoehorned into a busy racing calendar presumably post Milan - San Remo and pre Paris - Roubaix.
Pro bike racing is not new to the island - the Criterium International has been running here since 2010, the Tour came for the first time in 2013 and the Tour de Corse ran as a pro race between 1971-1987 which incidentally, Hinault won in 1982.
The race will depart Ajaccio and finish in Bastia. It's a 204km route and takes in two categorised climbs: after 53km, the Col de Vizzavona at 1,163m (12.5km at an average gradient of 4.1%) and after 76km, the Col de Bellagranajo at 723m. The first 84km of the race is the reverse of the 2013 Tour de France stage 2. At Corte the route turns for Aleria on the east coast and then north for a flat run into the finish in the centre of Bastia.
The aim of this event is to build on the success of the three days the Tour raced here in 2013. Visitor numbers this summer are down on last year although anecdotally I see more cyclists than previously. The route is not fixed and will vary year to year. Given the timing you can expect to see snow on the peaks and quite possibly surrounding the col at Vizzavona.  Whether or not we can expect the race to become an established classic, as the name suggests, only time will tell.

May is once again one of my favourite months to ride in Corsica! It has been warm, the traffic is light, there are hardly any visitors around and the hotels, restaurants etc are just starting to emerge from their off season hibernation. What a contrast to May last year when it was cold and still snowing on the highest tops.  
My May excursion is typically a combination of riding and gardening (in that order). The winter has been wet and the spring warm which is just about perfect for growth conditions. Rediscovering the garden is like catching up with an old friend which in turn is a bit like a couple of my staple rides: up to St Antininu and the Col de Salvi.  The picture I tweeted from the Col of the Red Kite flying towards me caused great interest on Twitter - "OMG what is that"!! Just a bird, albeit a very large one. It was so popular that I've included it again here.
I took the opportunity to drive down to Solenzara in Corse-du-Sud to ride the Route de Bavella as this is a very good time of year to do so from a temperature and traffic perspective. I've updated my route description which you can read by clicking the link. It is without doubt a spectacular road to ride but I'm not sure I'd recommend it in the height of the summer as the Col is a tourist mecca. Afterwards I returned to Solenzara via l'Ospedale - what a superb view of Porto-Vecchio bay and Sardinia in the distance from just below the village. My Gallery page has new photographs of Bavella and Ospedale.
Returning home  I drove through the wonderfully named,  Défilés des Strette and de L'Inzecca which you can ride following Vivario Cols. On through Ghisoni, paying respects to Neptune as I passed by, and up and over the Col de Sorba for a drink at Le Chalet on the Col de la Serra. These roads are just a cycling paradise. 

I've been riding in Corsica over the past week. As you might expect it's very quiet, what you might not expect are the warm temperatures. There is a wide temperature variation depending whether or not you're by the coast or up in the hills but typically a February day near the coast has a range of 3-13˚c.  It was 16˚c yesterday afternoon and warmer earlier in the week - more like what you'd expect in April. The snow line is high and spring does appear to have arrived early with splendid displays of mimosas, fruit blossoms and camellias. Will it last? Last year I got caught out in a snowstorm in late May up in Haute Asco however with plenty of coastal riding Corsica always has a warm weather alternative.

opposite sides of a ravine that leads down to the harbour. It's not remarkable that there are two churches, what is remarkable is that one, the Church of Assumption is Catholic and the other, St Spyridon is Greek Orthodox.
How did Corsica acquire a Greek Orthodox church named after the patron saint of potters?

In 1676 some 730 Greeks from the Mani peninsula in the Peloponnese arrived in the area after fleeing the Ottomon Turks at home and the imposition of new taxes. At this time the Genoese controlled Corsica and welcomed the Greeks as part of their colonisation plans. They were not made nearly as welcome by the Corsicans and this led to them spending nearly 45 years in Ajaccio. The French followed the Genoese in Corsica and post the Treaty of Versaille Cargèse was established in 1784 by what was left of the Greek immigrant population. Life for the Greeks remained unsettled but they hung on in there and it was not until 1976 that the last native Greek speaker died.

The catholic church dates from 1828 and the Greek from 1852. Both are still very much in use today as there remain some 200 families following the Greek way of life they inherited from their ancestors.

A short while ago I received the note below from Jakub Kalus who late last summer undertook the Randonnée des Cols Corses. Here is Jakub's tale...

Based on some recommendations for cycling in Corsica and thanks to the information about the Randonnée des Cols Corses I found on your website I decided to complete the Randonnée last September, 2013.

Unfortunately my attempt to contact the authorities of Cyclos Randonneurs Thononais failed so I went to Corsica without the possibility of getting the ‘Randonnée medal’. I don't know if they still work. Nevertheless, I followed the Randonnée map and it took me total of 19 days and a distance of 1,697 km starting and finishing in Ajaccio plus a 1 day of hike up to Mt Cinto, Corsica’s highest mountain at 2,706m.

Some facts from my trip:

• Corsica is pretty hilly but the country is stunning.
  
• September seems to be an ideal time for such trip, not so hot anymore, only 2 days of rain from total of 30 but higher in the mountains, it was already cold.
  
• I am originally from Czech but now live in Norway. Corsica was quite expensive, to some extent comparable to Norway.
• Luckily I didn't have any punctures. On some recommendations I ran Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres with thick self repairing inner tubes. This increased the wheelset weight close to 6 kg but the ride was safe then.
• My MTB frame was built from top quality Japanese double butted CrMo Tange and equipped with a Shimano Exage bulletproof group-set. The butted frame is not an advantage here but luckily everything survived. The lightest gear ratio for 26" wheels and such heavy bike (30 kg plus food and water) must be 0.8  (Ed’s note: 22 chainring and 27 cog) or lower, a 2.7 ratio is is enough for top speed on descents.
  
• Potable water is everywhere thanks to fountains spread all over the country, in mountains and villages
  
• Food in Corsica doesn't cause any problems. I cooked food every day, typically some pasta with corned beef or tuna and some local cheese.
  
• I had my tent and camped mostly on campsites - usually 10 euros per night. I never need to reserve a place in advance. It's not that easy to find flat spots to camp outside of the sites and you have to be careful to avoid private land.
• If I’d travelled light on an organized and supported trip and just carried spare parts like tubes, tools etc then I think it is feasible to complete the Randonnée in less then 14 days. With all my stuff I cycled on average for 4-5 hours each day and covered around 85 km.
  
• The most beautiful place was Bonifacio so after I finished the Randonnée I spent the last few days there, hiking around the coast and having a nice relaxing time.
• It was great trip and I will not hesitate to repeat it again.
  

The pictures show my bicycle in front of the highest Col, Vergio at 1,497m and me at the summit of Mt Cinto.

With regards,

Jakub Kalus
Norway, Jan 2014

I've just recently discovered that there is a small city in the state of South Dakota in the US called Corsica! I'm familiar with the popular American car, the Chevrolet Corsica but had no idea that there was a town of the very same name. How did the City of Corsica in South Dakota come by its name?

It was established in 1860 by railroad workers some of whom came to the US from their mediterranean island home. It was they who decided it would be a good idea to name their new settlement in honour of their home, Corsica. 

Prompted by this I have delved a little further and discovered that Blooming Grove in Morrow County, Ohio was originally named Corsica! The town was established in 1822 by Salmon E. Harding who apparently was greatly inspired by Napoleon. The town was renamed Blooming Grove in 1835. 

There's more - in Pennsylvania there is a Borough called Corsica in Jefferson County, population 354, established 1802 by John Scott. The name also appears to have been inspired by the French Emperor of the time, Napoleon.

Napoleon clearly had an inspirational impact in the US as did Pascal Paoli another of Corsica's favourite sons as there are numerous places named in honour of them both.

From my perspective very much a statement but for the island and its visitor driven economy most likely still a question that will begin to be answered next summer. One thing's for sure - never in the history of time has Corsica had such a large television audience. And, the weather provided the perfect backdrop for Corsica to showcase itself around the globe via more than 170 TV channels with an estimated daily audience in excess of 40 million!

To remind you, this was the first ever visit of the TDF to Corsica - the final two departments of Metropolitan France to receive the world's greatest bike race and arguably the world's most watched annual sporting event.

It is reported that Corsica paid some €2 million for the privilege of hosting the Grand Depart and three days of stage racing. The arguments and fears about coping with the Tour logistics proved unfounded - 4,500 people including 200 riders and 2,000 journalists plus more than 2,000 vehicles including 200 alone for the publicity caravan! 
So with the 2013 drawing to a close was it worth the wait for Corsica? Well Tour supremo Christian Prudhomme appeared very happy talking in Calvi at the end of stage 3,

 "it was a great stage and the scenery was absolutely superb. I am delighted with this Grand Départ, it has been magnificent. The people here have shown the kind of real fervor and enthusiasm which you so often see by the road on the Tour de France. But I have never seen so many people say ‘thank you.’ It was incredible. We have felt a real sense of pride amongst the people at being able to host the Tour.”

As for Corsica itself it's too early for any official data but there is no doubt that the TV coverage has raised the island's profile, the back end of the summer season got busier, there are more cycling tours planned for 2014 than ever before and my site visitors and enquiries have grown significantly. 

Seasons greetings and see you en Corse 2014! 

Lying between the northern end of Aregno plage on Corsica's northwest coast and the Total petrol station on the N197 is this amazing granite column. It is 17 metres in length and just under three metres in diameter. It is a thirty two sided polygon, more commonly known as a 'icosidodecagon'! The calculated weight is just under 300 tonnes which is the equivalent of 15 London buses or 1 unladen jumbo jet.

This column lies in the quarry it was cut from. This is the very same quarry that in 1810 provided the granite pedestal for the Vendôme Column in Paris which was commissioned by Napoleon Bonaparte as a commemoration of victory in the Battle of Austerlitz. Just like Nelson in Trafalgar Square, Napoleon still sits atop the Vendôme for all to see despite being temporarily removed in the 1870's.

Napoleon was of course a native of Corsica, born in Ajaccio and it was Ajaccio that placed the order for this column which was carved in 1836. The plan it is said was to erect a Napoleon's Column in honour of its most famous son. Alas the column proved to heavy to move and instead, other stone from the quarry was used to provide a base for the more modest Casone memorial just above Napoleon's grotto in Ajaccio.
 
So, it's not just Nelson that has a column nor indeed Santa who has a grotto!

Like many destinations, and if you're free of the school term dates, going out of peak season is often the very best time to go. How true that is of Corsica. As I write it's 25 degs outside, the sun is shining, there is a windsurfer in the bay and a handful of people at the beach. Many hotels and restaurants are closed but there's more than enough to choose from. The supermarket is the closest I've come to a private shopping experience! Put simply, you can take the best of what Corsica has to offer and have it virtually to yourself - riders and non riders alike.

I've riden almost 250kms over the past four days and what a joy it's been. Yesterday I saw the same number of cyclists on my route as I did jet fighter aircraft overhead - two! I rode a 22km descent and only saw three moving cars and one lorry. The main hazards on the road are pine needles, horse chestnuts and the occasional pig, sheep and or cow.

There are downsides - if you like crowds there aren't any, there's little in the way of night life, it can get cool in the evenings and atop mountain passes, entertainment mainly has to be self made. For the cyclist you must be totally self sufficient as you should assume on your rides that you will have to feed and water yourself as well as be able to carry out running repairs. Personally I don't recognise these as downsides, just more reasons to be here now!

Post script - I've just been asked if bikes can be hired this time of year. Yes, Balagne Cycles are open in L'Île Rousse and have a good selection road, hybrid and mountain bikes available. They also have paddle boards which are great fun.

I recently received an email from a reader in New Zealand who enquired whether it is possible to arrive in Bastia, cycle to the south of Corsica and cross over to Sardinia?

The answer is yes. Infact you could start in Italy at Piombino and take a 20km ferry ride to the island of Elba. Elba is well known of course for the exile of one of Corsica's most famous sons, Napoleon. It has 150km of coastline that can be cycled as well as some hill routes that rise to just over at 1,000m Mount Capanne.

Bastia is just a 50km ferry ride from Elba. From there it is 175km to Bonifacio, Corsica's most southerly port where you can catch a ferry to Santa Teresa on the northern coast of Sardinia. This crossing takes less than an hour. Sardinia, at more than twice the size of Corsica has plenty of riding options. If you ride to the south of the island to Cagliari you can take a ferry to Palermo in Sicily. From Palermo to Messina is around 250km where you can take the short crossing back to the mainland and cycle back to your start point. I have calculated, excluding ferry crossings, that by taking the most direct routes this is some 2,000km of riding! It certainly would be an interesting tour and with some planning could take in some of the routes used by the Tour de France and Giro d'Italia. I sense a book in the offing...

Ferries:
Piombino to Elba with Moby Lines
Elba to Bastia with Corsica Ferries
Bonifacio to Sardinia with Moby Lines
Sardinia to Sicily with Tirrenia
(Note: these are all seasonal services)

Post script - last week I received an email enquiry from a reader in Rio. I have misplaced this so please send again, apologies. Mark

The excellent article by Mark Bailey published in Cyclist about riding here on Corsica is now available online. Read it here by clicking this link, Ride of the Century
Some superb photographs by Pete Webb.

It's been thundery here on Corsica in the past couple of days and the lightning strikes have been fierce. I see from the forecast that the UK can expect some severe storms in the next day or so too. Very sadly a German tourist was killed here on Corsica by a lightning strike ten days ago on the terrace of his accommodation. So what do you do if you're out riding and a storm brews? The simple answer is, TAKE SHELTER preferably in a house, stone building, cafe or car and certainly not in any metallic shelters or near water. If the lightning is very bad I would have no hesitation stopping a car or seeking shelter in a nearby house.

What however if there aren't any shelter options available and that is certainly a real possibility if not probability here and in other less populated places we love to ride? A review of the literature and guidance says:

- don't be the tallest object around
- leave high ground such as ridges and cols i.e. turn around and ride down hill as fast as is safe to do so
- avoid lone trees
- stay away from poles, pylons and fences
- avoid ditches especially so if there's water around - avoid all contact with water e.g. streams
- if there's no shelter available and you're in the open then separate yourself from your bike (regardless of what it's made from), separate yourself from your companions and squat on the balls of your feet with head on chest/legs and hands over ears - the aim is to minimize your size and contact with the ground. This is known as the lightning crouch!
- if a vehicle comes by don't be afraid to ask for a lift to the next village or town

Of course it is advisable to check the weather before setting off, Two very good sources for Corsica are Corse Matin either online or inside the back page of the daily paper and, France Météo.

The probability of being struck by lightning is of course very slim but as we saw recently it can happen and it's best to take precautions if you get caught out. Do let me know if you have any other and/or different advice.

It's the eve of the Grand Departure here on Corsica and to say that there's an air of excitement would be an understatement and that's just here at our place. There's great anticipation for the first ever visit of the Tour to Corsica and for its very special 100th edition. There's also great expectation from us Brits because this time tomorrow evening there's a good chance Mark Cavendish will be wearing the Maillot Jaune.

The cycling media has, rightly so, gone into overdrive adding to the excitement. One of my favourite magazines, Cyclist dispatched Mark Bailey here several weeks ago and this week in its Tour Special you can read all about his epic day out with local guide Nicolas Miaskiewicz of Europe Active. It's a great read  capturing the essence of road riding here en Corse and is stunningly complimented with excellent pictures by Pete Webb.

It will be hard to crowd dodge over the next few days as the Tour works its way around the L'Île de Beauté watched by fans from around the world. After the Tour has gone though this is very definitely a place where you can, "ride without the hordes".

If like me your planning to be in Corsica for the first three stages of the Tour have you decided yet where to spectate from? Here are links to the detailed timings for each of the stages:

• Stage 1 Porto-Vecchio to Bastia, www.letour.com/le-tour/2013/us/stage-1
• Stage 2 Bastia to Ajaccio, www.letour.com/le-tour/2013/us/stage-2
• Stage 3 Ajaccio to Calvi, www.letour.com/le-tour/2013/us/stage-3

Given that this is the first time in Corsica for the Tour and that this is the 100th edition then Porto-Vecchio is going to have a very special atmosphere as the riders get underway. Also, because they will head south on a loop there's the opportunity to see them again as they head north towards Bastia perhaps at the Cote de Sotta (D659 or D859 south west of Porto-Vecchio) or along the coast on the N198. For those based in the north then the run in towards the finish along the D107, east of the airport, on the narrow strip of land between the sea and the Etang de Biguglia should be fast and furious with Cav upfront.

Stage 2 crosses the island from Bastia to Ajaccio. There are several excellent points to see the action. You may want to take a look at using the train to access some of the mountainous parts of this route - see Corsica Trains who are running a modified service for this stage. My recommended spots are Ponte Leccia - watch all the action at one of the bars next to the Super U and see the caravan and peleton close up as they cross the bridge and go around the round about and off toward Corte. The tiny villages of Venaco and Vivario will be spectacular. Probably best accessed by train as the Tour squeezes through their narrow streets - The Bar Central in Venaco will be a prime location as it's on the fast descent from Santo-Pietro. After the Col de Vizzavona, Bocognano which will afford a view of the jaw dropping descent from the Col.

For the third and final stage on Corsica then the Piana Calanques will provide an incredible backdrop as will the Scandola marine reserve alongside the D81 perhaps at the Cols de la Croix or Palmarella. My favoured spot is the final climb en Corse at the Col de Marsilino just a few kms before the stage finish where the GC contenders will be watching each other very carefully. It's an amazing viewpoint but note there's no parking, no shade and no facilities - parfait pour la tour!

Post script - here are links to two important documents if you are spectating. All you need to know re road closures etc. They're in French but easily understood (!). Just click on the blue,

• Haute Corse
• Corse du Sud

Despite the mistral I've enjoyed a good day’s bike riding up and down a couple of cols out of Ghisoni in central Corsica. On the way back I stopped in Corte the old capital and whilst in the Tabac noticed a copy of today’s Times of London. Couldn’t resist – it was the picture on the front page of Tom Whipple at base camp for the 60th anniversary of the first ascent.

Lots of excellent coverage inside of what was without doubt a monumental achievement by Hillary and Tenzing – up there with the moon landing for me – and executed with exquisite timing to mark the coming to the throne of Elizabeth II, our monarch.

So, what’s all this not what it used to be malarkey? The mountain hasn’t got any smaller and as far as I know it’s not yet been linked to the ‘Trois Vallees’. Earlier today I read an interview with Ueli Steck. If you don’t know Ueli he is in my humble opinion probably the best mountaineer the planet has ever seen. In 2008 he climbed the north face of the Eiger in 2 hours 47 mins. A truly incredible thing but even more so when you discover that he did it solo – no partner, no one to hold a rope.

The interview with Ueli I read today is shocking – yes it’s one side of a story but shocking nonetheless. I won’t bleat on, you can read it here and make your own judgement. Meanwhile I’m sticking to Corsica col bagging -there's 150 of them - until I’m no longer able to propel me and my bike uphill. I might consider a BMW RS 1200 when that time comes as they appear to be the weapon of choice with the many motorcyclists presently enjoying the open roads here.

If you are kicking your heels while waiting for Le Tour to come by in June why not take an early morning motorboat from Bonifacio to the Îles Lavezzi. Cruise through the narrow harbour past deep rocky inlets and into the magical Grotte du Sdragonatu and a nearby cave where the movie Guns of Navarone was filmed.

It takes about an hour to get to Lavezzi and the limestone and granite rock formations are so mind-blowing that it’s fun to pick out shapes along the archipelago including a sunken ship, Winnie-the-Pooh, a rhino, a dragon and a coypu!

Look out for the memorial to honour 700 soldiers who lost their lives in a ship on its way to the Crimean War. They crossed between Sardinia and Corsica because it was considered a quicker route; but the message is… don’t cut corners!

On the islands, giant granite rocks look like Henry Moore’s sculptures – all smoothed by centuries of erosion. There are lovely beaches so you can laze about or wander looking at the blanket of wild flowers including a rare species of yellow horned poppy and white sea daffodil.

There are no cafes so take a picnic.

On your return you can cruise past Cavallo Island and the Pointe de Sperone passing villas including one owned by Caroline of Monaco (on one of the islands few golf courses). Look up at mighty Bonifacio, hanging on the rock’s edge and before you know it you’ll be back in the port, exhilarated by a unique journey past geological wonders of limestone strata created over millions of years.

Lesley Bellew 
@lesleybellew

It is turning into a bit of a saga reminiscent methinks of formula one and team orders. Will he won't he lead the Sky team at the Tour next month and to add spice, one of the WAGs is chipping in regularly via Twitter, the other has maintained a dignified silence from her perch - oh Cath Wiggins please start tweeting again!

Anyway all has become clear this morning with just over 51 days to the Grand Depart. Dave Brailsford has obviously been at the white board over night and has told Cycling Weekly, "Let's just reiterate our plan....the plan has always been the plan and we are sticking to it". Good, well that's cleared that up then.

So this does pose an intriguing question, one formulated by my other half to be fair. Will Bradley be the 'Defending Champion' if he's not defending the Tour? 

I suspect we won't really know what the plan is because it's very likely to be fluid. What a geat position for Dave to be in who, unlike the rest of us, Cycling Weekly say, remains calm.

Corsica became a temporary home for this event in 2010 in what was widely regarded as a series of test events for the first visit of the Tour de France. It would be a mistake however to see this race as a test event! It's one of the classics and the 81st edition will be run in Corsica this weekend. What a year 2013 will be for pro bike racing in Corsica.

The Critérium International was formerly a three day road race designed as a mini Tour de France - a sprint stage, a time trial and a mountain stage - an all round test. The modern format remains similar in terms of the test but it's squeezed into two days with the first of those being a 'split stage' - a 90km road race in the morning followed by a short individual time trial in the afternoon.

Porto-Vecchio in the south of Corsica has been the race start/finish and it's also where the Grand Depart will take place on the 29 June. Being a classic it has attracted the big names and recent winners in Corsica include the Australian, Cadel Evans who won the Tour de France in 2011. The only Brit to win this race was Chris Boardman back in 1996 when it was held in mainland France. Irishmen Sean Kelly and Stephen Roche have won the event three and two times respectively and it's a shame Dan Martin can't be here this weekend given his current form!

The route is the same as in previous years and just checking Meteo France it looks like sun and showers saturday and more in the way of rain for sunday. Eurosport usually provide excellent live coverage of the race but their schedule at the moment is just showing sunday's stage only. I will tweet if this changes.

For cycling fans visiting Corsica the ride out from Porto-Vecchio to the Col de l'Ospedale at 965m and back through Levie is not only a great way to experience part of the Critérium route but also a great tour of the Alta Rocca region.

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USS, United States Ship, the initials that precede all American navy warships and of course, Captain Kirk’s starship Enterprise. There never has been a US navy ship (or as far as I know a Starfleet craft) with the name Corsica so where did USS Corsica come from?

Like much of Europe and all of France, Corsica was occupied during World War II but on the 16 September 1943 it became the first part of Metropolitan France to be liberated. Some 12,000 local partisans known as the Maquis drove out the occupying German and Italian forces.

Following liberation the island became a key base for US air force operations. Some fifteen airfields were rapidly established making it a ‘carrier island’ hence, USS Corsica. The airfields were constructed and made operational in a short period of time by specialist engineering brigades designed for the task. Many of these 800 man strong units were comprised solely of black Americans reflecting the segregated nature of the US at that time.

The 812th ‘black’ brigade arrived in Corsica from Africa in late 1943 and set about the airfield construction task. The bases were primarily for B25 and B26 bomber aircraft. Serving with the 340th bomber group was one Joseph Heller, the soon to be author of Catch 22 which he wrote in the 1950’s and said, was influenced by and based on his time and experiences in Corsica.

Between 29 June and 1 July this year the Tour de France will weave its way past a number of these historic air fields – Figari, Basita, Ajaccio and Calvi – all commercial airports today and not forgetting Solenzara on the east coast which remains an active military airfield. Today there is little evidence of Corsica’s role in WWII however if you’d like to visit a unique relic of the era why not take a dive trip from Calvi and see the wreck of a B17 flying fortress bomber which has been lying on the seabed nearby since 1944.

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It doesn’t quite have the same ring to it as Postman Pat does it? Postman Guy, Postman Guy, Postman Guy and his black and white cat.…

I think it probably loses something in translation.

However early in the morning, just as day was dawning Guy, like Pat, picked up his post bag and set off not in his van but on foot to make a 14km round trip to deliver the post to Girolata. This is a tiny coastal village in the north west of Corsica which is only accessible by foot, boat or parachute! And for Guy, as a former French Foreign legionnaire the latter must have been an option he’d considered many times as the round trip takes about four hours.

On the 1 July this year the Tour de France peloton will spend around four hours racing from Ajaccio to Calvi. The route will pass the start of the Sentier du Facteur or Postman’s Path at the Col de la Croix in some of the most stunning coastal scenery. No doubt Phil Ligett and David Harmon will tell us a little about Guy, Girolata and the Scandola nature reserve as the helicam zooms in on this Unesco world heritage coastal paradise guarded by an imposing 16th century Genoese watch tower.

But what of Guy Le Facteur?  Well he made his final delivery in May 2008 and the residents held a party for him on the beach which if you really want to, you can view on YouTube. Guy is the one who looks like Uncle  Albert and come to think of it, this is just the sort of yarn he’d spin to Del Boy and Rodders! Guy clearly was a cushty geezer or so the fifteen permanent residents of Girolata thought – I can’t help but agree with them.

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