'My eardrums were hurting' – Tour de France riders on the madness and chaos of Alpe d'Huez

You’ve seen the photos, watched the videos, and possibly stood on the road yourself, witnessing the world’s biggest riders at the world’s best race ascending the world’s noisiest climb.

Few things stir the emotions and whet the appetite quite like a stage of the Tour de France to the top of Alpe d’Huez.

After a four year absence, the Tour returned to its most famous of climbs on stage 19 (and will do again on stage 20, albeit without ascending the 21 hairpins and instead going via the Col de Sarenne).

If watching a spread out peloton, one by one, climb the Alpe, past the tens of thousands of fans, barbecues, flags, empty beer bottles and questionable fancy dress is an unmissable date in the diary, imagine what it’s like to actually ride the thing. To be an actor in bike racing’s craziest circus. Even one of the minor players, not stage winner Tadej Pogačar.

Tobias Foss of Netcompany-Ineos was one of many riders riding up to the ski station for the first time. “It was very fun,” the Norwegian said. “All the climbs in the Tour have a lot of people but this was extreme.

“My eardrums were hurting a bit sometimes, honestly. I’m expecting when I get back to the hotel that my ears will be singing a bit. It was just incredible.”

“It doesn’t matter if you’re the first guy or the 40th guy or the 100th guy, people are still having a good party and cheering you. It’s amazing and incredible.”

No surprise that Foss had a favourite section. “We have the Norwegian/Danish corner, and I saw some friends at the start of that corner so that was nice. It was cool to see a lot of Norwegian flags.”

NSN’s Lewis Askey, losing his battle to finish dead-last in the race, was a spectator on the Alpe four years ago when his British compatriot Tom Pidcock won. This time he was riding it. “Mental,” is how Askey described the experience.

“I think it’s one of the mythical things of cycling to be able to do. I watched it a couple of years ago so to be here now riding it is really cool.

“I hate to think what it would have been like for the leaders as I couldn’t ride through the crowds [at some points]. It was so crazy, and that was half-an-hour afterwards.”

The Tour is littered with episodes of riders joining in the festivities on the Alpe, either by taking beers from fans, or wheeling up the steep gradients. Michael Matthews of Jayco AlUla was in the day’s big breakaway, but when he got to the bottom of the Alpe, he switched his focus into enjoying the madness of it all. Even in the cauldron of noise, he found time for quiet reflection.

“Stage 19 of the hardest race in the world, and after breaking my arms at the start of the year, and having [pulmonary] embolism at the Tour de France last year, it’s such an amazing feeling to be back," Matthews said.

“After what I’ve been through the last two years, to be back at the Tour and in this shape, and having these fans cheer me on, it was quite emotional.

“I was by myself for pretty much the whole climb and I was able to enjoy pretty much every single fan on the side of the road, try to gee them up to get them even more excited, and just do what I can to really just enjoy the atmosphere.”

How did Matthews animate the crowd further? “It’s just winding your hands up and that makes the fans go even more crazy. It doesn't take much! Just a little symbol that you’re acknowledging them and they go even crazier.

“I also saw a lot of Aussie flags out there which was really incredible and not even just Aussies, but fans from around the world were cheering me on as if I was about to win the race, so that was pretty special.

“In terms of feeling the support from the fans, it doesn’t get much better than this. The Flanders Classics are pretty incredible, but this was 13km of screaming in my ears the whole way.”

Not everyone will leave with positive memories: Movistar's Einer Rubio suffered facial injuries after crashing into the back of a UAE Team Emirates-XRG car.

But Robert Stannard of Bahrain-Victorious was another one who was inspired by the watching public. “It’s amazing to come up here with all the fans,” he said. “It doesn’t feel like an effort at all because of how much motivation they have us.

“Just to get here at the bottom, knowing that you’re going up Alpe d’Huez in the Tour de France is almost like a dream come true. It was really amazing, all the fans, everything. I loved it.”

Most fans would give a lot to ride a stage of the Tour up to Alpe d’Huez, but it was Foss who had the most envy. “It must be so cool to stand alongside the road,” he said. “I’ll definitely bring my kids here in the future.”