The Etape is two weeks today. Will the damn thing thing ever arrive? It's been so long coming, and I must confess that since the Dragon Ride of three weeks ago, I have had what you might call motivation issues. Which is not to say I haven't been out there, putting in the miles, battling my way up hills, trying to hang on to Lewis's wheel, but there needs to be a rhythm to the build-up to a big event, and something of my rhythm has gone astray. Am I worried? Yes, I'm worried.

Why is the Etape so late this year? It's the latest I've ever known it. Last year it was the same Sunday as the Wimbledon final, which means that this year it's a full fortnight on. July 20 is into the school holidays for a lot of people. Those of us with families like to get the Etape out of the way before it impacts on all that. But this year we can't.

The Ventoux is everywhere. With the Tour now under way it's constantly being referred to. As the penultimate stage of the Tour - taking place on Saturday 25 July, five days after us amateurs have tackled it - the Ventoux is reckoned to hold the key to the outcome of the race. Meanwhile, yesterday's Observer travel section had a nice piece by Tom Robbins about doing the climb - the scariest bit being the reference to temperatures of 42 deg C.

Lewis and I did make the most of the hot weather last week, putting ourselves through it on two trips to the Chilterns where we toiled up and down our favourite climbs - Kingston Blount, Whiteleaf, and Kop. We figure that hill work is now more important than distance, but we'll see. We'll be back out there this week, keep hard it over the weekend, and then, finally, the taper begins.

BTW, for the best Ventoux guide, check out Simon Mottram's detailed breakdown of the ride one the Rapha website - www.rapha.cc