gitaneusa.com :: View topic - Alpe d'Huez-July 11th, 2011

nicolas

...Is where the next "Etape du Tour" will take place. Nice place to honor Laurent Fignon, Huez being where he took the yellow jersey in 1983, 84 and 89.

I'll see you there with my fake Gitane and La Vie Claire jersey (remember 1986 ?)

110km :
-Col du télégraphe
-Col du Galibier
-Alpe d'Huez

50km of 8% climbs !

Online reservations now open...

http://www.letapedutour.com/

scozim

That would be so cool!! Maybe, some day.

Gtane

Thanks Nicolas,

I quite fancy this and that's the one I would choose, the shorter route. Well, I can only find out through lots of training but my average is far too low right now even for the short route. That is lots of climbing on the 110k route but even so it would be a great day out.

I'm really not fussed about the times, just doing it, enjoying the experience but getting in just before the cut would give tremendous satisfaction. I'll check out the minimum average speeds required. Medical certificate also required.

The full length L'Etape is no walk in the park as there's a broom wagon lurking at the back, it's an incredibly tough ride (described as a race by the organisers) and a mighty experience for every entrant. I've never ridden it but I watched the riders pass in the 2009 event and it was clear they were all in for a very tough day. Hats off to them all. It's much more than just a sportive.

Tim

sandranian · Site Admin

When you go to St. Jean du Maurienne, stop by Derrier Loisirs and say 'hello' from me to the owner, Jean-Pierre Derrier. He sold me a few Gitanes....and is a Gitane dealer. His website has a link to ours (as does ours to his), so you can tell him you found him through GitaneUSA!

http://94.23.235.137/derrierloisirs/index.html

As an aside, the name of the street that the organizer is on is interesting: 'Bataille de Stalingrad'!

nicolas

I'm with you, Tim. I always thought I could never enter l'Etape du Tour. Most of the time they choose a long mountain stage with at least 4 climbs in all.

I know how hard this is. My brother does it every year (finished around the 600th place last year, it's actually quite good) and he rides 7000km a year and competes every week end with an average 2-3 rides a week.

Me, on the other hand, I'm definitely not in the same league. I'll finish the year at 3000km and only go out once a week on sundays mostly.

Here are the things that made me consider doing it :
-I had already planned to do l'Alpe d'Huez in 2011, as I like to give myself a goal each year
-Definitely no picnic but 110km I know I can manage. Had it been 150km, I wouldn't have thought about it. I'll be destroyed by the end of the day but I CAN do it.

When I heard about the combination of those 2 things, I thought : that's m'y chance ! You probably know that but this competition is very specific : roads are closed, there's even a bunch of public on the climbs, it's actually a Nice vibe... Anyway.

What also gave me confidence is m'y ability to reach my goals. The point is to reach the top of l'Alpe d'Huez, no matter what.

In 2009, I went for the short ride in la Time Megève Mont Blanc, 3 climbs and 75km. I had only 1200km worth of training and did it in just 5 hours. That was hard.

In 2010 I did the last 100km of Paris Roubaix in june. Had 1500km of training. Did it in 4 and 1/2 hours. That went very well for varions reasons :
-Training was more appropriate, I live in the city and have no problème with training on the flat, most of the time in small pelotons, which helps getting the right pace.
-I'm not a climber : 1,80m tall, 85kg, I am much more efficient and stable on cobblestones than on a climb.

Then in July I climbed le Ventoux and in late august rode in Plouay (115km in 3 and 1/2 hours). I did this while maintaining my shape rather than developing it and every time did better than expected. It was the first time since I quit racing 20 years ago that I was able to reach multiple goals in the same year. It's also been 3 years now that I kept riding in the winter.

Which leads me to this : with the appropriate approach, I believe I can go there with 2500-3000km worth of training, between 5 and 8kg less fat and do this thing in less than 7 hours. That's how I see things.

scozim

Congratulations on reaching your goals Nicolas. I'm a strong believer in setting goals and then picking them off one by one.

Most people don't give themselves enough credit on climbing. I like climbing and it's mostly because I've always been good at it. We're the same height and you're not that much heavier (I'm 74 kg). I would like to be lighter but the body doesn't necessarily agree. I remember a quote from Greg Lemond that essentially said you get better on hills by riding more hills. That's a challenge for me since I have to ride at least 15 miles (24 km) in any direction to get to a decent climb. The only benefit is the steady strong winds we have around here that can make it feel like you're riding a hill.

When I see rides that look real appealing because of the climbs they instantly become motivation. I do a 10 km/8% hill climb every year on my TdF and compete quite well in it. However, I also train specifically for it.

Set those little goals and tackle them positively. I had an overall goal of 3,000 miles (4,800km) this year and hit it despite only being able to ride for 75 minutes or so each day. I typically was on the bike 4-5 days a week. The one thing I found that really helped my climbing this year was mountain biking. Typically the hills were steeper and the bike a little heavier which were good combinations.

I look forward to your report next year on the climbs since I have to live vicariously through you.

Gtane

Nicolas,

Your brother did well to get into the top 10%, that's really good going.

It is, as both yourself and Scott say, down to the training to not only get to the right level of fitness but to shed the weight as well. Then it's at least achieving the minimum average speed requirement for the event while contending with the hills and they're not an issue for me as I much prefer going up than down. I'm not a descender at all.

The top of Alpe d'Huez is the prize, I agree. The key for me would be getting to the foot of the climb well before the broom wagon to give me enough time to get to the top. I do know that the organisers are reasonably lenient if you get to that point in good time.

Tim