L'Etape Du Tour 2008 advice
ridertothesea
Posts: 15
I was looking for advice about L'Etape Du Tour 2008
I dont have much experience of road racing or club rides - BUT I cycled across the USA over 45 days this Summer - 81miles/day average with 20kgs luggage crossing 3 major mountain ranges including the Rockies.
I've been toying with the notion of training for LEtape Du Tour next year?
Where would I begin? Am I completely overestimating my abilities?
Ridertothesea
I dont have much experience of road racing or club rides - BUT I cycled across the USA over 45 days this Summer - 81miles/day average with 20kgs luggage crossing 3 major mountain ranges including the Rockies.
I've been toying with the notion of training for LEtape Du Tour next year?
Where would I begin? Am I completely overestimating my abilities?
Ridertothesea
0
Comments
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If you could do that then you should be fine.
However you need to start training now! Two vital steps:
1) Join a cycling club
2) Do the 4-5 hr Sunday club run every week
Then sin up for some sportives in April, May, June
Then you'll finish inside the cutoff almost certainly!0 -
sylvanus wrote:If you could do that then you should be fine.
However you need to start training now! Two vital steps:
1) Join a cycling club
2) Do the 4-5 hr Sunday club run every week
Then sin up for some sportives in April, May, June
Then you'll finish inside the cutoff almost certainly!
Whay join a club?
There are always loads of posts saying "join a club"
If you have road across USA you will do the Etape no problem.
You already done 82 miles a day which is plenty to prepare for etape.
Maybe ease off a bit for a few weeks just doing base miles and one longer ride on weekends.Then build up your training from about feb or March onwards.
You don't have to jpin a club to go on rides and certainly dont need to be a club member to ride sportives.
If you really want to join a club purely for the social side and group riding then try a few out before deciding.0 -
Whay join a club?
1) Motivation - The psychological boost of competing against and with others
2) Learning - Other people can teach you things just by being with them and observing or even asking questions
3) Bike handling & technique - Group riding skills are hard to learn in a group of one
Sportives are group rides not time trials. I'd join a Rugby club to learn Rugby and even a Running club to train for the marathon. Perhaps if we were all as outstandingly talented as you then Cycling Clubs could be outlawed as unnecessary fripperies?!
Oldwelshman - I have to say I think your question is really very silly. Your love of truth and clear thinking is much less than your love of your ego! Are you a member of an ego training club or is humility something you inject on your own?0 -
Hi Ridertothesea - welcome to the forum
I did the 2003 Etape. A great day out that you will remember for the rest of your life!
Whilst joining a club is not essential, as Sylvanus has pointed out, the benefit of having others to train with (long training rides soon get boring on your own) is a real bonus. With regard to training, you need a mix of endurance and some speed to really enjoy a long tough sportif.
Endurance - I'd aim at being able to ride comfortably for 80% of the distance or time you expect to take for the Etape - ie 6-7 hour rides with as many hills as you can throw in local to you. Obviously, you need to build up to this level by increasing your mileage slowly though the winter/spring until you are comfortable doing this sort of distance by June.
Speed - the best way to get a bit of speed in your legs is to ride hard with others in a local chain gang or even try racing. Whilst speed is not essential to complete the distance, you must remember that the event has strict time cutoffs at various points along the route. If you are too slow, it's the "voiture balai" for you and the back of an artic for your bike.
You will also benefit greatly from riding regularly in a bunch - waiting until the Etape where the peloton fills right across the road 200-300 in each group from the start is not the time to realise you are nervous about bunch riding. Learn how to ride safely on a wheel and how to draft others to maximum benefit.
Another couple of points:
Entry - the Etape is heavily over-subscribed and as far as I know the only guarnteed way to get in is to sign up with someone like Graham Baxters fairly early (ie NOW!!) - an expensive option perhaps, but from experience, Baxters take all the hassle out of the logistics of riding a point-to-point event like Eatpe
Gearing - nothing in the UK can prepare you for riding long French mountain passes - choose your gearing sensibly by fitting a compact or triple chainset if you haven't already got one.
Best of luck with your preparation!0 -
I'd echo what the others above have said, i.e. you sound like your fit enough and by following a structured training plan you should be fine. I think riding with a club is sensible for two reasons;
1. It helps with motivation through the cold winter months
2. It teaches you how to ride safely in a group
The one recommendation I'd make (and this is assuming next year's Etape is a mountain stage) is that you spend at least a long weekend riding in the mountains somewhere in Europe about a month before the Etape. You cannot replicate riding up an Alpine col in the UK and it is as much a mental challenge as a physical one. If you're stood at the start of the Etape with the knowledge of what to expect and, hopefully, the confidence to know you can conquer the mountains ahead then you'll have a successful ride.
Good luck and I hope you enjoy it.0 -
Hi
To echo what Bronzi said RE: registration, have a look at the link below. Not sure where you are in the world but this link gives world wide travel agents for L'Etape:
http://www.letapedutour.com/2007/ETDT/p ... ptions.htm
Respect to you riding across the States. I know what some of them 'hill's' are like in the Rockies!
Incidently, what was your route?0 -
My advise would be don't fall off in training.
As for clubs, IMO, if it suits you, join one. The only reason I would've ridden with other during my training was to get used to riding in a group. I generally dislike riding with others though (why I was doing the etape is another story) so whatever suits you I reckon.
Oh yeah, ignore miles and train in time. If the etape is 100miles, work out how long it will take you in time and try to get used to riding for that amount of time in the last couple of months before the event.Fckin' Quintana … that creep can roll, man.0 -
12 hour training rides are hard to get used to.0
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Thanks for all the advice folks...
Will take it all on board. I'm in Dublin and will have a look at the local club scene.
... The route I took across America was from Seattle to Boston.. crossing the Rockies at Glacier National Park ...
www.cyclingusa.blogspot.com0 -
sylvanus wrote:Whay join a club?
1) Motivation - The psychological boost of competing against and with others
I think the OP can ride across USA he is very self motivated!!
2) Learning - Other people can teach you things just by being with them and observing or even asking questions
You do not have tobe in a club to ride in a group, and I am sure most club runs would welcome potential members along for a few rides.
3) Bike handling & technique - Group riding skills are hard to learn in a group of one
Again no need to be a club member to ride in groups.
I'd join a Rugby club to learn Rugby
Last time I played rugby it was a team event, never seen anyone playing rugby alone but see many cyclists alone!!!
Perhaps if we were all as outstandingly talented as you then Cycling Clubs could be outlawed as unnecessary fripperies?!
No need to be clever, I never claimed to be talented, just making the point it is best to try before you buy. It is easy to join a club that may not be suited to you. I made that mistake !!
Oldwelshman - I have to say I think your question is really very silly. Your love of truth and clear thinking is much less than your love of your ego! Are you a member of an ego training club or is humility something you inject on your own?
Ego? me? Ah you obviously have no idea and never met me so dont come up with such crap!!
I am currently helping some juniors get sponsorship to help with race entry fees and free kit as club wont help them so dont give me all that bollocks about my ego!!
Some clubs are very useful and very supportive, some are not as I said try before you buy. Just glad I did not join your club as I have found many clubs to have pompous attitudes, not to dissimilar to yours!!
Anyway the point of a forum is for open discussion then the original poster can wiegh up the advice and make his own decision, who is to say whos advice is best?0 -
Sounds like a great trip! How many of you were there on the trip? You put in some seriouis miles. Ive done a couple of tours myself in france one for two weeks this summer and one for three a couple of years ago.
Ive just started riding with a group and did my first cyclosportif this year. I'm also hoping to ride the 2008 Etape. What is your weight at the moment. Im 12 and a half and for a mountain stage like last years I think I will need to lose best part of two stone if I hope to ride a good time.0 -
sylvanus wrote:Whay join a club?
Sportives are group rides not time trials. I'd join a Rugby club to learn Rugby and even a Running club to train for the marathon. Perhaps if we were all as outstandingly talented as you then Cycling Clubs could be outlawed as unnecessary fripperies?!
This highlights for me the difference between a challenge ride and a real sportive event. In the former you can ride it in the company of others, but it is the terrain and distance that are the key elements whether there are time categories or not. But a proper sportive should also have demanding time categories that require you to cooperate with other riders in order to maintain a high enough speed – a higher average speed than you could otherwise achieve alone (unless you are a super-strong TTer specializing in freaky distance events...).
As for joining clubs, it is good for information sharing – as are the forums – but also some people find it easier to maintain commitment if training with others, especially through the winter after the initial rush of enthusiasm/trepidation has faded a bit and other real life pressures are competing for attention.0 -
ricadus wrote:sylvanus wrote:Whay join a club?
his highlights for me the difference between a challenge ride and a real sportive event. In the former you can ride it in the company of others, but it is the terrain and distance that are the key elements whether there are time categories or not. But a proper sportive should also have demanding time categories that require you to cooperate with other riders in order to maintain a high enough speed – a higher average speed than you could otherwise achieve alone (unless you are a super-strong TTer specializing in freaky distance events...).
As for joining clubs, it is good for information sharing – as are the forums – but also some people find it easier to maintain commitment if training with others, especially through the winter after the initial rush of enthusiasm/trepidation has faded a bit and other real life pressures are competing for attention.
Your correct about the challengs
There seems to be different types of sportives also.
Most seem to start ride with small groups set off not massed starts, probably due to the roads and number of cyclists going off in one go.
Some of the UK ones I did had most riders riding either alone or on very small groups with most not actually riding in them as group riders sharing load for instance.
The european ones actually seem more like a race but obviously do not have to ride it as one.
I have not done the etape yet, was thinking of possibly doing it next year, but did italian Fondo which was great with massed start on closed roads which is probably difficult to organise in the UK.
Starting off with 4000 other riders 10 abreast and hundreds of meteres long was a great experience.0 -
Also you can talk to people at bike clubs about Bike stuff and they enjoy it!!!! :shock:"I hold it true, what'er befall;
I feel it, when I sorrow most;
'Tis better to have loved and lost;
Than never to have loved at all."
Alfred Tennyson0 -
The advice I seemed to hear the most last year was 'don't do it'.0
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I did this year's Etape and whilst it was the hardest thing I've ever done it was also one of the most fantastic experiences I've ever had.
It is a seriously tough ride but it is doable! I started road riding last December for the first time specifically in order to do the Etape (prior to this I was a moderately fit mountain biker).
My advice - go for it!0 -
risking getting my head ripped off, I have to say I'm with OldWelshman - I think the merits of joining clubs for recreational riding are over-rated.
I race with a club and it's great; we race as a team (well, we try...), we co-ordinate which events we'll do, we talk rubbish on our forum all day long and I've made some really good friends there.
However, before I started racing, I did the etape and other similar rides, and for that kind of riding, I'm not sure clubs really add much. Perhaps because we're a racing club, but we don't do the whole club run thing much. All my winter riding is done with a few mates - some from my club, some from other clubs, but the idea of doing a formal club run, where someone dictates where you'll go, at what pace and in a big group simply doesn't appeal much (I rode with a traditional club for one winter and this is how it was). I'd rather do something more informal and a bit smaller just with friends. each to their own, I guess.
By far the best form of motivation would be to persaude 2-3 mates to do the etape too - then at least you're all working towards the same goal, plus you're all mates so you'll have a bit more to talk about on those long rides than just cycling.
As for the Etape, it is great. At least riding in the mountains is great. The only two small issues with the etape is 7,999 other riders (makes hotels etc difficult, plus there are a lot of people of varying ability on the road with you - not always good) and the fact that it normally happens about a week away from when the pro's do the stage. Apart from the reduced crowds, if you ride a stage on your own, you can do it the day before the pros, so you get to watch them fly over what you struggled over yourself, from the side of the road with a cold beer in your hand.0 -
I remember the sense of jumping in at the deep end the moment clicked I the button and registered online for my first granfondo. It may seem daunting, but if you get organized, put the hours in and are realistic in your expectations you should be fine – you may well find you exceed those initial expectations.0
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edsned wrote:risking getting my head ripped off, I have to say I'm with OldWelshman - I think the merits of joining clubs for recreational riding are over-rated.
I race with a club and it's great; we race as a team (well, we try...), we co-ordinate which events we'll do, we talk rubbish on our forum all day long and I've made some really good friends there.
However, before I started racing, I did the etape and other similar rides, and for that kind of riding, I'm not sure clubs really add much. Perhaps because we're a racing club, but we don't do the whole club run thing much. All my winter riding is done with a few mates - some from my club, some from other clubs, but the idea of doing a formal club run, where someone dictates where you'll go, at what pace and in a big group simply doesn't appeal much (I rode with a traditional club for one winter and this is how it was). I'd rather do something more informal and a bit smaller just with friends. each to their own, I guess.
By far the best form of motivation would be to persaude 2-3 mates to do the etape too - then at least you're all working towards the same goal, plus you're all mates so you'll have a bit more to talk about on those long rides than just cycling.
As for the Etape, it is great. At least riding in the mountains is great. The only two small issues with the etape is 7,999 other riders (makes hotels etc difficult, plus there are a lot of people of varying ability on the road with you - not always good) and the fact that it normally happens about a week away from when the pro's do the stage. Apart from the reduced crowds, if you ride a stage on your own, you can do it the day before the pros, so you get to watch them fly over what you struggled over yourself, from the side of the road with a cold beer in your hand.
Thats very similar to what we do. I am a member of a club but the club runs are very structured. They also do mostly TT's and no racing and no sportives.
I ride with a group on weekends where the ride consists of some club members, some non members, some from other clubs etc.
It is good fun as we usually do steady ride to begin with, then a blast for race to cafe
So it is a mixture of a ride and also helpful for training.
We also organise some rides abroad together to do sportives like gran fondo pinarello, Piccardie, etapape etc even though we are not all part of same club, We all get on socially bit some rcae, some dont, some do tt etc.
Actually some of them give me stick for riding"tourist" sportives in UK All in good jest though.
You dont go out on the same saturday rides as me do you? 0 -
RichA wrote:
Really?Radsman wrote:The advice I seemed to hear the most last year was 'don't do it'.
Definately do it.
And you have plenty of time - It's not for another 10 months - you can get a lot of training done between now and then.
sorry a bit of a joke, though do recall alot of negativityon this forum last year when the route was announced.0 -
ridertothesea wrote:I was looking for advice about L'Etape Du Tour 2008
I dont have much experience of road racing or club rides - BUT I cycled across the USA over 45 days this Summer - 81miles/day average with 20kgs luggage crossing 3 major mountain ranges including the Rockies.
I've been toying with the notion of training for LEtape Du Tour next year?
Where would I begin? Am I completely overestimating my abilities?
Ridertothesea
You can do it.
I have finished the Etape several times; I also have been eliminated. This year the voiture balai caught me on the Peyresourde. There are some things for which you can plan, other you cannot. I do not ride very well when it is extremely hot -- the temperatures and grade on the Port de Bales did me in this year. If you have a weakness when it comes to riding, the Etape will find and exploit it. First and foremost, shore up whatever your weakness may be.
The most concrete piece of advice that I can give you is that you should become comfortable riding at high speeds with other riders in close proximity to you. From what you say about your riding history, it sounds like you may not have this experience. I was similarly situated the first time I did the Etape in 2002. I was scared to death during the early kms of the ride when there were riders within inches of me in every direction. More than once I have had someone come into contact with me or my bike during the beginning of the Etape before the crowd spreads out.
The unofficial UK Etape website has good training tips and is a the best English language source for Etape information about which I am aware. http://www.etape.org.uk/
Bon chance.0
