Alpe D' Huez

Aint Skeered

For those of you that have riden it, how did you find it?
I rode it last weekend, and found the "Iconic climb" well, a bit dissapointing. I had read and heard so much about it perhaps I was expecting to much.

ut_och_cykla

Its been made iconic - its not the world's prettiest or hardest - more a sort of must have. HAving said that I did it this summer, having ground away all winter with it in my sights and I really enjoyed it - the whole thing, the mad village at the bottom, the sleepy ski village at the top full of old Dutch blokes and exhausted Brits, the ride up & down behind to Col du Sarenne.
it took me 1:53. had a 30/32 (!) hats off to anyone under the hour!

Brianh

Aint Skeered wrote:

For those of you that have riden it, how did you find it?
I rode it last weekend, and found the "Iconic climb" well, a bit dissapointing. I had read and heard so much about it perhaps I was expecting to much.

What were you expecting ? Did you try hard enough ? The first 4 to 5 k are pretty tough but after that it develops into the usual Alpine slope. Do it again at the end of the "Marmotte"

wakemalcolm

It's a very well manicured legend rather than an epic climb. What surprised me was that despite the number of cyclists en route, when we got to the end of the stage, we had the place to ourselves.

The views across the valley are stunning, the road surface is immaculate (anyone climbed the Aubisque recently?) and the sense of occasion is enhanced by the signs and grafitti.

Did you do Croix de fer/Glandon? Now that's an epic climb.

andyp

It's a main road up to a ski resort (and is pretty much a dead end to boot, i.e. you can continue over the Sarenne but that then drops you 10 kms up the same valley you started in) so it's not going to be that epic. The legend comes from the fact that it is often used as a stage finish at the end of a hard alpine stage so there have been many battles on the slopes. Having ridden the Marmotte I can tell you that it's much tougher then than it is if you do it in isolation.

There are far more scenic climbs and much tougher climbs than Alpe d'Huez in the immediate area so if you do go there you should plan to seek them out. The north side of the Galibier is truely epic.

ut_och_cykla

wakemalcolm wrote:

It's a very well manicured legend rather than an epic climb. What surprised me was that despite the number of cyclists en route, when we got to the end of the stage, we had the place to ourselves.

The views across the valley are stunning, the road surface is immaculate (anyone climbed the Aubisque recently?) and the sense of occasion is enhanced by the signs and grafitti.

Did you do Croix de fer/Glandon? Now that's an epic climb.

can only agree

Liketoclimb

On my one trip to climb on the continent we did Huez and it was somewhat of a letdown due to its noteriety but a tough climb nonetheless. Scenic but not as scenic as others but would love to see a tour stage finish on its slopes. FYI there are many unknown US climbs out there and I have really enjoyed checking those out lately through a new book on that subject titled 'The Complete Guide to Climbing (By Bike)' that can be found on at www.usacyclingclimbing.com and Amazon.com.