Cycling French Alps - Some Advice Please

FullFrameRob

Along with some friends i am cycling from Calais to Nice this summer, we plan to take 5 days to get from Geneva to Nice taking in such climbs as the Madeleine, Croix de Fer, Alpe d Huez, Izoard, Bonette to name a few.

We are all very fit cyclist and usually do around 130 - 150km out in the Peak District at weekends. We have never been cycling in big mountains and as seen as the longest climbs we usually do are the Snake & Holme Moss, which i would guess are a million miles away from the like of some of the climbs we will be doing, is there any advice on training we could do without actually taking a trip out to France.

vermooten

The climbs in the Alps aren't usually very steep, just long. Imagine Snake Pass but 10 times longer. If you get pooped, stop at a cafe. It's not as different as I thought it would be.

Enjoy!

wakemalcolm

Second that. Just ride at a sustainable pace (and put some insulation tape over your speedo)

Kléber

Take low gears and pick you route carefully as closed roads for the Tour de France can be industrial transport arteries for the other 364 days of the year.

bahzob

I dont think you will have any problems. Couple of years ago I rode the full TDF route plus some detours to the likes of Ventoux from a lower base than you already have. Caught a climbing bug so have returned to do raids and other rides.

Advice based on this:
- Decide if you want to set a personal challenge of climbing cols from bottom to top without stopping. If you don't then don't worry, make sure your bike has a triple and and a 27 rear and enjoy the views. If you do read on:

- Only difference doing the Alps from what you are used to is that you have to keep pedalling, pretty much non-stop, for anyhere between 30 mins to 2 hours. (Assuming you will do AVS of around 12-14 kph). This is the big difference between here and Alps. Best training for this IMO is:

-- 1 hour time trials on a flattish course with personal goal to never freewheel. This will teach you value of pacing. Use something (I would recommend power, but HR or simple measure of effort like how hard you are breathing will do) to gauge your "one hour" effort. Set this as a base for climbing. If doing just 1 climb in the day set this pace. If more slacken off by 10-30% depending on your choice between going fast/enjoying the views.

-- riding a MTB along a muddy flattish course (no joke. This can be equivalent to climbing an Alp. A 2 hour ride I did a couple of weeks ago was tougher than climbing the Tourmalet). This is great for building good pedalling style as the "souplesse" you may hear about is all about smooth power, just what you need to get across a muddy field.

-- Alternatively (but not as good) get some rollers and ride for hour+ sessions.

- Also do what the greatest climber of them all (Lucien van Impe) did: find a hill, steeper the better. Ride up it. Turn round. Descend. Repeat 5-10 times. On the ascents try different styles of climbing (seated/standing/low gear/high gear). You will need all of these. What works best will depend on the individual and best to know this in advance (e.g. for me if the gradient gets above 10% I kick down 2 gears and stand up, works for me, may for you but you need to try it first)

- From all the above, especially the last, try to build mental as well as physical toughness. I rode up Devil's Staircase in Wales as training and it served me very well knowing in the Alps/Pyrenees, knowing no matter how hard it got it was not as bad as I had already experienced.

On top of this its a question of experience which you will build the more you climb. Things to be aware of are
- taking the right amount of food drink + when to use them.

- staying in shade if its hot

- tackling climbs with lots of hairpins (some like to attack these to gain height quickly, others take them easier to get a bit of rest).

- mind fillers. Easier if in a group, but if this extends to having some races for fun then you will need something other than pain to think about. Worst I have ever had to resort to is counting the white lines on the road as they go by...

Finally: find some way to practice descending. Contrary to climbing there is no real way to practice this in the UK as the roads simply dont exist to try going downhill non stop for 20+ minutes. Afraid I am crap at this so cant be much use save to say best descenders I have met have had MTB experience (they say its to do with developing bike feel/balance). Plus read this article:

http://www.flammerouge.je/content/3_factsheets/2006/descend.htm

Good luck. I know you will enjoy it.

Brian B

All good advice above - but dont forget clothing. It can be boiling hot going up and freezing coming down. Take a light gillet with you if you dont have back up and apply a sweatproof suncream.