preparation for the etape

portuguese mike

I'm doing the etape this summer and as part of my preparation/buildup i have planned to do stage one of the Tour of Wessex 6 weeks before and then the Dragon Ride 3 weeks before.

the thing is i'm very tempted to the the Highclere Sportive the week before the dragon ride as it's only up the road from me and i really enjoyed it last year. it is however 200 very hilly km and i'm a bit concerned that doing the weekend before the Dragon Ride will be counterproductive toward my main aim this year- the Etape - in terms of burning myself out.

so question is: should i do it any way and not worry or do the shorter 120km event instead?

any advice much appreciated

Bronzie

I would say it may be counterproductive to your performance in the Dragon Ride, but with a further 3 weeks to recover and "taper down" for the Etape, it shouldn't affect your ability to ride the Etape at your best.

bahzob

I am doing the Marmotte (same weekend as etape). I am planning to ride Wessex (all 3 days), Highclere and the Dragon.

I agree with comment above, doing the Highclere may affect how you ride the Dragon (my guess is actually it wont) but doing both (rather than just one or other) will help in riding the etape, both in terms of direct training benefit and improving confidence.

portuguese mike

cheers guys, i'll sign up asap

Kléber

Do it. It will be fun in its own right and a week is plenty of time to recover, if anything make sure you ride during the week. It helps to look forward to the Etape but don't pin all your hopes on it, have lots of other weekends to look forward too.

Mark Alexander

bahzob wrote:

I am doing the Marmotte (same weekend as etape). I am planning to ride Wessex (all 3 days), Highclere and the Dragon.

I agree with comment above, doing the Highclere may affect how you ride the Dragon (my guess is actually it wont) but doing both (rather than just one or other) will help in riding the etape, both in terms of direct training benefit and improving confidence.

I'm doing the Dragon Ride as prep for Marmotte too. my prep for the Dragon Ride are, well, the same hills of South Wales valleys