Etape 2008
Comments
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my pictures of the weekend:
http://www.ethosportraits.com/clients/etape08/
Horrible weather, wasn't it? Only consolation is that my fellow Frenchmen just can't descend in the rain and I overtook millions of them going down the Tourmalet... only to be caught up climbing to Hautacam!You only need one!
FGG #29090 -
It was my first Etape and not my last. 8hrs DOne it with too other newbies. Never rode on road before, mtbers...
Loved the tourmalet, the climb was great, decent even beter... gps showed 54mph!
Hautacam hurt because i went too fast across the valley floor. However managed to pop a wheelie with 3kms to the summit.
Stopped too long at food stations, peed too much.
Not sure if wheelies are allowed 100ks into road race and at top of a mental climb!0 -
Well, what a fantastic experience....
Like many, I was really disappointed with the rain but I am glad it was cooler than Friday when we drove up to the Tourmalet and it was showing 19deg at the summit. At least I got to view the magnificant scenary before the ride.
A lot of nervous energy before the start soon disappered once I got underway. The first few miles were a lot less manic than I had imagined as riders sorted themselves out really quickly.
The run out to the Tourmalet was pretty uneventful (apart from my brake pads wearing at a concerning rate :shock: ). I rode well within myself over the 3 small climbs and just moved from bunch to bunch as and when. In hindsight, I could probably have pushed a bit more but then I was mindful of the climbs ahead. As it was, I found the Tourmalet really enjoyable with only the last few k's requiring me to dig deep.
I knew roughly where the road went for the top part of the descent and once out of the mist I really let the bike run. It was awesome being able to pick the lines through the corners on the closed roads. My favourite part of the whole ride. I didn't feel too cold either (must have been the 2 sheets of newspaper under my jersey
).
After the valley section it was great to arrive at the foot of the Hautacam - so many people alongside the road truly made this section feel special.
I didn't really enjoy this climb though. I was going okay but found it difficult to get into my stride - partly due to the nature of the changing % grades but also because I had to weave in an out of the cones as I passed people.
I felt incredibly emotional as I passed under the Lantern Rouge and just managed to hold it together over the final k. I even managed to blow my wife a kiss as I crossed the line (she was watching the live video feed at the finish village).
Met a mate at the top and spent the time waiting to descend swapping stories from our rides. The descent itself was horrid - the worst point of the whole day. It took me a long time to warm up.
My finish time was 7h 40m in the end which on reflection, I am pretty pleased with for my first Etape attempt.
Congrats to everyone for actually taking part. Whatever the end result, it takes a big commitment just to get to the start line.
Oh, and the event T-shirt is as cool as 8)
Rich0 -
Well - not sure what to add. Great experience - at least I think so. I too harboured 8 hour type thoughts and even made the mistake of telling Mrs P that I should be phoning her by then. Big mistake! On course until about 6k up the Tourmalet - they just don't make them like that in Rutland. So relieved to have made the top - only to be terrified and frozen on the way down. I thought my claw like hands would never recover - long fingered gloves definitely something I should have packed!
After that really enjoyed the valley out to Hautacam - once my hands had warmed up! Hautacam itself started ok - between 10 and 6k to go found it really tough but then something kind of clicked and was ok till the top - not fast by any means but kept the legs going round. Cycling back down not pleasant - all adrenalin had left the building by that stage. So so glad to have made it!
Sporting Tours were fine for me - to be fair I drove down (only got back yesterday) so missed all bike/flight hassle. Ollie at Hotel Continental very helpful - hotel also goo. Sleep the night before not helped by (a) massive thunderstorm and (b) nosiy and enthusiastic love-making from the house across the street (yes really)
Nice rucksack too - and lots of free goodies for the kids!
Thanks to Bob, John and Phil (the 3 brothers-in-law) for their company to the bottom of Tourmalet - at which point they disappeared - well done boys!
Fantastic effort to one and all!0 -
My Etape was a huge disappointment. I have been preparing for this for ages (at least 10 months). I have been getting rides of 20-30k in most weekdays and on the weekends usually manage a long ride of about 100k. I have done 3 or 4 sportives in the UK this year with a reasonable amount of climbing in them (1000m to 2000m total). I felt good about the Etape and slept well, hydrated well and fed myself well beforehand. The first 90k to the foot of the Tourmalet went well, I was flying along at about 30kmh and felt great. But the ascent of the Tourmalet was a nightmare. After about the first 3k I felt like I couldn’t go on. It wasn’t energy (as I had plenty of food on board and in my jersey). I just couldn’t seem to sustain the effort without a break like that. When I saw the sign saying summit 12km, my heart sank. There was no flat stuff anywhere where I could get my breath back. I stopped for a bit and got back on, but seemed to be able to go only another 500m before having to give up. I was in a 34/28 (so not exactly hard gearing!). I don’t know if it was a mental issue or a physical one, but I just felt terrified at the prospect of keeping going at that gradient for another 12k! I ended up walking all the way to the summit, which of course meant I missed the cut off for the Hautacam.
Can anybody explain what I was doing wrong? I trained plenty for this and have been looking forward to it for ages. It’s such a massive disappointment to me. As I pushed the bike up the endless incline I saw all these people cycling past me and I remember thinking, I have absolutely no idea how this is physically possible!0 -
Most likely heart rate I guess. I had similar issues the first time I did a 'proper' big climb. It took me until 2/3rds of the way up to realise that dropping my heart rate by about 5bpm (literally only by about that amount), by going slower and not fretting about how slow I was going, meant I could climb just about anything. My theory came into play nicely on the Hautacam as I passed all the walkers.
Having cracked the theory side, I just need to work on strength....0 -
you mean I was pedalling too hard? I was worried that if I pedalled any slower, I might fall off, clipped in. It's hard to describe, it's a kind of panic about what's ahead and a sense of "I just can't do this"
Maybe I could have done it physically and I just wasn't pushing myself hard enough. I don't know.0 -
My Etape was a huge disappointment. I have been preparing for this for ages (at least 10 months). I have been getting rides of 20-30k in most weekdays and on the weekends usually manage a long ride of about 100k. I have done 3 or 4 sportives in the UK this year with a reasonable amount of climbing in them (1000m to 2000m total). I felt good about the Etape and slept well, hydrated well and fed myself well beforehand. The first 90k to the foot of the Tourmalet went well, I was flying along at about 30kmh and felt great. But the ascent of the Tourmalet was a nightmare. After about the first 3k I felt like I couldn’t go on. It wasn’t energy (as I had plenty of food on board and in my jersey). I just couldn’t seem to sustain the effort without a break like that. When I saw the sign saying summit 12km, my heart sank. There was no flat stuff anywhere where I could get my breath back. I stopped for a bit and got back on, but seemed to be able to go only another 500m before having to give up. I was in a 34/28 (so not exactly hard gearing!). I don’t know if it was a mental issue or a physical one, but I just felt terrified at the prospect of keeping going at that gradient for another 12k! I ended up walking all the way to the summit, which of course meant I missed the cut off for the Hautacam.
Can anybody explain what I was doing wrong? I trained plenty for this and have been looking forward to it for ages. It’s such a massive disappointment to me. As I pushed the bike up the endless incline I saw all these people cycling past me and I remember thinking, I have absolutely no idea how this is physically possible!
Sorry it didn't go well for you. It frustrating when you work hard for something and it doesn't work out how you planned. It was my first Etape but I have done quite a lot of UK sportives. I also helped a friend prepare for the Etape, who hadn't ridden any sportives before and is relatively new to the bike. Here are a few thoughts for you that may help.
1 It sounds like you probably went off to hard. If you were doing 30km/h (was that average) you may have been over exerting yourself. It's very easy to feel good at the start of a sportive (the adrenalin kicks in) and feel like your riding in your comfort zone, but find when you get to the big hills after half distance you've got nothing left. (I've been there - done that). I watch my HRM carefully to ensure I don't go out too hard. Pacing is crucial, start steady and finish strong(ish).
2 My view on pre-event training is that you need to regularly ride that sort of distance - so your body is used to working on the bike for 7+hours. I did 12 100 mile + rides this year prior to the Etape. Every weekend from easter to Etape except one I did an 80 or 100 mile ride.
3 Regularly ride the biggest hills you can find and enter tough UK hilly sportives. Peak District, Wales, Yorkshire Dales are great training areas. Look for as many hills as you can find.
4 This Etape was atough route even if shorter than some previous ones. There was over 12000ft ascent. Thats 20+% more than White Rose, Gran Fondo Cymru, Etape du Dales, and 50% more than the Dragon Ride.
5 Stick at it - you've obviously got the commitment to do well on sportives. Good luck0 -
I think the cold may have been a factor - I felt that my muscles weren't responding as well as they normally would. Also, until you've done a climb like that its just impossible to know what to expect physically and mentally. Next time you'll be alright, just sorry to hear you missed the cut off on Sunday.
Xio, was that first climb the Joux Plane? If so, I feel i may have been partially responsible for the elevated heart rate!
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chainer - sorry to hear that. I do know what you mean. It was my first etape too and it was way harder than I expected. Doing sportives in the uk just ain't the same as the hills (though often steep) are short. Sustained climbing like the Tourmalet is as much a mental process as a physical one. It sounds like you are fit enough (based on the training you did), but it's the fear factor that got you.
I felt that panic too. Frequently. You have to play all sorts of tricks on yourself, mentally. Like taking it 1km at a time, or imagining the sign is mistaken (yes, I did that too!). It's an interior battle with yourself. I almost gave up several times (most seriously on the Hautacam).
Keep at it. Next time, you'll at least know what to expect and you'll no doubt manage it. I'd agree with everything the previous poster said too.0 -
Chainer - I think that lower gearing might have been useful to you, especially if you are a bit of a twiddler. I've done 4 etapes now and used 34x30 lowest this time. Alright I'm not very fast but managed a fairly comfortable 8:40. I have previously used gearing as low as 26x28 with a touring triple.
Otherwise the sheer length of the climbs can get to you - it's important to be able to keep moving at a rate you can sustain, and if things are getting hard, hop off and rest for a minute before remounting. For those of us at the slower end of the peleton, different strategies work better for different people. My mates swore if they got off they would never be getting back on again, but I was happy to stop 3 times going up the Hautacam, although it did mean having to re-pass all the people who came by while I was stopped!
Now you know what to be ready for I am sure youwill succeed another time.I\'m sure I had one of those here somewhere0 -
thanks very much for the advice and encouragement, everyone. I really appreciate it. I must say, I met loads of people on the way up who were trying to encourage me and spur me on. A great sense of community.
what's a "twiddler" ?0 -
The mental aspect is very important. I took each km individually, and with my computer set to miles was clearing one every 0.6 miles. I wasn't exactly flying though, 4mph at times and amazed the bike stayed upright.
I did read a Jonny Vaughters article a while back on climbing where he said to keep saying to yourself "I can do this, I can do this...." over and over like Thomas the Tank Engine.
Slightly childish, but it worked for me... and certainly helped the pedalling rhythm better than "Attention, putain!" that I heard occasionally from other riders (not directed at me of course!)0 -
chainer wrote:...if I pedalled any slower, I might fall off, clipped in.
I did this on the Tourmalet. Not only did I not quite have the strength to complete the pedal stroke I'd started, I soon found I didn't have enough to unclip either. Only enough to ensure that I toppled toward the verge and not the middle of the road!
I was pleased when someone stopped to help me up. Would have been nicer if he'd been able to hide his amusement though!
My mindset was one of expecting to suffer on the climbs, and to accept that there would be some dark times. For your typical first time 40 year old brit etapper with "suboptimal" training, I think you need to be realistic about the need to turn yourself inside-out to get around!
Worked for me anyway.0 -
Um - 'twiddler' - one who likes to spin at higher revs. rather than grind it out out the bigger gears.
BTW the Tourmalet was relentless with no respite and gradually steepens towards the top which doesn't help. On the other hand the Hautacam was considerably steeper in parts but also had brief periods of respite - some of the 'average 8.5%' km's had bits of 14% or thereabouts. Opinions varied in our party as to which was the harder. Personally I thought the narrow road, continuous bunch of slow moving people and having climbed the Tourmalet first made the Hautacam more difficult I\'m sure I had one of those here somewhere0 -
chainer wrote:I was in a 34/28 (so not exactly hard gearing!). I don’t know if it was a mental issue or a physical one, but I just felt terrified at the prospect of keeping going at that gradient for another 12k! I ended up walking all the way to the summit, which of course meant I missed the cut off for the Hautacam.
Can anybody explain what I was doing wrong? I trained plenty for this and have been looking forward to it for ages. It’s such a massive disappointment to me. As I pushed the bike up the endless incline I saw all these people cycling past me and I remember thinking, I have absolutely no idea how this is physically possible!
I'd say gearing. If you used a 34x29 or 34/30 you could have spun your gear at a high cadence for a moment whilst you got your heartrate and breathing back in control. With the gearing that you were using you had to stop to gain your breath as pushing the gear that you were using probably had you close to maximum. Having momentum and continuous movement gives you the motivation that you can click off the k's at a steady rate. I found on the Tourmalet that I could go much faster but I knew I couldn't sustain that effort all the way to the top. I had to control my pace and rhythm. I read a lot of articles from the pro’s riding the Tourmalet in the same manner. Although obviously a lot faster than me !.
On the Hautecam I suffered a lot and could have used an extra gear to stop me from having a break on the side of the road before mounting the bike again. I used a 34 x 29.0 -
Is it me or are we STILL waiting for the reults to be published on the official website?Patrick0
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I also was a first timer on this year's etape, I found using a trainer in the garage a great help in training for the climbs. Without the trainer there is no way I would have been able to complete the course. It also meant I didn't have to chase up and down the country doing sportives. For those with a limited time budget trainers are great news.0
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Patrick - look at the French version and not the English one! The results were there yesterday.
James0 -
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Sorry Peddler - it won't (at least not for me). You need to look at the french version of that page for the database to work:
http://letapedutour.letour.fr/spip/?pag ... annee=2008
James0 -
The user and all related content has been deleted.0
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thanks James & Peddler. got my results now and can finally get on with my day job! was delighted to get home in 862nd placePatrick0
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Hi Chainer
so sorry to hear of your disappointment in your etape experience. I think you've had loads of good advice and I hope that you will be putting it into practice and trying again next year (see you there! - a thread has already started for 2009).
I find that to keep my HR low on climbs I just have to pedal incredibly slowly - my speed is about 2.5 - 3mph!
See you in the alps
x0 -
chainer wrote:My Etape was a huge disappointment...
Chainer,
I am sorry about this. You don't say how long the sportives that you did were. Were they the 100mile plus ones? From the climbing you state, maybe not? If they were the approx 100k length sportives, with 2000m climb you were effectively upping your limit by 60% distance and double (ish) the climbing. That is too much to be able to do.
The Tourmalet only really started after 100k. If this was your previous 'limit' then you might expect to be able to do another 20% or so on top of it.0 -
I completed L'etape in 7hrs 56mins something secs.
I did do quite a bit of training entering 5-6 sportives and did lots of 80- 120km plus training rides as well as my daily commute.
I did quite a few hill sessions (luckily I live on Highgate West Hill) and a few spin sessions.
Places to improve for next year (I decided as soon as over the line that I would be back again).
- I won't go on a boozey weekend to Vienna to watch a football tournament with much beer drinking and no training two weekends before L'etape 2009
- I will keep my compact but (and I'm still a relative cycling novice...when it comes to equipment) I will defo go for a larger cassette. I've been told the large ring on my rear cassette is a 25 and that I should get a 27. This will hopefully lessen the awful grinding I was doing towards the top of tourmalet and even slower, harder grinding - causing my lower back to spasm - on the Hautecam.
- I will do more spin sessions as well as my commute and weekend long rides. If you haven't done a spin session, get yourself down the gym and see how hard they work you. It is truely exhausting and it is great high intensity training
- I will carry on cross training with some jogging to mix up the regime
- I will enter 5-7 sportives 100+ miles before L'etape culiminating in the Dragon Ride in Wales
- I will do some winter bulking up training in the gym
Basically more high intensity training and a better gear ratio. I think I could have taken off 45 mins at least by being better prepared for the mountains.
neilos
ps. Does anyone know if they do a similar closed road stage for Vuelta De Espana or the Giro d'italia?0 -
Mountains are all in the mind. My hrm theory was probably best illustrated on the Hautacam when I managed to keep going despite leaving it in the big ring after the short downhill stretch. Felt a bit of a tw@t when I realised that one... Might explain the 24rpm cadence.0
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There is good advice in reply to your questions.chainer wrote:My Etape was a huge disappointment. (snip)
Climbing big mountains is almost as much about mindset and getting your head in the right place as building the legs, lungs and heart. You need to understand that on a long climb you will have sticky patches. I also go through difficult patches on climbs, but I play a little game in my head that says " I wonder how slow I can go without falling off?"....this usually works for me...brings my heart rate down then I can spin faster or shift up a gear to keep going.
Sessions in the weights room are really important too to build leg and core body strength, and sit on your turbo with a 7-9% incline once a week...it all helps.
Having said that, my own étape performance was a terrible disappointment too. I have done 6,500kms of training and 60,000m of climbing since January in addition to weight sessions, rowing, swimming etc. I've had silvers and golds in all the sportives I've done this year. I rode a 34x29 and thought I had it all figured out, right? Wrong.
Despite a brilliant ride to St Marie de Campan, a stunning (stupidly fast?) descent of the Tourmalet, race through the gorge and a fast climb of the Hautacam, despite everything I know about stuff, despite all the training, I simply got my eating wrong before the Tourmalet. I was barely hanging on during the ascent, and despite snorting gels to try and get back on track, I lost a good 20 minutes on my estimated time and the top 500 placing I was shooting for. I am gutted.
But, when I get through the burgers and beers I promised myself this week, I will take the positives and build on them, and review the negatives and improve them. This might sound funny, but expressing your disappointment reveals how committed you are to getting it right, so be proud of yourself for that. It wasn't your day on Sunday, but listen to all these people who are much more experienced than me and work on things that you need to and your progress will be dramatic.
Final comment: keep a training diary, I'm amazed at how few people seem to do this, but it's really important to track improvements.0 -
Does anybody have the stats(% of riders achieving gold/silver for age etc) for medal times for this year's etape? Just trying to work out whether ASO are continuing the trend for tougher medal times....thanks0
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kmahony wrote:Really bad luck urrrrrrs.
I think the elimination car was going way too quick on the Hautacam. They came past me with about 4km to go, but I knew I had loads of time left. They then parked up and seem to be saying they were 10 mins ahead of schedule (more like 25). I finished with 20 to spare.
Was anyone at La Mongie when they closed the elimination barrier? I was keeping an eye on the clock and left with about 10 mins to spare, but there seemed to be 1000+ people still fueling up.
I was over the top windproofing myself, and I heard some guys shouting here she comes (like Frank the combine Harvester in Disney Cars Ha Ha) so I let fly down the other side only to have a blow out 1/3 of the way down which took me 25mins to change as my fingers were frozen numb and my rims were red hot, still managed to get to the base of hautacam where I joined the group of lynchers trying to persaud the official to let us through, still first attempt tried hard and will do better next year!!0
