Marmotte
Comments
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Ha ha well you never know do you!
I speak French as well :oops:
(gilet)0 -
Well, arrived wednesday,temp in Grenoble 36 degrees and very hot !!
Checked into hotel at top of Alpe d Huez, still very hot.
Decided to go for ride about 5pm so went down the Alpe and straight back up, what a view, but still very hot !!Did it in 1hr 3 mins to the finish line of Marmotte which is just the other side of the tunnel, I expect it will be much slower on Saturday after 100 miles !!
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Big bad rain today. Prix Des Grandes Rousses was good fun yesterday though - seemed to be almost entirely British riders at the start line.0
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Phew that was hard, I reckon some one stuck some more mountain on top of the Galibier
That was demoralising when looking up and seeing people like ants.
Still made it though, did 8:34 so got a gold by 41 minutes.
Not sure if climbing the Alpe to our hotel on Wednesday Thursday and Friday helped or not? 0 -
Well done chaps
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Sixth Marmotte, and managed 8:26 so was pleased to get inside the gold standard. Seemed well organised this year and an enjoyable day on the bike.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kldC4Mv_VeM
My video diary from the event.
Russell
www.grenoblecycling.com0 -
Russell
Wow congrats on Gold
I was much slower but had a blast
http://www.cycling-challenge.com/la-mar ... 8-success/
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Russell - thanks for posting that video. Excellent footage - most enjoyable!0
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Well done chaps, are there results available anywhere I wouldn't mind finding out how a couple of clubmates have got on.
it's a hard life if you don't weaken.0 -
The results haven't been posted yet, but when they are they will be here;
http://www.sportcommunication.com/GT/re ... p?langue=20 -
Probably the worst day I have ever had on a bike.
Climbed The Glandon nice and steady pacing myself and riding well within myself.
After a good descent got in a nice group through and off along the Maurienne Valley. That's when alarm bells started ringing when my calfs were aching for no reason.
Hit the Telegraphe and went backwards almost immediately. From then on it just became survival because there's nowhere else to go except upwards if your comfy bed is at Alpe d'Huez.
Groveled up The Galibier (many thanks to Guy and Helyn from KOM for the banana and coke which cured my cramp for about 20 minutes until I got over the top of the Galibier) After another good descent to Bourg felt much better and managed the first 3km of The Alpe ok but then it all went wrong again. That's when I gave up.
Sat on the wall at bend 13 to phone my mate to come down for me with the van but the watch showed less than 7 hours to bend 13. Gathered my thoughts and set of again for the worst hour of my life to get me to The Alpe in just over 8 hours. Never again.
(PS can this be moved to The Race forum ) 0 -
Hi Craig,
Sorry to hear that... and worst of all Phil beat you!
At leat you didn't do what I did the week before the event and knock the bick stand over holding your carbon fibre bike frame, causing it to fall and crack it off a plant pot. From then on that put a dampener on my attitude to cycling and life in general and I flew home early. Didn't look like too bad a day though.
p.s. anyone wanna buy £2k worth of Cervélo carbon fibre junk.
Always next year I suppose.
Allen.0 -
Wow! What can I say - hardest day on a bike ever for me.
Think I just scraped inside 9 hours for Gold (maybe I should change my user name now
) but the queue for diplomas was going nowhere and I was feeling rough as hell so I don't know my official time still.
Some observations:
- we were blessed with the weather - rained most of Thursday, nice Friday, lovely Saturday and even clouded over so it was cooler when I got to the Alpe, heavy showers again this morning! Can't imagine doing that ride in p*ssing rain :shock:
- some stunning scenery - I'll post piccies tomorrow
- nothing you can do in training in the UK can prepare you for 2½ hours solid climbing. My toes felt like someone had them in a vice for most of the Galibier and the Alpe. Climbing the Galibier and Alpe was a real mindf*ck constantly playing the "I'm riding at 5mph, it's 8km to the summit, so that's another hour :x " game in my head
- 34x25 was just about adequate for me - if I'd had lower gears I'd have used them, but I'm not convinced I'd have ridden any quicker
- those descents were bumpy as hell (especially Glandon) and the tunnels off the Galibier were "interesting" to say the least
- I found it impossible to eat and drink enough as it was either full-on climbing or "both hands on the drops" descents. Felt incredibly bloated for the last 1½ as I was dehydrated
- glad I wasn't staying in Alpe D'Huez - climbing it twice was quite enough (once on Thursday to get out rider packs)
- total respect to anyone who does that for a living
- likewise to the guy I passed on the Glandon riding with only 1 leg and 1 arm - hope he finished
- not sure I'll try that one again although we met loads of folk back for their annual fix0 -
Bronzie,
Yes, those 10 or so tunnels were pretty terrifying for me and that part of the ride was easily my least favorite.
I saw the guy with one leg at the Time-Megeve cyclosportive.
What an inspiration - and he does a very decent pace!0 -
I did the Marmotte in 2006 with a lowest gear of 30x26 and in 2007 with a lowest gear of 34x25. Although my cadence rate up the Alpe was much lower last year my speed was about the same. However I was significantly faster before I was completely wrecked by the heat but that was less to do with gearing and more to the much better bike I was on.Bronzie wrote:- 34x25 was just about adequate for me - if I'd had lower gears I'd have used them, but I'm not convinced I'd have ridden any quicker
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Yes sometimes it is about the bike A Litespeed which flexs like it is made out of unbaked bread dough is nowhere near as efficient as a Cervelo R3
I decided to sit out this year's Marmotte. Despite being unbelievably hard last year - for a variety of reasons - I found I missed it. For example, as I was shopping in a soggy British city on Saturday, I found myself working out where I would have been at that time on the Marmotte course.
Next year...0 -
Bronzie wrote:- likewise to the guy I passed on the Glandon riding with only 1 leg and 1 arm - hope he finished
This guy? He was riding the Time-Megeve-Mont Blanc a few weeks ago.
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Yep saw him on the Vaujany and the Marmotte. You're supposed to think things like "I'll never complain about anything ever again" but all I could think was "I hope he doesn't overtake me".
The Marmotte was HORRIBLE. It was way tougher than 2007, a concept so ridiculous until yesterday. I missed my target by a whopping 48 minutes, and did about 30 min worse than last year. I cried when I crossed the finish. Yes, really. Not because of the time, but simply because I felt sorry for myself I think.
I descend like Private Godfrey, or Butters, or Ned Flanders. But it was a joy to watch the nutters descend so fast and so gracefully (presumably to their deaths) down the Col du Glandon - though I wish they wouldn't go so close to me while doing it.
Michael Barry wrote in the NYT: "A coach once told me, 'Go until you see Jesus'. Another told me, 'Pedal until you taste blood.'" Yep, done and done.0 -
Yep great video (and super time too). I'm assuming that you were the only person with a Gruyere Cheese jersey and a UK town name on your shorts - maybe Milton Keynes? If so then I was with you a lot of the way up to top of the Galibier. Whenever you came into sight I said to myself "Ahh there's Gruyere Cheese." There was also MLP but he disapeared after the Glandon. And Wolverhampton Man who witnessed my suffering on Galibier. And so on.Russell in France wrote:Sixth Marmotte, and managed 8:26 so was pleased to get inside the gold standard. Seemed well organised this year and an enjoyable day on the bike.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kldC4Mv_VeM
My video diary from the event.
Russell
www.grenoblecycling.com0 -
Same herevermooten wrote:but all I could think was "I hope he doesn't overtake me". - Yep Ricadus it's the same guy - I gave him a "Bon courage monsieur" as I went by - what an awesome mental approach he must have to life in general 0 -
vermooten wrote:
Yep great video (and super time too). I'm assuming that you were the only person with a Gruyere Cheese jersey and a UK town name on your shorts - maybe Milton Keynes? If so then I was with you a lot of the way up to top of the Galibier. Whenever you came into sight I said to myself "Ahh there's Gruyere Cheese." There was also MLP but he disapeared after the Glandon. And Wolverhampton Man who witnessed my suffering on Galibier. And so on.Russell in France wrote:Sixth Marmotte, and managed 8:26 so was pleased to get inside the gold standard. Seemed well organised this year and an enjoyable day on the bike.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kldC4Mv_VeM
My video diary from the event.
Russell
www.grenoblecycling.com
I was in my French Fontaine club top, so I wasn't one of the people from Milton Keynes. I did see numerous British cyclists. We seem to be catching the number of Dutch in the event now.
Russell
www.grenoblecycling.com0 -
Great video Russ. I was thinking of taking a camera but decided to use the room in my pockets for food instead and a jacket, good decision for me
I have now recovered and had time to reflect, and changed my view that I would never ride anything like this again and stick to track cycling, to wanting aniother go to better my time
I knew that would happen though.
Bronzie you are right about the climbs, nothing can prepare you for the mental challenge of those climbs, especially the Galibier.
For the entire ride I used 3 gears only, 34 x 25 for twiddling sat in saddle, 34 x 19 out of saddle to rest my arse and 50 x 12 on decents and flat.
The only climb I had any idea about was the Alpe as I climbed it 3 times in previous days.
The Glandon I took really steadily as I did not want to cramp.
The decent of Glandon was quite technical and I almost overshot one left hander and back end went a bit and I had to brake and only just pulled it round.
I was caught by a very good decender ( looked more like a pro rider to me than tourist) so I followed his lines as he seemed to know the decent. I flew down and no one passed us but we must have past a hundred or so riders.
I have to say some of the people we passed were very good, but some were awful riding in middle of road and not riding good lines. I saw a few people being passed quite close because of this as other riders did not have a lot of choice as they were on wrong side of road and trying to get back in quickly.
On the decent and flat I caught and passed many of the riders who passed me up Glandon but was still riding comfortably at 140hr.
Telegraph I enjoyed and it was nice and warm, lovely views.
Galibier was easy at start but I had no idea what was coming. When I reached the snow I thought I was close to summit until I checked computer and saw how far left !!
Once it started ramping steeper and gone round a few bends I looked down and the view was awsome with riders barely visible below, then I looked up and saw the same in the distance, that was mind blowing and demoralising. I tried to not look up and climbed with my head down for a while.
Saw a sign 5km to go, elation!! In races I worry if we have a 400m hill to go and here I am elated that there are only 5k to go!!
Looked up anf thought it is impossible that it was 5k to go as it looked so far in the distance. It was getting steeper, this was mental torture but there was no way I was not going to get over.
I got to the top and have never been so pleased to see an orange in my life, I ate about 10 orange slices before donning my windstopper before decent.
Wow what a dangerous decent at the top, no protection on bends and one hell of a drop over the edge.
Normally I am fearless on decents but I did noty fancy a blow out and a drop of a couple of thousand feet to my death so took the first 2 km or so cautiously.
The rest was a blast and i managed to hit 63mph on one strecth, ( my garmin even recorded 650mph on 2 sections but think it was wrong )
Caught a few people going down and stayed with a dutch guy who was quick downhill.
We caught a few on the run to the Alpe and ended up with group of about 20 with 5 of us going through and off, there was a guy from London with us dont know if he is on forum was to knackered to talk to him ( thats a first for me).
We ended up with same 5 and as I wad been with the dutch guy for all the way from Galibier we shook hands and went for the Alpe.
I did not stop at the bottom but stopped at every other of the stops on it and also had a shower in one of the springs !!
I used 34 x 25 for the whole climb taking 1:23 but I made it!! no cramp at all.
At the finish I have never seen so many people look as if they were at deaths door in my life. Nearly all said "never again" "worst day of my life" but I suspect like me they will want anoither go
Bronzie, you looked more silver colour than bronze, I thought you were going to be ill
One young lad from Rockingham (about 18) looked really rough and had to be taken to first aid tent, hope he's ok.
So who's up for next year?
Or maybe the mental home !!0 -
The enormous number of Brits was scary. I deliberately did the Marmotte in anonymous Assos gear rather than club gear so I could ride in peace - sounds awful but I'm not a great chatter/quipper on the hills.Russell in France wrote:I did see numerous British cyclists. We seem to be catching the number of Dutch in the event now.0 -
If only Saturday's ride was as easy as Friday's
The only way is up - Alpe D'Huez seen from Bourg D'Oisans
Nervous? Moi? (ready for the off)
Hell (seen from the top) - Galibier summit
All finished (in more ways than one)0 -
Ha! that's me in red on the very left of the shot just behind youze guys, you can see my Bell helmet and my gut poking into view.Bronzie wrote:
Nervous? Moi? (ready for the off)0 -
http://www.sportcommunication.com/GT/re ... p?langue=1
The results for the Marmotte are now online.
Cheers, Russell
www.grenoblecycling.com0 -
Andrew Bye (occasionally of this parish) was 9th in 6-19 - top man!0
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And you didn't say hello?? We don't bite you knowvermooten wrote:Ha! that's me in red on the very left of the shot just behind youze guys 0 -
We-e-e-e-ell I didn't know who you were, I was tired, I had a vague inkling of what lay ahead... but had I known you were the bronzie I'd've deffo said hiya.0
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Pictures are up: http://www.photobreton.com but the server's misbehaving so I can't quite see beyond my thumbnail's page.0
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craigenty wrote:Probably the worst day I have ever had on a bike.
Climbed The Glandon nice and steady pacing myself and riding well within myself.
After a good descent got in a nice group through and off along the Maurienne Valley. That's when alarm bells started ringing when my calfs were aching for no reason.
Hit the Telegraphe and went backwards almost immediately. From then on it just became survival because there's nowhere else to go except upwards if your comfy bed is at Alpe d'Huez.
Groveled up The Galibier (many thanks to Guy and Helyn from KOM for the banana and coke which cured my cramp for about 20 minutes until I got over the top of the Galibier) After another good descent to Bourg felt much better and managed the first 3km of The Alpe ok but then it all went wrong again. That's when I gave up.
Sat on the wall at bend 13 to phone my mate to come down for me with the van but the watch showed less than 7 hours to bend 13. Gathered my thoughts and set of again for the worst hour of my life to get me to The Alpe in just over 8 hours. Never again.
(PS can this be moved to The Race forum )
Sounds like a bad day out Craig. I want a crack at it next year but your day does nothing for my confidence.Brian B.0
