La Marmotte logistics advice

markmanner

I am thinking of doing La Marmotte in 2009. I live in the US and would appreciate advice from the forum. I have a couple of questions, and also will appreciate any other thoughts. Thanks, Mark

1. What are some good tour operators to help me with lodging and so forth. I have googled this and see Sports Tours International, French Cycling Holidays and a couple of others. I did l'etape du tour this year using a US based company, but they don't do La Marmotte. It was helpful having them arrange it, as it was my first European cyclosportive and my French language skills are not great. I feel more comfortable now and don't need quite as much support, but I still wouldn't mind having some help in case problems arise, etc.
2. Should I stay at the top of Alpe dHuez or at the bottom?

andyp

Hi Mark,

I didn't use a tour operator for the Marmotte but I'd recommend Bike and Ski Vercors for it having used them for the Megeve Mont Blanc sportive in 2006. I'm sure other people will add their recommendations.

That said, it really is very simple to arrange your own trip for the Marmotte.

It's much more practical to stay in Alpe d'Huez compared to Bourg d'Oisans as the former has considerably more hotels to choose from. The few hotels in Bourg are booked up well in advance.

I hope you do it as it's a great event with a tough but beautiful course.

richa

Very simple to arrange yourself.

Fly to grenoble (or Lyon or Geneva)
Hire car
Accomodation in Alpe d'Huez.

No need to speak french.

Check out: http://www.alpe-vacances.com/en/index.html
They speak English. I booked last year with a combination of of phone calls & emails.

mark_d

Ditto RichA. Filled in the enquiry form on alpes-vacances.com and they sent me details of 5 chalets. We picked the one we wanted, paid a deposit up front and the balance on arrival. The owners spoke reasonable English and were able to answer questions by email.

Hire car and event entry are both dead easy. We took the train from London to Grenoble but you'll presumably fly into Lyon/Chambery/Geneva -- I'm sure you could get a car at any of those locations.

From what I've seen Sporting Tours look like they'll do the grunt work for you but you'll pay a lot for the pleasure. It's really very, very simple do it yourself and a lot more flexible. I'll be arranging a DIY trip again next year.

It's an awesome event. Enjoy!

APIII

Hi,
I did the Marmotte this year with Alp cycles (www.alpcycles.com). I was travelling on my own, and it was my first European sportive, so I didn't want the hassle of sorting everything out myself. I just wanted to focus on the event!
Good points were:
- Location - right in Alp D'Huez, about 5 mins walk from the finish line
- Alpcycles had a great team that looked after me the whole weekend, making cups of tea, baking cakes, cooking dinner, etc. I heard nightmare stories of people queing for an hour in the local supermarket in Bourg on Friday night - all Marmotters trying to carbo load!
- Staying on the Alp is great, but if you want to go for an easy ride before the big day, you don't want to have to climb the Alp at the end of it, so getting picked up in the van at the bottom was ideal.
- Having an experienced rider like Ade, who has done the Marmotte before was a big help
- One of the group lost their bike on the flight over, but this was sorted out by the AC team.
- No single supplement! Travelling alone with some tour operators can be very expensive, but the price is the same for all on this trip.

The only disadvantage I can think of was that the weekend ran from Thursday to Monday. I was in no fit state to ride the Grimpeur on Sunday (TT up the Alp), so would have preferred to fly back Sunday rather than waste a days holiday, but overall it was no big deal.

Good luck if you decide to do it, it's a brilliant event.

clanton

To echo what others have said, doing it independently is easy enough even if you have literally no French. For me the hardest part was completing the entry form on the website (which is really really shite!) We stayed in Hotel L'ancolie about 4k from the top, lovely spot with good food and good value. The hotel owner speaks good English and there was a fantastic atmosphere.

ugo.santalucia

I would rather stay at the bottom of the valley...

Imagine you want to go for a training ride and realise when already at hairpin number 19 that you forgot your bibshorts in the hotel room 3000ft above and you're actually riding naked!

Imagine the humiliation of climbing all the way back with your balls hanging loose!

I couldn't live after that...

DaveyL

I stayed in AdH last year when riding with a group of friends in the Alps. We drove down to Bourg d'Oisans to start a 60 mile loop, and I realised I'd forgotten my shoes. Even to drive back up and down is, as they say, non-trivial...

le_patron

I'd give veloventoux a call/e-mail. Craig can arrange pretty much anything specific you require around transport/accomodation etc, is very friendly and has loads of experience. If I recall correctly he become an official Sport Communication agent in '09 which means low starting position, if you are interested in a fast time this can be most helpful.

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vermooten

Deffo stay in or near Bourg, not at Alpe. Good atmosphere in Marmotte week in Bourg, it's a bit dead up top.

markmanner

Thanks for all the great advice. Mark

bahzob

Did Marmotte this year and wrote up some info which may be useful:

http://filesupload.com/showlink.php?files=marmotte%20guide.doc&dir=&user=bahzob

Brax

3 of our guys did the 2008 Marmotte, read Nick's account here:

http://www.darlingtoncyclingclub.co.uk/marmotte08.html