Etape 2009
Comments
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ah ha - a popplewell now has a (crap) number but it's not me or mr p.0
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popette wrote:hi Road Red,
Go on here http://www.letapedutour.com/ - view in french mode
click inscriptions and then la liste des inscrits - put your surname in and it tells you your number (if you've got one)
I'm in! Yikes! Dossard 4652, in the middle of the field unless I'm very much mistaken, so a good start on the broom wagon! This is getting exciting now ...0 -
VilanovaRider wrote:This is getting exciting now ...
Isn't it just??
I can't imagine what I'm going to be like the night before when we're all actually in Montelimar. I slept badly last year and I was only a spectator :shock: 0 -
Yes, been wondering that ... I'm staying with the guys at VeloVentoux so we've got a 1 hour drive to the start, and petit dejeuner around 4am probably :shock: . Lots of sleep in the run up methinks (and afterwards as well!)0
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3663
8)0 -
2219 - well done to Sports Tours for getting me such a low number on an entry only ticket.
Just wondering if anyone else was staying in or near Nyons. I'm camping there and arriving on 11th July, so will have the whole week to do some training and acclimitisation. Unfortunately, my usual riding buddy isn't doing the Etape this year, so I'm looking at lonely rides in the hills until some other mates arrive on 16th. If anyone's in the area and fancies meeting up get in touch. There seem to be some amazing routes to the North and East of Nyons, but it's not an area I know.
Tony s0 -
I've never seen a rainstorm like that night in Pau before!!. Sat up eating at 2am. Couldn't sleep.
No number for me yet. It won't seem real till then. Training still way behind last year. Have to get very serious in May.
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In today but quite a high number!!!
70710 -
Happy days, number is out, 4853.
I see I will be in the same pen as you VilanovaRider.
How do they organise the start? What size groups and at what intervals are they let go? I guess the routine is that everyone hares off at 100kph and I presume it will take an hour or two before things start to stretch out.
All very exciting!0 -
Road Red wrote:How do they organise the start?
No idea, it's my first time on the Etape, but I guess someone else on here can answer. I guess you won't be far wrong in your assumption though.
Have you seen the Recon DVD from Cyclefilm? Highly recommended IMHO and underlines that the first stretch, including the first couple of relatively easy climbs, won't do much to string out the field especially towards the front. So I think we can expect a fast start and for there to be a large peloton until at least the foot of the Col d'Ey about 50km in.0 -
last year from Pau to Hautacam they set us off in groups of 1000,i was number 6221 and my group was set off at 7.24am
hope that helps
8th March 2010,Spain ,Here I come !!!!!!0 -
Road Red wrote:.
How do they organise the start?
Last year they had taken over a massive car park (at Pau's Horse Racing circuit) and used temporary metal fencing to create a number of parallel pens each maybe 100m long and 20m wide. Access to the pens was controlled carefully by start number and I would guess that there were 1,000 cyclists to a pen. The earlier you arrived, the further forward you would be within your particular pen. I arrived a little less than an hour before the start and was probably 1/3rd of the way from the front in my pen. We then all stood nervous, wet and cold waiting for the start time listening to endless irritating announcements over a PA system. When this arrived there was a large cheer and they simply let each of the pens go in turn, opening pen 2 when the last rider from pen 1 was exiting etc.
I hope this paints a picture!0 -
Seemed really well run last year. I was in the 4th pen (3000-4000) and crossed the start line 11 mins after the start. I knew people a few pens back who passed me fairly early, so didn't cost them much.
Will matter less for slower riders this year as there's a hill early on, so being in group not such an advantage. In fact there's very little flat all day.
Quicker riders might get held back depending how wide the first hill is?
Still no number for me.
Also it was around this time last year they put up the timings. How long will we get this year? 10:20 again? I only had a few mins to spare last year.0 -
Last years start was the best of my 5 etapes.
Certainly quicker and smoother than Pau - Bayonne in 2003.
Previously we have been lined up in streets and roads waiting quite some time after the start before crossing the 'mat'.
High numbered riders were therfore much closer to the broom wagon from the start.
Whatever the system it certainly makes sense to get as near the front of your pen as possible leaving at least another 1000 or so behind you.
Getting into a higher numbered pen has become more difficult in recent years but some riders still manage it in the dark gloom and once in the pen no further checks are made.0 -
I'm number 8121. Does that mean I'll be starting at the back?!0
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bummer number Bry!
It's nice to get a low number but I can't see that it will matter too much - it's a long day in the saddle and it's only going to be a matter of minutes between the first and last getting started.
I don't know mine yet - which company are you going with again?0 -
Hi Popette
It's with Ronan Pensec. It wasn't there when I checked a few days ago, so has only turned up very recently. I'm sure yours will be there soon!
Trust me to get a number like that! I'll have some overtaking to do...I don't really want to hear that broom wagon right behind! :shock:
Hope everything's going well. I can't decide what to wear. If I wear club kit that means bibshorts (as opposed to shorts without bib), which means not easy for going for a pee. :evil:
Bry0 -
PS I suppose the plus side to being number eight thousand and something is that I'll get just a few mins extra in bed?! I hate getting up early at the best of times! 0
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BMCCbry wrote:
Hope everything's going well. I can't decide what to wear. If I wear club kit that means bibshorts (as opposed to shorts without bib), which means not easy for going for a pee. :evil:
Bry
I'm thinking about what I'm going to be wearing quite a lot - testing different combinations of stuff and ruling them in or out. I think I'm going for non-bib shorts - I only recently managed to fit into a ladies pair of shorts (and most of them are without the bib) and the difference it makes at a toilet stop is significant. If desperate on the etape, i might even go behind a bush if I'm wearing non-bibs. I have no shame when it comes to beating the broom wagon!0 -
popette wrote:If desperate on the etape, i might even go behind a bush if I'm wearing non-bibs. I have no shame when it comes to beating the broom wagon!
Last year I saw a hairy french bird squatting in the gutter as I and about 4,000 others rolled past wishing we hadn't looked. I'd forgotten about this until I read your post but am obviously still traumatised.....0 -
Being a woman and needing the loo whilst riding with others is a nightmare! But the nightmare is a lot more complicated when bibshorts are involved...
You're right, Popette - all that matters is beating the broom wagon - no point in seeking out some proper French toilette (which could consist of just a hole in the ground in any case!).
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6259!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Says categorie B also. Any idea? is this related to my tour company? I am going with Ronan Pensec too.
Training, and weight, going well. Had a week in Lourdes after Easter and managed a few days out on the bike - the big cols were closed with snow unfortunately, but got up Solour and Aspin pretty comfortably. Bank Holiday weekend in the Peak district for me - I have a debt to settle with Macclesfield Forest :evil:If I can feel the pain in my arse, I mustn't be hurting my legs enough.0 -
altyteacher wrote:Says categorie B also. Any idea?
This is your age category. I'm guessing you're male and aged between 30-39 0 -
I still haven't got my number - should I be concerned? I booked through Cyclomundo and they've confirmed my place.0
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me neither Steerpike - also booked with Cyclomundo. Don't worry - it'll come soon enough. Checking through my diary from last year, I got my number 5th May - was booked with cyclomundo then as well.
Let's hope it's early next week (and it's a nice low number eh?)0 -
ah! I assumed the numbers were going up incrementally which is why I panicked a bit when I saw some at 9000 plus. Cool, thanks Popette, I'll keep checking over the w/e.0
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BMCCbry wrote:I'm number 8121. Does that mean I'll be starting at the back?!
It doesn't really matter about the number. The fast riders will be past you in mins. Set a steady pace and try to ride in groups to conserve energy. Remember that when the road narrows especially when going uphill that unless you are at the front, a lot of people go backwards. Look ahead and be ready to change down into a low gear to facilitate an easy restart. Try to avoid people who freewheel in front of you or overtake you on a hill and then slow down. If you have a mechanical problem, get off the road, I repeat get OFF the road. I've watched people on sportives stand in the middle of the road trying to inspect/repair their bike whilst cyclists dodge around them. Similarly be on the lookout for people inspecting their bikes in the middle of the road0 -
for my education (Ive number 8128, the Mrs 8129 and her brother ...the only f'ing person I have to beat all day..is 4512 ...)...
q1 approx how long a head start will he have ...oh yes its sad but I really do need to beat him
q2 how long do we get to beat the broom wagon
q3 if one of us who has the car keys gets picked up ...do you get taken to the end?...otherwise the other 2 will be walking home to the start....
thanks0
