La Marmotte Bike advice...

CumbrianMan

Gareth

Had chance to watch the dvd ? pretty good eh.

Thought I'd watch it again myself. Guess who's out on his bike again tomorrow !!

garethp1745

I've seen it not too bad, christmas is going to be serious training even out on the bike christmas day!

Steveen

Hi Gareth,

I did this ride this summer in August with a mate of mine.

I'm 50 and come from a track and field sprint background so this endurance stuff is a bit new.

The temp change from the valley to the summits was extreme, we had 30 degrees at the bottom and sleet at the top. Brake early for the bends on the descent, I locked up and scared myself silly at one point. Take a rear light for the tunnels, it will help get you seen.

Good luck.

bahzob

Entry for Marmotte is open now
http://www.sportcommunication.com/GT/index.php?langue=1

If doing it reco getting in early to max chance of low start number. Not so much a matter of finishing faster as everyone gets individual timing but means less time waiting around in cold at start, first to food/drink and less chance of being stopped at bottom of Alp (which would be a bummer)

garethp1745

Trouble is these reccie rides are expensive and with bike, coach and paying for marmotte I should have just given the money to the charity. A lot of the companies are charging £500 for a reccie ride which is out of my budget however useful it might be.

garethp1745

Trouble is these reccie rides are expensive and with bike, coach and paying for marmotte I should have just given the money to the charity. A lot of the companies are charging £500 for a reccie ride which is out of my budget however useful it might be.

Kléber

garethp1745 wrote:

Trouble is these reccie rides are expensive and with bike, coach and paying for marmotte I should have just given the money to the charity. A lot of the companies are charging £500 for a reccie ride which is out of my budget however useful it might be.

Eurostar to Paris £60 return, Paris to Alps £40 return. 3 nights in B&B, £60. Lunch and dinner for 4 days £100. You can go cheaper if you camp or take a trip with a few mates and share the cost of car travel, even cheaper.

garethp1745

I can see that trip being exhausting and very time consuming before I even get on the bike, but I like the 3 nights in the BB £60 do that + a flight and food brings it down to a more realistic level unlike the organised trips!

Monty Dog

If you live in Wales there's plenty enough riding to get you fit enough for riding La Marmotte without the need to go for a recce - a few sessions on the Bwlch will see you sorted. I've trained for the sportives in the Surrey Hills - a bit of careful route planning despite the highest elevation being 300m, can stack up 4000m into 200km. For your size and weight, chose comfort and reliability over some weight-weenie carbon products - make sure your position and gearing are sorted for 2 hours in the saddle - what may seem like a ridiculously easy gear will be a godsend by the time you reach Bourg D'oisans. I'd go for 25mm tyres - better grip and comfort and less risk of an impact puncture - something like a Vittoria Corsa CX would be my choice - supple and great grip.

dombo6

Keep riding lots of hills and increase your weekly mileage. South Wales is great for practice, but you probably know that!

Enter for the Dragon Ride www.dragonride.co.uk which is usually around mid-June and is good training.
As for the other tips - I also like the Conti 4000S tyres and they did fine for me on last year's Dragon and the Etape. Food and drink is very important too. Take stuff that you like as you'll be in the saddle for a good 9-10 hours, and eat and drink little and often. Pace yourself up the hills and don't be shy about slapping it in the granny gear, it's always nicer to change up as the opportunity arises, and you'll see a lot of people wishing they'd got lower gears. 26x27 will get you up anything. FWIW I'm 45 and 10 stone and rode my granny all the way up Tourmalet and Hautacam in this year's etape (quiet at the back, Finbar!)
Good luck

russell_in_france

I've ridden the Marmotte six times now and ridden the Cols outside the event. I'd certainly recommend comfort rather than weight reduction for an event of that length. I remember when I moved from aluminium to a carbon frame and how much it improved the descent from the Col du Galibier to Bourg d'Oisans. It was a similar feeling when I went from 23mm tyres from 20mm tyres - Michelin Pros tyres..

It's good you're going in there with a triple chainset. As I get older and have less chance to get base kilometres, it's an option I'm considering more and more.

Take a wind cheater as it's a good think to carry. It can make an unbearable descent more bearable if the weather is bad and I still use my Cheltenham and County CC jacket. It fits in a back pocket. Check the weather forecast - it maybe clear in the morning but it can be cold and raining heavily in the afternoon.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kldC4Mv_VeM

I filmed last year's Marmotte if you're interested.

Finally, take it easy on Glandon and Telegraphe and spin in a small gear. I'd personally do not stop at the Col du Glandon but take enough food to get me to the feed at Valloire. The Telegraphe is the easiest climb and not so steep so it's easy to push a little too much on here. If you're feeling good, go for it on Galibier. You've got an hour to feed and get some energy back on the descent to the foot of the Alpe d'Huez. Remember the first six hairpins on Alpe d'Huez are the hardest and it gets easier after that.

Good luck. I'll be there next year as well.

Russell
www.grenoblecycling.com

mark_d

I wouldn't worry too much about trying to find ways to get 4000 or 5000m climbing in the UK for training. Once you're sure you can ride for 8 or 9 hours just concentrate on getting fitter -- the higher you can push your lactate threshold (and, more importantly, the more power you can produce at and below it) the better you'll ride on the day. You'll either go faster or be more efficient (and comfortable) at the same pace. Turbo training, chaingangs and evening racing will all help.

As for equipment: chances are whatever you have now will be fine. The roads are all well-surfaced so no real worries there. The fit of your bike will be more important -- no amount of carbon, bar tape or squishy saddles will disguise a poor fit after hours at it.

Get good at sticking to the back of a bunch for the 25 very dull kilometres between the bottom of the Glandon and the Telegraphe. You can save a lot of time on this stretch if you're able to draft another group -- we overtook people as if they were going backwards.

Have fun! My entry's in already.

garethp1745

Well I'm back after christmas, only 3 days off but in the last week I've only been able to get on the turbo as I've been busy coaching rowing from 8am-10pm!

I'm lighter at 19st 13.5lbs so it's still coming off! Entry is in for dragon, marmotte and forest of dean so just need to lay down the training milage!

Even doing 40+ mins a night on the turbo!

dmb4

Wow just read this thread, good luck. That is on hell of a weight loss at over 3.5 lbs per week if you lose one stone per month this may be a target to far.

oldwelshman

mrushton wrote:

You should spend a couple of days out there either with a tour company or on your own. If you haven't ridden the Alps, nothing in the UK is going to prepare you for the Galibier. It's not a hard climb, but the length and the height can take it's toll, particularly since you'll have already 'enjoyed' the Glandon/Croix de Fer/Telegraphe.

Galibier not a hard climb? Your joking right?
Are you really telling me that the last 5 km of 10% is not hard having climbed so much already?
Gareth, there is no need to go and do a reccie of climbs, as some of said it will be very expensive with rate of euro, nice if you have plenty of time and money.
Living in Wales you may not have the same long climbs but more than enough climbs and different routes to keep you interested and motivated.
You have the black mountains, beacons, bwlch, rhigos all good for prep.
Depending where you are, go out with some of the club runs down there.

skavanagh.bikeradar

Cycle lots of hills. Cycle lots of hills when tired. Cycle lots of hills over long distances. cycle up lots of hills. Hills. Lots of 'em.

Oh and probably a tonne of threshold workouts. Someone earlier in this thread mentioned that most people probably have had enough by Plan Lachat and drag themselves up the rest of the Galibier - but you've still got the Alpe to do. That's about right. I got to the bottom of the Alpe in 9.21 and finished (barely) in 11.47.

Lots of hills in training, did I mention that?

de_sisti

My GP signed the medical form and refused to accept any payment for doing so.

le_patron

skavanagh.bikeradar wrote:

Cycle lots of hills. Cycle lots of hills when tired. Cycle lots of hills over long distances. cycle up lots of hills. Hills. Lots of 'em.

Oh and probably a tonne of threshold workouts. Someone earlier in this thread mentioned that most people probably have had enough by Plan Lachat and drag themselves up the rest of the Galibier - but you've still got the Alpe to do. That's about right. I got to the bottom of the Alpe in 9.21 and finished (barely) in 11.47.

Lots of hills in training, did I mention that?

I'd cycle up some hills too, lots of them

Seriously though, I have found that the level of fatigue you need to experience to prepare is only easily obtained by entering long hilly events as prep. Otherwise the temptation is to pack it in before you are really Marmotte tired.

Gran fondo Cymru and the Dave Lloyd thing are what I have used in the past. If you can nail a 130 mile ride over all the Welsh passes, you should be fine. The difference on the say is that everybody still goes too fast up the Telegraphe, and then the Galibier bites you on the a$$.

I would not dream of doing it on a 39t.

Bound4Glory

Excellent preparation rides as andyp mentioned are Megeve-Mt Blanc but also Challenge Dauphine and La Mure (nr Grenoble). 39 x 27 should get you round but riding one of those other events will give you a good idea what to expect. Nothing in the Uk will prepare you like one of those events will. i would also suggest Conti 4000 S tyres, best alpine road tyre I have used. The specialized Phat bar tape will give you some extra comfort. Russell's site will give you some good advice. Don't plan on rushing out to the alps for a while, there is a hell of a lot of snow about at the moment so don't expect the high cols to be open until late May.

pure-james

where can i download the medical form?