Full distance Paris Roubaix

stumpy paul
stumpy paul Posts: 197
edited November 2009 in Training, fitness and health
Entered for this for 2010. :D

Done plenty of 100 mile hilly sportives in good times and race now and then.

Any suggestions for a training schedule or some key sessions for training for the full 256km? or am I going to be OK with what I already do based on what i have already achieved?

Comments / suggestions gratefully received.

Comments

  • disgruntledgoat
    disgruntledgoat Posts: 8,957
    I've got friends who've done this a couple of times and the advice seems to be

    1) Make sure you do one day of 10 hours in the saddle before you go, just ot make sure you know mentally what to expect. It' sTOUGH having to ride Carrefour Les Arbes after (at least) 8 hours on a bike.

    2) Do some of your interval training over the very worst roads you can find

    3) There is nothing worth calling a climb on the route, so wouldn't worry about that.

    4) DOn't set off too hard, because you will really pay for it later

    5) Carry as many spares as you can.

    Enjoy!
    "In many ways, my story was that of a raging, Christ-like figure who hauled himself off the cross, looked up at the Romans with blood in his eyes and said 'My turn, sock cookers'"

    @gietvangent
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    Thicj bar tape, or cladding for your bar tops, a good saddle, 25mm tyres if they will fit that are also bulletproof. Strong bottlecages and a will of iron.

    Its brilliant, also make sure you get your 2 laps in at the end, not the paltry one lap they try and make you do. :wink:
  • mrc1
    mrc1 Posts: 852
    Do people use their carbon framed bikes for this? I would be super scared if so?!
    http://www.ledomestiquetours.co.uk

    Le Domestique Tours - Bespoke cycling experiences with unrivalled supported riding, knowledge and expertise.

    Ciocc Extro - FCN 1
  • pjm-84
    pjm-84 Posts: 819
    I did the full Flanders on my carbon Trek Madone 2006. I'm no lightweight either at 16stone. My 2p worth

    1) Bar tape - put two lots on.
    2) If you run a Garmin Edge put a couple of cable ties over the unit. The bracket will break.
    3) Bottle cages - I had really grippy tight bottle cages and still lost a bottle.
    4) Saddle pack - Need to be well secured! Mine broke on the saddle bracket.
    5) Tyres - Vittoria open pave tyres - awesome
    6) Enjoy the cobbles. Attack each section!

    The key to long rides is refueling.
    Paul
  • stumpy paul
    stumpy paul Posts: 197
    Thanks for the gear tips etc. - should have said I did the 140K Flanders last year so am fairly happy with what to expect in terms of jarring from the cobbles and what to run on the bike.

    Am also doing full distance Flanders in 2010.

    Was really after any training tips please.
  • angrynortherner
    angrynortherner Posts: 530
    The Cobbles in Roubaix are in a totally different league to Flanders, Arenberg is just a nightmare. I've done both Flanders and Roubiax on my 2006 Madone and to be honest it was perfect both comfortable and totally reliable.

    I'd Recommend:
    1) Vittoria Open Pave Tyres
    2) Use a Camelbak, the amount of bottle lying around is ridiculous.
    3) Wear Mountain Bike SPDs, much easier to clip into with mud on your shoes when you have to stop to avoid fallen riders.
    4) Don't go too hard on the Pave, I cooked myself after about half the sectors by trying to power over them.
    5) Learn to swear in Flemish, French and Italian (particularly the latter) as riders seem unable to ride in a straight like on the Pave.
    6) Ride on the grass verge as much as possible

    Training wise, suggest hard intervals for up to 5 minutes to replicate hammering over the cobbles, they are much easier at 30+kph than jarring over them at 20kph.
  • Monty Dog
    Monty Dog Posts: 20,614
    I've done both Flanders and Roubaix sportives a couple of times - 100mile training rides simply aren't enough, you should really aim for a couple of 200km rides before you go if you want to get back in decent condition. Also try and do some upper body gym work and practise climbing seated in the biggest gear you can turn - it works the quads and lower back which you need to be strong. The worst Flemish cobbles score about 2-3 when compared to Arenberg at a 10. The feedstation at Raismes is about 150km and then you hit Arenberg, Orchies and Vertain in the next 40km - it was 33 degrees last time I rode, people were collapsing from heat exhaustion. I wouldn't worry about breaking a well-maintained modern bike - you'll break long before it will. Fit 25mm tyres and run them at 5 bar, get the best padded gloves and good shorts as well as double-wrapping the bar tape.
    Make mine an Italian, with Campagnolo on the side..
  • Aberyscir
    Aberyscir Posts: 1
    I'm thinking of doing PR in 2010 as well. Is it a good idea or OK to do it on a mountain bike - I have a very light and quick Colnago carbon hardtail - or is that missing the point?
  • mclarent
    mclarent Posts: 784
    My 2p's worth - I did the Ronde middle distance last year

    I had no problem with my Garmin, saddlebag or bottle cages. However, since then my garmin battery cable has loosened so it switches itself off when I hit a bump...

    I rode with GP4000's / 25s, ran at lower pressure on the front and punctured, service guy stuck normal pressure in and I had no further problems.

    I didn't bother with 2 lots of bar tape, not sure it would have made that much difference tbh.

    Biggest problem I had was standing on a section of cobbles and getting smacked in the nuts by my saddle. That hurt, but I was laughing at the same time! :D

    Second problem was the first section of cobbles you hit on middle distance, no warning - you cross a railway track, hard right then "smack". I would have lost it if it was wet for sure.

    In terms of training, for the middle distance I did hill reps, interval training and distances up to 80miles (middle is 165km?). There's no preping for the cobbles, you just have to ride them. For the long, I will do the same but add more distance. I agree on the weights, I've done a proper program from Joe Friel, and I believe him when he says "do weights"!

    I'm going to go for the long distance next year (unless my "weak" friend actually decides to do it :D ), along with PR if I can convince my wife(!)
    "And the Lord said unto Cain, 'where is Abel thy brother?' And he said, 'I know not: I dropped him on the climb up to the motorway bridge'."
    - eccolafilosofiadelpedale
  • blorg
    blorg Posts: 1,169
    @Aberyscir- I haven't ridden the course myself but worth bearing in mind it is a long long route and most of it _isn't_ actually on cobbles. From that point of view a mountain bike might not be ideal- more from the limited hand positions and aerodynamics than anything else.
  • Slow1972
    Slow1972 Posts: 362
    mclarent wrote:
    I had no problem with my Garmin, saddlebag or bottle cages. However, since then my garmin battery cable has loosened so it switches itself off when I hit a bump...

    Recently had the same problem with my Garmin - call Garmin UK with the serial number as they had a batch with this problem. If yours is in that batch they'll replace for free, even if its out of warranty.

    I did the middle distance Ronde too. Big thing to note though is that the cobbles on the Ronde are a lot gentler than those big rough ones with lots of gaps on P-R. I know people who've done both who double tape etc for P-R who don't bother for the Ronde. Worht bearing in mind.
  • mclarent
    mclarent Posts: 784
    Slow1972 wrote:
    mclarent wrote:
    I had no problem with my Garmin, saddlebag or bottle cages. However, since then my garmin battery cable has loosened so it switches itself off when I hit a bump...

    Recently had the same problem with my Garmin - call Garmin UK with the serial number as they had a batch with this problem. If yours is in that batch they'll replace for free, even if its out of warranty.

    I did the middle distance Ronde too. Big thing to note though is that the cobbles on the Ronde are a lot gentler than those big rough ones with lots of gaps on P-R. I know people who've done both who double tape etc for P-R who don't bother for the Ronde. Worht bearing in mind.

    Great, thanks for the tips, that Garmin thing is really annoying(!) I was actually getting friction burns on the Ronde due to the juddering and holding the bars too loosely, but I was going reasonably slowly compared to the locals, which wasn't the best plan. On the PR, you always see the pros riding beside the cobbles if possible, and I did the same as much as I could on the RVV.

    Couple of other things that came to mind after my last post: try not to be too close behind anyone on any of the steep climbs, as if they come off... (happened to me twice, once on de muur, which really ****** me off). 2nd thing was my belly was churning after all those waffles at the feed stations, I'd suggest doing a long distance ride (200km or so) refuelling on sweet cakes / chocolate / sugary energy drinks, see how you get on :D Give me bannanas anytime...
    "And the Lord said unto Cain, 'where is Abel thy brother?' And he said, 'I know not: I dropped him on the climb up to the motorway bridge'."
    - eccolafilosofiadelpedale
  • Jabster101
    Jabster101 Posts: 64
    Anyone got a link for independent entry to PR 2010?
  • nottscobb
    nottscobb Posts: 147
    http://www.vc-roubaix-cyclo.fr/site/

    Entry details in the next few days hopefully. I'm just planning on doing the medium distance version of this one though. Just over 100miles is plenty for me and I did the full length Ronde a couple of years ago and don't feel the need to do the distance again but do want to experience the cobbles.

Categories