Tilff Bastogne Tilff - 23 May

Nack

Is anybody planning to do the Tilff Bastogne Tilff sportive this year?

http://www.sport.be/cyclingtour/tilffbastognetilff/2010/eng/

I did the full 244km version last year and really enjoyed it, the TBT has to be the most scenic sportive in Belgium, with really good climbs. The food stops were well stocked last year (there were five of them) and the event itself wasn't too crowded, which can be an issue on some of those Belgian sportives - the Tour of Flanders gathers 20,000+ riders every year for instance!

One thing to watch out for is inconsiderate riders, we were shocked to see how 'relaxed' people drafting each other at 40 mph down the hills and weaving about dangerously!

Happy to provide additional tips/info if anyone's interested.

genki

I've signed up for it but not done it before. I've not done any rides over 200km so it's virgin territory. A couple of mates are coming over from the UK to ride it with me (I'm based the other side of the Ardennes in Luxembourg). What do you reckon is the best time to start? The website says the long course start is from 5:30 to 7:00am. Does it get congested in the early stages?

Any other tips welcome...

Nack

Last year we started around 6.30-ish and it was fine, not too congested at the start, I know some people will say you should start early to avoid the crowds but I think you might as well get that extra hour' sleep and start around 6.30.

With an event as long as TBT I think the key thing is to feed yourself properly, there are five food stops but it's worth bearing in mind the hilliest part of the course is the final third, so make sure you've got enough energy supply before you climb la Redoute! I would also start reasonably 'slowly' so that you've got enough fuel to finish the event - there will be quite a few pelotons on the day and it's easy to get carried away and pay the price later. I don't know if you use a heart rate monitor but mine proved invaluable last year, in terms of not 'being in the red' on the hills for instance!

8000 riders sounds like a lot - I think that's what they're expecting this year - but it is a long course and there will be space on the hills, meaning you won't get bogged down with idiots forgetting to change gears when it gets tough. That happens every year at the Tour of Flanders! As I said before I would be careful on the downhills, the concept of holding your line is pretty much non existent in Belgium...

It's a great event though, we just need to hope that the weather is good on the day!

Best of luck with the final week of training.

genki

Thanks for the advice. I'll use my HRM and try to pace it on that. My main problem will be curbing the 'enthusiasm' of my two mates who I just know will start too fast :roll: Gearing wise I guess it's better to change my 11-21 for something a bit more hill-friendly

Looking at the route map, the HQ (Country Hall Ethias Liège) appears to be 7km or so from the start/finish (Tilff). Is there lots of parking at the HQ?

sherer

i'd love to ride one of the classics one year. Are there shorted options as i know I can't do the full route

genki

sherer wrote:

i'd love to ride one of the classics one year. Are there shorted options as i know I can't do the full route

Yes, this year the Tilff-Bastogne-Tilff event has 136km and 78km courses too

Nack

genki wrote:

Looking at the route map, the HQ (Country Hall Ethias Liège) appears to be 7km or so from the start/finish (Tilff). Is there lots of parking at the HQ?

From memory there is quite a large car park at the Country Hall, it will be packed but I remember cars parked on the way to the Country Hall on either side of the road, so I'm sure you'll be able to find a place to park your car.

And yes, I would advise changing the 11-21 to a 11-25 cassette if you get the chance, there are a few climbs with 20%+ max bits!

Nack

genki
How did you enjoy the TBT?

We finished it in 9h30 ride time, about the same as last year, though I could 'feel' the lack of endurance training between the 4th and 5th food stop! I then stuffed myself with gels and oranges and recovered well during the last and final leg. As a matter a fact I think we went too fast at the beginning - we were close to 19 mph average speed in Bastogne! - and suffered in the hills. And the fact I was on a 39 X 27 as a lowest gear didn't help - serves me right!

All and all a great day, good atmosphere, fantastic weather and will do it next year!

genki

I loved it, apart from having to get up so early :shock: . We left the HQ at 5:45 and Tilff at 5:55. There was no sign of any large groups on the road, at least none going the pace we wanted so the three of us worked together all the way to Bastogne. The tailwind on the last leg helped and we were a little over 19mph at that point and had just 4 riders ahead of us. The next leg was also fast but and we were ony 3mins off the front group when one of my mates told us he was fading, A few minutes before I'd pointed out that the map showed all the tough climbs still to come and this had tipped a fragile balance

Once we rejoined the medium route the road was suddenly very busy and it was a shock after having seen no-one for hours. Our momentum died and we had to wait at the top of every cimb to regroup. I liked the climbs, at the right pace that is - I just can't fathom how the pro's race up things like La Redoute. In the end we finishd in 8:55 and I had a ride time of 8:16 for the 242km. It was a hot day wasn't it? I saw the fresher tarmac melting in places. The course was superb. I'll remember the mist on the river before the day warmd up for a long time.

I was staying in a hotel on the course in the same town as the final feed stop. There were riders still coming through at 7pm and later which I guess means you can take all day to get round at 11mph or so if you want.

But thanks again for the advice, and maybe see you there next year...

Climber_Andy

Did the 136km route as, this year, I was neither ready or willing to add an extra 100k for just another two hills...

I loved it. Having done minimal training for this distance, just took the climbs steady and went for it on the descents; noticed that a lot of Belgians just freewheel down the descents - and there were some great ones, coming off the St Jacques and the Rosier sticks in the memory - meaning 11-stone-me was picking off dozens in an aero tuck, or just by braking wisely...

Sting of La Redoute was taken out by being just after the second feedzone, though it was still tough. Could fly up the Hornay and then big-ringed it back to Tilff.

Six hours on the dot all in all, with about six days' worth of cycling tan to show for it!

One more thing. I saw Belgians in their thousands, Germans, Italians, Spanish... but in six hours of cycling, not one British jersey or club jersey crossed my eyes. Couldn't believe the paucity of Brits in what I thought was a great and (evidently on hte continent) popular event

calvjones

Had a fantastic time on the 136k. Amazing that I saw maybe 10 Brits all day when around 20% of those doing Flanders seemed British. I guess not being able to see the race on the same weekend puts people off, but the scenery and Redoute more than make up for it.

...and the day before passed through Huy on the way to Liege so pulled the bikes off the car to sprint (ahem) up the Muur in our civvies. Class 8)

Nack

Sorry for spoiling the atmosphere but did you know a cyclist died on the course last Sunday ?!

We remembered seeing a nasty one shortly after the 4th food stop but I found this article browsing the local press:
http://www.lameuse.be/regions/verviers/ ... 4244.shtml

Apparently he missed a corner and went head on against a pile of rocks (2nd paragraph for those who read French)

The article also reveals that there were three pretty bad crashes, one involving a broken collarbone and another one a car and a man with brain injury...

:shock:

dulldave

Climber_Andy wrote:

Did the 136km route as, this year, I was neither ready or willing to add an extra 100k for just another two hills...

They were just the hills marked on the map. There were some nice climbs that weren't on the map that were certainly harder than the last 2 marked climbs. For me, the best bit of the whole route was the section after Gouey. It was great fun.

Redoute was hard but mostly because of the distance you'd ridden before you get to it. The can of Red Bull at the top certainly picked me up though.

genki

What was the total climb for the medium course and short course? I can't find the details anywhere. My Garmin clocked 4000m for the long course and with 2/3rds of the climbing done in the 2nd half I think.