The Etape! D'Huez, and TTs

roryh

Hi,
I have just (foolishly!?!) signed up for the etape... very excited, but need to start thinking about training for the summer.

I commute to work 2 or 3 times a week on my single speed (16 miles round trip) and have been doing 40 odd miles at the weekends in the summer, but less so recently. Obviously, this is NOT GOOD ENOUGH! so I need to start sorting out my fitness etc.

I also did a few TTs last year, which I was abysmall at, but really enjoyed, so would like to get in shape for some early season TTs.

Can anyone reccommend where I can get hold of a suitable training schedule? Do I even need to start "training" until the weather gets warmer in the spring?

Any advice very welcome!

roryh

Oh, and I live in basically flat london, so hill climbing of the 7% variety is going to be tricky bar the 3 or 4 trips to wales or the peaks I am planning next spring!

jgsi

What time standard are you aiming for?

SBezza

Get fitter by riding the bike more.

I would do a mixture of longer rides, shorter harder rides, and as you get fitter, throw some threshold intervals in. I would start training now to be honest, no point waiting to the spring. If it is not icy, just get out there.

Just by getting fitter and more powerful you will get better at TT's, and try a few 25m TT early in the season, and that will get you used to being at threshold for an hour, which is what you will need for the hills of the etape.

The other side of the equation is the mental aspect of climbing for over an hour, not sure you can replicate this in the UK, just expect it to be painful and extremely hardwork at the end of the etape.

jgsi

SBezza wrote:

Get fitter by riding the bike more.

I would do a mixture of longer rides, shorter harder rides, and as you get fitter, throw some threshold intervals in. I would start training now to be honest, no point waiting to the spring. If it is not icy, just get out there.

Just by getting fitter and more powerful you will get better at TT's, and try a few 25m TT early in the season, and that will get you used to being at threshold for an hour, which is what you will need for the hills of the etape.

The other side of the equation is the mental aspect of climbing for over an hour, not sure you can replicate this in the UK, just expect it to be painful and extremely hardwork at the end of the etape.

Much more than an hour on Acte 1.
The 3 big climbs need to be done in under 3 hours to give you a fighting chance of a silver time never mind a gold time of just 4 hours. Whether it is possible with the 'traffic' causing bottlenecks on this short stager.
I'd love to do it and potentially the first thing I might consider is some kind of power based training as I reckon you will probably be needing to push hi 200s/ 300+ watts on the climbs.

SBezza

JGSI wrote:

The 3 big climbs need to be done in under 3 hours to give you a fighting chance of a silver time

Is that 3 hours to do just the climbs, or 3 hours to do the route between each climb as well.

Either way each climb is a hour max , so an hour at threshold for each climb, or less if you include the descents and the sections in between. The fact you have to do this multiple times is just another thing, you get to rest between each climb.

jgsi

You have the Telegraph, Galibier and d'Huez makes 44 k of climbing and then 60 or so k of flat and descent. Ave gradient hovers at 7% for each climb with ramps up to 12.
There is a long descent off Galibier where you would hope to push hard.
That gold time of 4 hours is going to be very hard earned.
For myself I think I could have a good crack at 4 hours 30 for silver.
Personally if I was paying all that dosh to join the Etape, I'd be aiming high.
If I wasnt bothered , I 'd go and ride the same route at a quieter time of year.

For the OP with not too many long hills in easy reach, then riding on the flat at threshold with good power output for ever increasing intervals up to an hour could be a way of training.
But there does also sound like a need to build a solid base before that transition.

Bronzie

SBezza wrote:

Either way each climb is a hour max , so an hour at threshold for each climb

The Telegraph / Galibier is effectively a 40km continuous climb (probably about 10 mins max downhill between the summit of the Telegraph and Valloire which is the start of the Galibier). You gain around 2000m elevation from the base of the Telegraph.

I'd reckon on 2-3 hours for this section for the average club rider (excluding traffic jams!).

SBezza

Bronzie

I was just basing my time per climb on what JGSI said about the time scales for various standard on the etape, never having done the climbs I wouldn't know to be sure. If this section takes 2-3 hours, a gold standard is a very hard target indeed.

JGSI, I see you prescribe the same as me, threshold work, as essentially that is what the climbs will be, x mins at around threshold pace or slightly less if they take more than 1 hour to climb.

If you can do a 25m TT at set power/effort, you should be able to hold this for a couple of hours at a slightly reduced power/effort. Still got to think about the mental side of climbing for that long.

jgsi

SBezza wrote:

Bronzie

I was just basing my time per climb on what JGSI said about the time scales for various standard on the etape, never having done the climbs I wouldn't know to be sure. If this section takes 2-3 hours, a gold standard is a very hard target indeed.

JGSI, I see you prescribe the same as me, threshold work, as essentially that is what the climbs will be, x mins at around threshold pace or slightly less if they take more than 1 hour to climb.

If you can do a 25m TT at set power/effort, you should be able to hold this for a couple of hours at a slightly reduced power/effort. Still got to think about the mental side of climbing for that long.

That is going to be a major factor as it will hurt massively,but I should imagine that the etape experience will more than compensate to overcome the psychological challenge to tick those kilometers off at your best pace.

jzed

Whats the maximum time allowed?