Training for the Tourmalet

2»

Comments

  • Mr Dog
    Mr Dog Posts: 643
    Ariege cyclist wrote:
    A lot of good advice here but I'll add my 2p worth.

    The mental challenge as mentioned is a big part of any long climb, I've lived 6 years in the Pyrenees (recently returned to the UK) and learnt to enjoy the mental challenge of going almost at the limit for 40 to 75 minutes (depending on the climb), so in that way it is closest to a time trial in terms of effort and pacing.

    Except that on a climb you cannot ease off too much (unless you stop) if you have too high gearing, whearas in a TT it is possible to ease off a bit to recover if you've gone too far into the red. So go for the 34 x 27 or lower, even if you never use it it's nice as a back up.

    Don't go off too fast at the start, if you go at it like most UK hills then after 2km you'll be fried and limp the rest of the way. If after a few kms you still feel strong then start to build the pace up gradually.

    As has been stated, watch the weather forecast (French TV before and after the 8pm news are good, or use meteofrance.fr, look for the mountain weather at La Mongie). I was there last September and October. Both sunny days, September was -5 at the top, October was 15C at the top and over 25C in the valley (barely needed the gilet!), so it can vary massively even in good weather.

    Enjoy it, I'm sure you will.
    So it seems the prevailing wisdom is for a compact in case I crack. Was hoping to avoid too much tinkering with the wifes bike.. maybe I'll just give it a go with a 27 on the back :)
    Why tidy the house when you can clean your bike?
  • ariege_cyclist
    ariege_cyclist Posts: 98
    I'm sure you can do it on a 39 x 27, it will just feel harder due to the lower cadence, and the legs will complain more the day after!

    Think about a 29 if you need to buy a new cassette anyway. SRAM do something like that even if Shimano don't. If you are on Campag then no problem finding a 29 cassette.

    Oh yes - take 2 large bottles and drink plenty on the climb, you'll sweat a lot anyway and and as the altitude gets higher you lose more moisture (lots of moisture lost in breathing as the air is dryer) and will dehydrate faster than at sea level. Don't worry about the extra weight, most of it will be gone by the top anyway!!
  • Mr Dog
    Mr Dog Posts: 643
    She runs a 105 throughout.. I thinks its a medium cage mech .. wonder if it will take a 28/29. Got the spec from Giants Aussie website.. seems they have a compact but the brits have to rough it. 8)
    Why tidy the house when you can clean your bike?
  • Mccaria
    Mccaria Posts: 869
    Went up the Tourmalet during this year's Etape in over 90' heat, a few days later did it again in sub 60' temperatures. Be prepared for some pretty extremes of weather.

    One tip - if you are doing the route up past Bareges rather than the other way, when the road veers to the right after Bareges, don't look up to your left, soul destroying when you see what the remaining 10 km of climbing looks like !

    I would strongly recommend considering a compact chainset for your attempt. Nothing in the UK prepares you for 17/18 km of climbing. If you are very fit then a 53/39 chainset probably is ok, but for a first attempt at this type of climbing a 50/34 is more forgiving.
  • rc856
    rc856 Posts: 1,144
    Slightly OT but still with the Pyrenees...has anyone climbed Luz Ardiden and is there an 'official' route?
    Looking on Google maps, there seems to a road up from Luz-Saint-Sauveur via Grust but also one that goes via Viscos and both roads join further up??

    Thanks
  • sergen
    sergen Posts: 39
    RC856 wrote:
    Slightly OT but still with the Pyrenees...has anyone climbed Luz Ardiden and is there an 'official' route?
    Looking on Google maps, there seems to a road up from Luz-Saint-Sauveur via Grust but also one that goes via Viscos and both roads join further up??

    Thanks

    I climbed Luz Ardiden on the same trip which I refered to above. The 'official route', if it can be described as such, first goes through the small town of Luz St Sauveuer. The road forks in two and it's left for the Tourmalet, right for Luz Ardiden. You actually descend for about 300 metres then the road bends around to the left and you take the road on the right to start the climb.

    The first 4ks are pretty easy but it does start to get harder once you go past the spa baths.

    As you get towards the summit there are goats all over the place with those little bells around their necks - les brebis - and their constant clanging won't do an awful lot for your spirits if you're starting to flag from the effort.

    The ski station itself is a pretty bland finale to reward your efforts but the views from the top are utterly stunning and it's looking down from here that you can see all of the switchbacks. This climb is sometimes labelled 'the Alpe D'Huez of the Pyrenees' and the view from the top justifies this tag.

    Watch out for the bloody goats going back down!
  • rc856
    rc856 Posts: 1,144
    Thanks mate. The reason I ask is that I'll be based near Lourdes and will be heading south on the D921. The plan is to go up Luz Ardiden and then along to the Tourmalet.
    While I can see the road up Luz Ardiden from Luz-Saint-Sauveur, as you follow the D921, there is another road that heads up Luz Ardiden via Viscos and it's about 3.5kms from the centre of Luz-Saint-Sauveur.
    Looks to have more hairpins this way :)


    Cheers :)
  • I am the god of hell fire
    I am the god of hell fire Posts: 326
    Im a middling ability MAMIL and rode Tourmalet last summer from the east

    I was running 34/25 and found it pretty enjoyable to be honest
    Admittedly Im lucky enough to be able to ride in the Peak and my prep consisted of one and often two 3-4h rides per week taking in 1500m of climb

    As has been mentioned I think the fact that you are riding a legendary Col is worth a fair bit in itself with respect to motivation

    Best of luck - not sure if Ive helped :)
  • sergen
    sergen Posts: 39
    RC856 wrote:
    Thanks mate. The reason I ask is that I'll be based near Lourdes and will be heading south on the D921. The plan is to go up Luz Ardiden and then along to the Tourmalet.
    While I can see the road up Luz Ardiden from Luz-Saint-Sauveur, as you follow the D921, there is another road that heads up Luz Ardiden via Viscos and it's about 3.5kms from the centre of Luz-Saint-Sauveur.
    Looks to have more hairpins this way :)


    Cheers :)

    Personally I would avoid that road via Viscos because it didn't have a particularly good surface and was covered in gravel. That was 18 months ago though so it's possible the surface has been re-laid since. Then again, France's local municipal authorities aren't particularly famous for their speed of action on all matters civic.

    If you're cycling from Lourdes then the extra distance you'll cover by going into Luz is peanuts, plus you'll have the advantage of being able to stock up on water and any carbohydrates in the town centre before you start the climb.

    One of the mini highlights in riding along the D921 before you get to Luz is that you cycle through the 'Gorge de Luz'. It's actually a bit of an uphill drag but the views over the gorge are stunning - just don't look directly downwards over the edge of the road because it's very long way to the bottom.....

    I would also recommend that you climb Hautacam if you have time, which is a lot closer to Lourdes than both the Tourmalet and Luz Ardiden. It's located to the west of the town of Argeles Gazost and there are lots of signposts to the foot of the climb because the ski station of Hautacam is well signposted on the edge of the town.

    The scenery, while spectacular, probably doesn't have the same degree of beauty as Luz Ardiden but the climb is every bit as hard.

    Lourdes is a fantastic base because there's so many Cols that can be covered in a 110/120km round trip. The Soulor, Aubisque, and Aspin can also be reached.

    If there's one thing that really made life easy it was the fact that I took a Garmin Edge with all the maps pre-installed, which meant I didn't have to carry paper maps on me and knew where I was at all times. They're not the cheapest of cycling dashboards but if you plan on doing a lot of cycling in Europe I would recommend them without hesitation as they added a lot of value to my trip.
  • rc856
    rc856 Posts: 1,144
    Thanks Sergen, that's great. Much appreciated.
    Yes, we plan to climb Hautacam as well.
    We've only got 3 full days of riding so the possible routes are:

    1) Saint-Savin - Soulor - Aubisque - Saint-Savin
    2) Saint-Savin - Luz Ardiden - Tourmalet - Saint-Savin
    3) Saint-Savin - Sireix (1617m) - Ortiac (801m) - Hautacam/Tramassel -
    Vier Bordes (733m) - Saint-Savin

    We'll be a bit limited to the miles we'll be able to do...plus the fact there's a col or two along the way! :)
  • ut_och_cykla
    ut_och_cykla Posts: 1,594
    The Hautacam is a grim little hill - I did it on a sticky thundery day and it was unbelievably hot. There was also a local race in progress which made climbing a little more fun - but phew was I glad to get to the top and find a slightly cooler breeze!
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    ut_och_cykla wrote:
    The Hautacam is a grim little hill - I did it on a sticky thundery day and it was unbelievably hot. There was also a local race in progress which made climbing a little more fun - but phew was I glad to get to the top and find a slightly cooler breeze!

    Little?! :shock:
    _
  • ut_och_cykla
    ut_och_cykla Posts: 1,594
    Yep - compared to Tourmalet from Argeles Gazost - if I recall its ONLY about 14 km long but its grim 'cos the slope varies all the time - it even goes down a bit in the middle. Everything is relative.... :wink:
  • sergen
    sergen Posts: 39
    RC856 wrote:
    We've only got 3 full days of riding so the possible routes are:

    1) Saint-Savin - Soulor - Aubisque - Saint-Savin

    If given the choice I would do this route the other way around because it's much harder - in other words climb the Aubisque from the town of Laruns, then climb the Soulor after. The Aubisque from the west is a very underrated climb because if you look at its length and average gradient it is actually identical to the Tourmalet.

    I believe I am correct in saying that the Galibier is the only French col that beats the Tourmalet and the Aubisque in length.

    The only advantage of doing it the way you are planning is that the descent will be much more enjoyable! But I promise that YOU WILL CACK IT and squeeze the breaks once you get up to 85kph. I discovered my sense of self-preservation is much greater than my ego.
  • BenWatson89
    BenWatson89 Posts: 83
    Sergen there are several other climbs as long as the Galibier. To name a few you have the Cime de Bonette, Col de la Madeline and Col d'Agnel. However the Tourmalet and the Aubisque are the longest in the Pyrenees.

    Good advice on the route by taking the Aubisque from Laruns! Much more fun.

    If you want a hard climb id suggest the Pic de Tente. Its a little gravelly in places however its steep and there is no shade. It almost got the better of me and IMO its one of the hardest climbs in the Pyrenees on the Argeles-Gazost side.

    Enjoy the climbing.

    Re the post - If you are worried about having a lack of gears take a compact with a 12-27. You can always just shift up if it is too easy :). However living in Scotland you should have no problems. Its all in the mind.
  • sergen
    sergen Posts: 39
    BenWatson89 wrote:
    Sergen there are several other climbs as long as the Galibier. To name a few you have the Cime de Bonette, Col de la Madeline and Col d'Agnel

    Those climbs are certainly comparable to the Aubisque in length but some publications do list the Galibier as a 35k climb when it is approached via the Telegraphe - but I suppose that's cheating because there's the respite of a few kms of descent when you go over the top of the Telegraphe.

    In actual fact it's a bit like climbing the Aubisque via the Soulor. That's definitely cheating!
  • sampras38
    sampras38 Posts: 1,917
    I've done all my Alpine climbing with a compact and 12-27 and last year managed Alp Duez in 1hr 1 minute. Fantastic part of the world and I'm back out there for a week this June.
  • rc856
    rc856 Posts: 1,144
    Lucky you heading back.
    1hr 13 for me on a 39x29 on the Alpe a few years ago.

    Hopefully head back that way one day.
  • ariege_cyclist
    ariege_cyclist Posts: 98
    And this is in fact the whole crux of the gearing issue. If you can climb Alpe d'Huez in an hour then you can use a higher gear than if it takes you 90 minutes, higher speed gives a higher cadence, or the lower speed requires a lower gear to reach the same cadence.

    It hurts going up a climb like that in an hour, but it hurts more for someone with a lower power output to climb for 50% longer (still at their own threshold) in a gear that is too big. Personally I climbed the Toumalet with an average cadence of 66rpm in 34x24, the 27 cog was nice to have as something to fall back on if required though. For me if I drop below 60rpm apart from for short ramps then I need to change to a lower gear or the legs really start to complain. Of course we are all different...
  • Mr Dog
    Mr Dog Posts: 643
    Not long back from Luz. Enjoyed every minute. Totally hooked. Bagged a few cols, the weather was mixed. Going back for the Hautacam. I found Luz Ardiden harder than the Tourmalet but found inner peace in the torment. I went for a compact and stuck with the 25.

    Many thanks to you all for your help.. :D I didn't let you down..

    I've never seen so many high end bikes. On the day of the tour the place was awash with carbon.. clubs from Oz, Yanks and tonnes of Spanish. The bike shops don't stock anything under 2500 euros. I was a little ashamed of my bike :oops:
    Why tidy the house when you can clean your bike?
  • Alex_Simmons/RST
    Alex_Simmons/RST Posts: 4,161
    Mr Dog wrote:
    I was a little ashamed of my bike :oops:
    Never be ashamed of your bike. It's yours, so look after it and it will look after you. The views are the same no matter the price of the bike you ride.
    RST Sport : Coaching - Training Plans - Powermeters -- My blog -- AeroCoach Australia
  • ut_och_cykla
    ut_och_cykla Posts: 1,594
    Alex_Simmons/RST wrote:
    Mr Dog wrote:
    I was a little ashamed of my bike :oops:
    Never be ashamed of your bike. It's yours, so look after it and it will look after you. The views are the same no matter the price of the bike you ride.

    Good quote Alex - both the level of suffering and the views are the same.
  • guinea
    guinea Posts: 1,177
    Mr Dog wrote:
    Not long back from Luz. Enjoyed every minute. Totally hooked. Bagged a few cols, the weather was mixed. Going back for the Hautacam. I found Luz Ardiden harder than the Tourmalet but found inner peace in the torment. I went for a compact and stuck with the 25.

    Many thanks to you all for your help.. :D I didn't let you down..

    I've never seen so many high end bikes. On the day of the tour the place was awash with carbon.. clubs from Oz, Yanks and tonnes of Spanish. The bike shops don't stock anything under 2500 euros. I was a little ashamed of my bike :oops:

    Well done.

    I climbed the same hills earlier in the year and also found Luz Ardiden the hardest.

Categories