marmotte training

chill123

i'm entered into this and was just wondering what training others are doing.

i live in a very flat area so have little hills in my legs. for the last 4-5 months i've been getting about 500 miles per month in made up mainly of:

- 1 long ride at the weekend. recent weeks this has grown up to 80/90/100 miles.
- 2-3 midweek gym/turbo sessions of about 1 hour. steady low intensity efforts in the winter, with more intervals / tempo efforts etc thrown in more recently.

pace wise i did a [flat] 100 miler a couple of weeks ago 5 and a half hours without too many issues.

i plan on doing the dragon ride at the end of the month (200km).

i'm relatively small (70kg, 5'8") and will be riding a compact with a 28 on the back.

So, to those that have done the marmotte before how does my training compare? will i make it round?

To those dong it for the first time how much training have u done?

de_sisti

Don't worry, from what you've said you'll get round comfortably. If you're after a very quick
time, someone else on this forum would be able to provide you with a better analysis on what
you need to do.

Just my tuppence worth.

glasgowbhoy

Mileage you're doing sounds good. It's the lack of climbing I'd be worried about. I have the luxury of good long climbs near my house. I've also done a couple of sportives in the lake district with the Fred Whitton last Sunday and another 3 x 100 milers to go before heading out to the Marmotte.

I'd be doing more threshold sessions of around 40-60 mins on the road or on the turbo to try and replicate the climbs you'll be doing on the day.

Good luck. Work hard and you'll hopefully get round in a Gold standard time

twotyred

I'm doing it for the first time this year. Since the new year my average is 625 miles per month. I wouldn't worry about the lack of hills. I'm being professionally coached for it and although I do hill and climbing intervals its all on the hills around Wiltshire none of which are higher than 230 metres and take no more than 6 mins to get up and my coach has never mentioned trying to find larger hills. My longest training rides have never been more than 3-4 hours.

I've done three lumpy sportives so far of 90, 101 and 107 mile length and will finish off with the Dragon Grand Fondo. Sounds like your endurance is OK if you can comfortably reel off century rides. Can you finish those as strongly as you start them? If so I'd say your endurance is OK. My training is concentrating on strength and speed now. I'm aiming to be 5-6kg heavier than you (I'm 6ft) by the event. I'll be using a compact with 12-27 on the back.

Are you OK riding in groups? Its pretty vital to be able to get into a decent group between the Glandon and the Telegraph.

From what you've said sounds like you'll be OK as long as you pace yourself and eat and drink appropriately.

My main worry is dealing with the heat if we get a hot day and is over 30°C on Alpe d'Huez however I'm going out the previous weekend so should get some acclimatisation in.

Tim Sluman

You'll get round just fine,,, sounds very similar to me.

This will be my third Marmotte, I started training deliberately late (April 1st) so as not to burn out the enthusiasm as per previous years. Training has consisted of long weekend rides of c. 90 miles, plus the local chaingang for top end fitness and ideally another mid week ride. I have the luxury of living in the Cotswold though so hills are a plenty.

Ramping it up now though, with alternate hard and easy weekends, just had a 170 mile weekend in the Yorkshire Dales then a 120 miler planned for a week Saturday, then the Dragon, then a week in Bormio finishing with Gran Fondo Sportful a fortnight before La Marmotte.

Gearing I'll be on Compact 27 so again your 28 is spot on,

With regard to riding in groups, agreed, but find a group that is riding at a comfortable pace for you it's all too easy to get into a race peloton between the Glandon and the Telegraphe, when you hit the Telegraphe you need to be in a good state for up to 2 hours climbing to the top of the Galibier

Good luck and enjoy, and if you see a Cheltenham Jersey on a Ridley say hi !

twotyred

Mileage you're doing sounds good. It's the lack of climbing I'd be worried about. I have the luxury of good long climbs near my house.

Yeah but they're nothing like an alpine climb. There isn't a hill in the UK that can prepare you for climbing for two hours so I'm not worried.

Agreed about the long threshold sessions though especially done at the end of a long ride when you're tired.

chill123

sounds good - thanks.

i'm fine riding in groups (regular club runs), actually it is the descending that is worrying me a little!

TheStone

I wouldn't worry too much about the descents. The alpine ones tend to fairly simple, just long. Your speed will be a bit slower as they're busy anyway.

My first Marmotte. I'm upto 700+ miles per month. May should be around 8-900, June a bit less, but I'm 90kg, so need to do more. Hoping to get down to 85kg.

Have done 2 etapes and found those hard, but had to push to make the time limit. As far as I can tell, it seems the start is 7h00-7h50 and the final finisher is 21h14, which is best part of 14 hours!

Any tips out there?

Andrew N

Three Marmotte specific points to pick up on:

1 - descending: @TheStone you're right that alpine descents are not too technical (anyone who was doing the FW last weekend will know what a tough desecent is!). However, be super cautious off the back of the Glandon. There are always crashes there and you need to be careful.

2 - group ride to bottom of Telegraph: the long drag up the valley to the bottom of the Telegraph is all about conserving energy. Get in a group that is going at a comfortable pace and allows you to conserve energy, take on food and prepare for the climbing to come.

3 - heat: last year temperatures of up to 40c were recorded. Use every technique you can to keep your body cool and not overheat...everyone reacts differently to the heat, so be aware of your what your body can sustain and ride accordingly.

Have fun and stay safe!

Abdoujaparov

Think about your long rides not in terms of mileage, but in terms of time on the bike.

I could have done with a few 7-8 even 9 hour rides in training. Doing the Dragon Ride in 6h30 gave me confidence that wasn't really warranted and I blew up in the last hour or two of the Marmotte.

Amazing experience though (the whole thing - not the blowing up!). Enjoy!

Btw, near threshold work is fairly important too. A great session would be 3 x 1 hour at slightly under threshold pace with 30 minute recoveries. Pretty hardcore though!

Abdoujaparov

Oh and do the near threshold sessions on the flat so you're always putting pressure on the pedals to simulate a one hour climb.

Short climbs are one of the least useful things you can do.

orbeaorca

Does anyone have the route as a GPS file ? GPX or TCX would be fine

wicked

Looks like there will be at least 2 size 51 white orbea orca's on the marmotte

Training wise I have been doing lots of 2x20 minute threshold sessions and century rides, I too will be a first timer.

genki

orbeaorca wrote:

Does anyone have the route as a GPS file ? GPX or TCX would be fine

I think you can download the course onto your garmin from this if you click on "Send to Device" in the top right corner.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/39230052

Then tranfer from Garmin to computer as per usual.

bontie

I tend to follow Eddy Merckx's advice : "Ride lots"
I commute about 2 hours per day - ussually fairly hard sessions and about 7-8 hours on weekends (2x4hrs) will probably do a coupel of 100 mile rides in the next 2-3 weeks.

Doing Ironman France the week before, so not planning to race...

You are doing just fine...

motdoc

Another session you could try is leg strength mashing. Try 5-6 mins riding with a cadence of 50-60 rpm with a HR of 80-85% max. Then rest for 5 mens and repeat 4-8 reps. The hills may force your cadence down as they ramp up and being only able to train on the flat this simulates that.

wicked

Looks like a few forum members going, anyone staying at la piscine campsite?