Alpes and Cols

Chung Mee

Unlike you lot, coming late to Pro Racing, I've only been to a few (Telegraphe, Galibier, Madeleine, Croix de Fer), but this is my favourite

The mighty L'Alpe d'Huez



It makes me feel near sick, looking at that overhead shot.

Does anyone have other terrifying overhead shots of TdF vertiginous climbs?

super_prestige

If makes you sick looking at it, you want to ride it.

Anonymous

I had a wicked ride up th'alpe.

It was sunny at the bottom, at the top it was blizzard and I had to call into a shop to buy gloves, hat and legwarmers to even allow me to ride. I've never been as cold on a bike in my life!

shinyhelmut

[pedant]Not technically a col really though is it.[/pedant]

I've not ridden it yet but when I do it will involve a swim at the bottom and a 20K run at the top.

NapD's experience of Alp D'Huez sounds like my experience of the tourmalet. Great fun!

andyp

ShinyHelmut wrote:

[pedant]Not technically a col really though is it.[/pedant]

[pedant who knows what he's talking about]It is a col, the Col de Sarenne, which is approx 5 kms, and 150 metres, above Alpe d'Huez.
[/pedant who knows what he's talking about]

No_Ta_Doctor

You can take a virtual stroll up it..

http://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF8&ll=45.086612,6.047287&spn=0.121199,0.606995&t=h&z=11&layer=c&cbll=45.072938,6.050017&panoid=4UOuKhIM8-0nquW9vvtD1Q&cbp=12,141.83,,0,0

rdt

Chung Mee wrote:

It makes me feel near sick, looking at that overhead shot.

What made me feel queasy was tanking it down the D211a balcony road on the side of the Alpe above Bourg. The barrier is about a foot high, and the drop about 1000m, vertical-ish, to the valley floow. Yikes :shock:

http://www.aukadia.net/alps/d211a.htm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPUubMfHisA

airbusboy

I rode up it for the first time last month. It must be said that photo is more intimidating than when you're actually ride up it; upto turn 17 ish the gradient is quite harsh after that the pain eases, slightly.

ATB

AB

gsk82

that pics been y desktop background since i booked my marmotte place. never rode a mountain before so hopefully ventoux the week before will prepare me for it

calvjones

gsk82 wrote:

that pics been y desktop background since i booked my marmotte place. never rode a mountain before so hopefully ventoux the week before will prepare me for it

Um... what's preparing you for the Ventoux?


It'll be harder then the Alpe if the wind's blowing.

paulcuthbert

calvjones wrote:

gsk82 wrote:

that pics been y desktop background since i booked my marmotte place. never rode a mountain before so hopefully ventoux the week before will prepare me for it

Um... what's preparing you for the Ventoux?


It'll be harder then the Alpe if the wind's blowing.

It'd be harder full stop. Steeper, longer, and probably a lot warmer in Provence than in the Alps. Can't wait to climb both!

shinyhelmut

andyp wrote:

ShinyHelmut wrote:

[pedant]Not technically a col really though is it.[/pedant]

[pedant who knows what he's talking about]It is a col, the Col de Sarenne, which is approx 5 kms, and 150 metres, above Alpe d'Huez.
[/pedant who knows what he's talking about]

I hate a smartarse. Particularly one who's better informed than me.

durhamwasp

Awesome photo that from above.

Did it twice on April 1st and spend the 2nd night in the motorhome aire right next to that Air strip in the top right hand corner.

Did the Ventoux last summer, and found the Alpe harder. Though i did the Ventoux at the end of season, pretty light and fit, wheras the Alpe was beginning of season with an extra 3kg.

heavymental

Talking of the Col De Sarenne... If you've already done the descent back down the Alpe (which is amazing) and fancy something different when you head up another time, continue up to the Sarenne and head back down the back route. Its a bit bumpy in places but its a lovely ride and most people don't bother with it. There's a nice little coffee stop at the Sarenne too. There's also the little road off towards Villard Reculas off the Alpe climb which is a less well known alternative and quite nice too. Worth pulling off onto that road on your way down.

Anonymous

rdt wrote:

Chung Mee wrote:

It makes me feel near sick, looking at that overhead shot.

What made me feel queasy was tanking it down the D211a balcony road on the side of the Alpe above Bourg. The barrier is about a foot high, and the drop about 1000m, vertical-ish, to the valley floow. Yikes :shock:

http://www.aukadia.net/alps/d211a.htm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPUubMfHisA

There's room for a couple of motorhomes on the side of the road....

emadden

I did Ventoux two years ago the day before the Tour went up it... Great ride... loved it (and Im not a climber)... Had a slow puncture on the way up..... and 4 cans of coke :-) It wasnt as bad as I thought - Ive been up longer and tougher climbs in Switzerland... But maybe thats because there were already 10s of thousands of fans lining the road and the party atmosphere there was cool.... Our car was at the top and by the time I got back from my ride, one of my mates had heat stroke - he had been sitting in a deck chair drinking around 15 cans of beer

FJS

andyp wrote:

ShinyHelmut wrote:

[pedant]Not technically a col really though is it.[/pedant]

[pedant who knows what he's talking about]It is a col, the Col de Sarenne, which is approx 5 kms, and 150 metres, above Alpe d'Huez.
[/pedant who knows what he's talking about]

[pedantissimo]Well, if you want pedantic: technically, the 'col' is the mountain pass (just the French term for it), the saddle, low point of a mountain ridge, etc.; not the road leading up to it. As such, if you want to nitpick, the Sarenne is certainly a col, but L'Alpe d'Huez just a village on the road to the col, not a 'col' in itself.[/pedantissimo]

bobtbuilder

durhamwasp wrote:

Awesome photo that from above.

Did it twice on April 1st and spend the 2nd night in the motorhome aire right next to that Air strip in the top right hand corner.

Did the Ventoux last summer, and found the Alpe harder. Though i did the Ventoux at the end of season, pretty light and fit, wheras the Alpe was beginning of season with an extra 3kg.

+1

I found the Alpe much harder than the Ventoux. I didn't find the Ventoux that difficult at all, and I am definitely not a climber.

I found the Alpe to be brutal.

The descent on the "back" side of the col de sarenne is a lovely ride down and very quiet. You also come out near the foot of the climb of Les Deux Alpes.

gsk82

calvjones wrote:

gsk82 wrote:

that pics been y desktop background since i booked my marmotte place. never rode a mountain before so hopefully ventoux the week before will prepare me for it

Um... what's preparing you for the Ventoux?


It'll be harder then the Alpe if the wind's blowing.

the alp comes after 100miles, ventoux comes after a 10mile trundle from the hotel. i expect it will be the harder stand alone climb, but in the circumstances it should be easier

Will.C

NapoleonD wrote:

I had a wicked ride up th'alpe.

It was sunny at the bottom, at the top it was blizzard and I had to call into a shop to buy gloves, hat and legwarmers to even allow me to ride. I've never been as cold on a bike in my life!

What time of year was that?

hammerite

We stayed at a campsite near bend 16, had to climb half way up the damn thing to get home after any ride! I loved the D211a road though. The OH nearly had kittens when we drove the road down past Villard Reculas to Allemond.

Going back this summer. Only this time I'm going as a trianthelope, 2.2k swim in Lac Verney, 70 mile ride inc Col de la Morte, Col d'Ornon then the climb up to AdH, followed by a half marathon around the altiport. Starting to regret the whole idea really :oops:

rdt

Choppered wrote:

rdt wrote:

Chung Mee wrote:

It makes me feel near sick, looking at that overhead shot.

What made me feel queasy was tanking it down the D211a balcony road on the side of the Alpe above Bourg. The barrier is about a foot high, and the drop about 1000m, vertical-ish, to the valley floow. Yikes :shock:

http://www.aukadia.net/alps/d211a.htm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPUubMfHisA

There's room for a couple of motorhomes on the side of the road....

Not on the bits I'm referring to, where the photo I linked to was taken. :roll:

greasedscotsman

Looking forward (?) to riding this one again in a few weeks...

Cumulonimbus

bobtbuilder wrote:

durhamwasp wrote:

Awesome photo that from above.

Did it twice on April 1st and spend the 2nd night in the motorhome aire right next to that Air strip in the top right hand corner.

Did the Ventoux last summer, and found the Alpe harder. Though i did the Ventoux at the end of season, pretty light and fit, wheras the Alpe was beginning of season with an extra 3kg.

+1

I found the Alpe much harder than the Ventoux. I didn't find the Ventoux that difficult at all, and I am definitely not a climber.

I found the Alpe to be brutal.

The descent on the "back" side of the col de sarenne is a lovely ride down and very quiet. You also come out near the foot of the climb of Les Deux Alpes.

I found Ventoux to be a lot harder than alpe d'huez. Was on the limit at times on Ventoux, whereas on the Alpe i always seemed to have quite a bit in hand. Alpe d'huez was also 40 minutes shorter....

I was a bit disappointed getting to the top of the Alpe too, not sure what i expected but i was disappointed that all that was marking the top was something looking like a bus stop next to a car park. Then again it was the last climb of the holiday and maybe i had had enough by that time.

Favourite Alpine climb is the Cormet de Roselend, La Plagne was nice too. Ventoux gave me the biggest sense of achievement.

Moan/whinge over

deejay

durhamwasp wrote:

Awesome photo that from above.

spend the 2nd night in the motorhome aire right next to that Air strip in the top right hand corner.

Tell me ? did you see any fixed wing aircraft coming in or out of the airstrip.???
On my last visit up there in 2005 (TT stage) I only saw Helicopters and thought the landing strip had gone.

Whereas on my many visits in the 90's I used to love sitting opposite the strip watching fixed wing planes go tearing down the slope and out over the valley when they lost some altitude before climbing up and away.

iainf72

deejay wrote:

Tell me ? did you see any fixed wing aircraft coming in or out of the airstrip.???

I was there in 06 and went for a flight in a fixed wing plane from that airport, so they definitely were flying then.

Great experience, if a bit scary. Landing is quite something.

deejay

Nobody ridden the Col de Restefond as it was known in my day 9,193 feet.
They call it the Bonnet now and it's shorter and lower because they made the "Cut Off"
The Col de l'Iseran 9,088 feet, heading to (the free wheel into) Bourg St Maurice and then the "Tiddly" ride up the Cormet de Roselend @ 6453 feet. The one that Bruyneel went off road into a ravine and was saved by a bush. ! - (what a shame)

Col de la Madeleine @ 6539 feet always seems higher than it is

deejay

iainf72 wrote:

deejay wrote:

Tell me ? did you see any fixed wing aircraft coming in or out of the airstrip.???

I was there in 06 and went for a flight in a fixed wing plane from that airport, so they definitely were flying then.

Great experience, if a bit scary. Landing is quite something.

Thanks. There must be a sensation as the plane gets airborne.
I couldn't see the strip and it was very busy as Helicopters were bringing VIP's and riders in from the previous stage finish the other side of Grenoble at Villard

Abdoujaparov

Cumulonimbus wrote:

Favourite Alpine climb is the Cormet de Roselend, La Plagne was nice too. Ventoux gave me the biggest sense of achievement.

Roselend is just great - loved it. One of my best Alp moments though was hitting the Saisies at 7am, in the early morning sun with a day of awesome cycling stretching out in front of me. Beautiful.

Of all the Alpine climbs I've done though reckon the Joux Plane is the best. Great views, varied (and steep) gradients and was only passed by two or three cars for the whole climb (and one pro cyclist - riding for Caisse d'Epargne. Amusingly I was wearing my Caisse d'Epargne top at the time!)

dave milne

both times I've done the marmotte it's been absolute hell. scorchingly hot, no strength left in my legs and it's so steep. Not Zoncolan like for sure but the gradient doesn't get below 10% for quite a while.

suspectdevice

Chaps.

We are staying in Venosc and will be watching the alpe stage and the TT in Grenoble.

Apart from the Alpe, Galibier, Telegraphe, what other do you recommend looking at.

Am tempted with Sestriere but not sure what it's like as a climb.

Did Ventoux in 2009 and that was a brutal climb but las mentioned previously there was a great sense of achievement when you get to the top.