Etape 2011 reports please
Comments
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Official website says only 1982 finishers out of 4000+ starters, sounds like carnage....0
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Just sounds like lots of people were under prepared and didn't dress for the forecast.0
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Yes, I did it. Put me down as DNF. My first.
Hard really in words to it justice. Not only have I never been so cold on a bike, I've never been so cold period. I'd say that none of us were prepared for it, in spite of watching the weather forecasts. Quite how "11 - 16 degrees, 20 km winds" turned into 2 - 6 degrees, and blow-you-off-your-bike winds is beyond me. People were just frozen, and in various states of hypothermia.
The first 30-40 k were OK, if damp from the steady rain. But once we reached the plateau after the first climb at 50 km, we were lambs to the slaughter. Coming down the longish descent into the first food stop at 69 km, not only was it very difficult to grip the levers enough to brake, I couldn't even shift into the big ring.
I stopped hoping for a warm drink, but settled for a banana ... that I couldn't even peel, my hands were shaking so much. Seeing a boulangerie with misted-up windows, I figured a few riders must be in there, so hobbled across the road and entered. It was full of shaking, hunched figures, many trying desperately to keep still long enough to dial or SMS ... to get picked up. Everyone there seemed to be stopping or discussing it, especially given that the highest climb, and presumably even worse conditions, awaited 30 km further up the plateau.
It was then I realised that things were serious, and explained the riders I'd seen stopped along the road sheltering in barns, behind fences, in (police) cars etc. etc., not to mention all the riders heading back the opposite direction. ("that's a lot of mechanicals" I thought at the time ...).
Having realised that there was no way i should be carrying on, I walked over to the busses but they were already full, so I was directed to the "emergency centre" which was just that. Ambulance/Red Cross people assessed you as you entered, and you were then put into different areas for treatment or whatever. Huge numbers of people wearing survival/space blankets, and a few more serious cases lying on the ground, attended by the emergency workers. I saw a few riders come in in a very distressed state.
Most people, including me, simply weren't dressed for what were extreme conditions. Almost everyone was in shorts, and wearing mits, plenty of people with short-sleeved jerseys with arm-warmers and either vests or rain jackets. But what was need was full-on winter riding gear - which just felt ridiculous in the middle of summer, even given the weather predictions. In the car at the start I actually took OFF a couple of layers, because it felt mild - the car was showing 18 degrees.
Apart from that .. great ride, I was feeling good, and felt that I was doing reasonable justice to my highish bib number. Also, great organisation on the spur of the moment by ASO to take control of a difficult situation. Next year ...0 -
Blimey, thanks for that. Now feeling glad I stayed at home this year!0
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What did the ASO do to take control? Indeed they have done before, in 2000 they closed the top of the Ventoux after the first 4000 riders crested b/c of extreme wind and it was quite cold.
There was a story of a guy dying later in hospital (in 2000) but might have been urban lore. I climbed into some nice French folks' campervan on the way down to Maulacene b/c I was so cold. Luckily they had hot tea.
I really wanted to do y'day but I'm now glad I didn't. I asked myself would I have really have brought warm clothes? Depends on what the weather said but I know I'd not have, in practice, brought anything more than a gilet, arm and knee warmers, a hat for under the helmet and maybe long finger gloves, but that's really it. No fleece-lined tights or Gore-Tex jacket. I've just never needed that in 12 years of Etapping. I'd have been sorely mistaken it sounds.When a cyclist has a disagreement with a car; it's not who's right, it's who's left.0 -
Crikey.
@Bing181, sounds horrific. We'd read in the Tour Climbs book that that area is known for extreme weather conditions with some of the coldest weather in France and it sounds like you were unlucky enough to experience them. Very glad to hear that ASO looked after you all though and you got home safely.0 -
I finished both étapes - one of the few to do so yesterday. The weather was horrendous on the first couple of peaks, but it did improve afterwards. There was even some lukewarm tea and coffee available at one or two of the later food stops.
Clearly a lot of riders abandoned the race - and no-one can blame them. I was lucky enough to have electronic shifters, which meant I could still change gear in spite of numb fingers. I couldn't hold my water bottle though.
Took me ten hours to finish - toughest day in the saddle I have ever had.
I thought the organisation for both étapes was sensationally good, with the gendarmerie helping every step of the way with the road closures (not like the British police, who refuse point blank to help at all with most events in the UK), very good medical assistance, excellent food and drink stops, and great signage that included warnings of all dangerous bends (where padding had also been put on any exposed stonework). It makes for quite an experience. Of course these are big budget events, and it shows. I think the receipts from the competitors fees alone for the two étapes, before any sponsorship, comes in at around EU1.3m.0 -
Wow. Read the news on Cycling news also, sounds aweful!
I had never planned to do both this year, but will be next year. I just hope the weather is better :shock:0 -
oh my god...0
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" Just sounds like lots of people were under prepared and didn't dress for the forecast."
I'd say most people DID dress for the forecast - which was for rain clearing to intermittent rain with clouds and sunshine, 11 - 16 degrees (across the course). This is still, after all, July, and temperatures just over freezing with very strong winds and driving rain are just not what anyone envisaged.
The rain drenched us, then the cold and wind did the rest.
One apocalyptic vision stays with me: up on the plateau, which is fairly barren, there were a large herd of cows, standing motionless in the fields, all lined up exactly parallel with each other. They had their backs to the wind and rain - and were looking straight at us.0 -
The thing with long one way rides is you are very committed to your choices ... I guess lots of people just didn't cover the options and went too light.
We've all been there; anyone who has spent a bit of time in the mountains will know to carry a bit extra for the variances in weather ...
I always seem to carry more gear than most ... not just clothes, tools & spares ...
That said it does sound grim but half the people made it OK so thats the challenge; some toughed it out others quit ...0 -
If anyone's interested, there's a video report from one of the local French TV stations:
http://auvergne.france3.fr/info/la-mond ... et=videos&0 -
I did both Etapes this year and both were tough in their own way.
We literally got cooked on Alpe d'Huez in 40 degree heat and then frozen on the col de Peyol with 4 degrees.
I think anyone used to the UK climate for riding condtiions could handle the cold on Etape 2.
I didn't realize people were bailing out until I overheard someone at the finish talking about it. I didn't stop until after the first major climb (around 100k) and although I'd probably never consider quitting if people stopped prior to that e.g. at the first feed station I can see why it would be tempting to stop.
For me the worst part was the gale force wind which meant we were going on the flat slower than uphill and even descending we had to pedal to keep any reasonable speed. I'd like to do the course again with decent weather to see how much the weather slowed us down.
Very chuffed to have completed Act 2 and to realize how many people had bailed!
Here's a strava link to someone who did the ride and his comments on bailing:
http://app.strava.com/rides/9588440 -
mustoThe thing with long one way rides is you are very committed to your choices ... I guess lots of people just didn't cover the options and went too light.
We've all been there; anyone who has spent a bit of time in the mountains will know to carry a bit extra for the variances in weather ...
I always seem to carry more gear than most ... not just clothes, tools & spares ...
That said it does sound grim but half the people made it OK so thats the challenge; some toughed it out others quit ...
You really weren't there were you. I was and had to DNF.
I had seen the weather forecast, I had brought my UK winter stuff, but not long fingers or overshoes, and put it on in the tent in Issoire, and then as it was 17 on the car thermometer driving to the start switched to a regular jersey, arm warmers and shower top, which had done me OK over the Galibier in the Marmotte two weeks earlier. The combination of wind and rain on the plateau was horrendous, I think it was that we were exposed to it for so long.
I got to Allanche, but couldn't actually operate my shifters except with the heel of my hand and was shivering uncontrollably, internally as well. By the time I warmed up enough to even consider carrying on It was past the cut off, so game over.
Yes I got it wrong, but smug comments from someone sitting at a keyboard really p**s me off, something that too many people on this forum do. Don't give us sh1t about toughing it out unless you were there, and even so, think about the effect saying that has on people.
In some circumstances, it might well be considered irresponsible to continue, if I had gone on then in 20K I might have been occupying an ambulance that should have been used for someone in a worse condition further back.0 -
Just to add that I tried to get forecasts for the ride as well and they were either wrong or misleading. Most seemed to indicate 10 degrees with some wind and rain with sun and warmth coming after 10am or so.
I debated at the start to either use a proper rain jacket or just go with my sportful hot pack jacket because it packs up much smaller to carry when it warms up. In the end I chose the sportful which was probably the wrong choice as it is very light weight and I wore it the entire ride so never needed to pack it up...
Otherwise I did the ride with only high summer kit meaning no layers, warmers, overshoes etc. it was bleeding cold but the only time it really affected me was during the descent of the Peyol.
I commute to work everyday in London and wear my summer kit in about 7-10 degrees so that might literally have made the difference for me.
The only positive about being so cold was that on the long treacherous decscent through the fog - I was thinking about how my hands and shoulders weren't hurting from braking so much. But the reason they weren't hurting (especially my fingers) was because I couldn't feel them anymore!0 -
malcolmfrost wrote:Yes I got it wrong, but smug comments from someone sitting at a keyboard really p**s me off,
Calm down ... I feel for you guys to have been hit with such horrible weather conditions; but dealing with the weather is just as much part of the challenge as the distance & the accent.
Half the entries completed so they were up to the challenge; if it was 100% given that you'd complete it wouldn't be worth doing; go back next year and nail it.0 -
musto_skiff wrote:malcolmfrost wrote:Calm down ... I feel for you guys to have been hit with such horrible weather conditions; but dealing with the weather is just as much part of the challenge as the distance & the accent.
Half the entries completed so they were up to the challenge;.
It had nothing to do with it being a "challenge" or "dealing with it". Choosing not to be taken off in an ambulance is not a sign of weakness or deficiency.
FYI, I didn't stop because it was hard, or even because I was suffering or uncomfortable. I stopped when I realised I could no longer execute the basic actions necessary for riding and manoeuvring a bike, nor take care of the fundamentals (nutrition, hydration etc.).
I don't visit these forums all that often, so I can't say if your smug, ill-informed posts are par for the course or not. Suffice to say, you've made your (irrelevant) point, so leave it at that.0 -
Calm down ... I feel for you guys to have been hit with such horrible weather conditions; but dealing with the weather is just as much part of the challenge as the distance & the accent.
Half the entries completed so they were up to the challenge; if it was 100% given that you'd complete it wouldn't be worth doing; go back next year and nail it.
We agree!!
I was actually positive after I had warmed up, and in fact if I hadn't missed the cut off by that time, I would have probably given it another go!
There were a lot of factors at play that day, I have quite low fat levels, my 2 friends who have slightly higher levels completed. I got the kit wrong, although I've done a reasonable amount of riding in the high mountains, I've never done it in those conditions, so lesson learned. Perhaps I need to get up to Scotland
What is also interesting is that there was a lot of disappointment at the route selection this year, but in the event, mix in some weather and it probably became one of the hardest ever.0 -
There was an interesting item in the Sunday Times at the weekend about the Etape.
1/2 page item titled ... "My mad dash from non-rider to Tour wannabe"
It's great that the event is proving an aspirational challenge that is attracting people to cycling but it does mean that the event has a proportion of inexperienced riders and as such I'm not surprised at the number of DNFs.
In the feature the rider talks about going up the back of another cyclist at a red light :?0 -
musto_skiff wrote:It's great that the event is proving an aspirational challenge that is attracting people to cycling but it does mean that the event has a proportion of inexperienced riders and as such I'm not surprised at the number of DNFs.
On a vaguely related note, anyone find it a bit strange that ITV are giving away two entries to next year's etape in their Tour coverage? There are obviously alot of proper cyclists that watch it, but also some viewers that only ever have interest in cycling during the tour.0 -
The Etape has become a very fashionable event to take part in, which I generally think is a good thing as it does get more people into the sport. However, as a result you do get a lot of people taking part who are not properly prepared. The failure rate in the Etape has always been quite high. Last year I met 2 people who hadn't cycled more than 100km beforehand, naturally they didnt make it, but werent overly worried.
As for this year, sounds like Rule 5 of the Rules of Cycling(http://www.velominati.com/blog/the-rules/) should have been applied a bit more!
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go back next year and nail it.
Unfortunately the moment is gone!
I didn't complete the Marmotte last year but came back this year with new gearing and managed an age group silver. I suppose the Etape is harder in some ways because there is a different course and new challenges. Guess that's what makes it addictive.
Chapeau to everyone who finished, especially my new friend Annette in SAS 5 who had her bike nicked the week before and finished.0 -
To add my experiences to the thread:
We were staying around 12 miles outside of Issoire in a village on a hill at about 850m. When we left in the morning the temperature was 16 degrees but wet and windy. We were all wearing leg warmers, arm warmers, over shoes and rain jackets. By the time I descended into the start it was around 18 degrees and I was boiling hot.
I had a high start number 717, due to past results and was riding with 2 of my team mates. The pace was pretty quick from the off with two very large pelotons, of over 100 people I should think, forming from our penn, with me in one and my club mates in the other. Pace was 25mph plus. It was raining hard on the flat section and we were all getting wet through but the pace of the ride was keeping me warm enough.
When we arrived at the bottom of the first climb the group shattered pretty quickly, and got very strung out. The first part of the climb was covered and quite steep so was able to get warm and push the pace on. The climb flattened out a little and we arrived at, what I would describe as open moorland. There was no cover or trees or anything to stop the howling gale whipping across the hill. I was more or less completely alone at this point. I could see a group of 15 or so riders in the distance and pushed hard to reach them. The wind was incredibly strong and was a real battle to make progress towards them. The wind was coming hard and from the front right and the rain had intensified and was turning to sleet.
All of the riders in the group insisted on riding in a line on the left of the road which was doing nothing for any of us. I moved over to the right and shouted "a droit" to try and get an echelon formed. Momentarily some of the group lined up to my left but after 3 or 4 minutes I pulled off after my stint and every body shot back over to the left leaving no shelter. Slowly the group started to break up and I was left very isolated.
The wind was so strong that at one point I was moving at 4 miles an hour. In hindsight I should have been giving it full gas to get off that hillside as fast as I could but I was mindful of the miles I had ahead of me. Slowly I started to loose feeling in my hands. I had some gels under my seat and I reached down to get one and couldn’t feel if I had it in my hand or not! Eventually I could feel my core getting cold as I began to shiver. The gradient on the climb was to shallow to offer any shelter or to get much heat going. I started to stomp up the hill to try and generate some body heat. Unfortunately then the descent started.
I just kept telling myself to get to the feed station and I could sort myself out from there. My vision began to shut down and I was getting tunnel vision. Controlling the bike was becoming a problem, I couldn’t pull the brakes and my balance was going.
What happened next is a bit of a blur. I think I missed a corner and ended up in a ditch. I remember being pulled from the ditch by a gendarmerie who I proceeded to vomit on, and then a paramedic arrived and I think I blacked out after that as the next thing I knew I was on a stretcher, naked, in an ambulance with a very young French paramedic slapping me very hard across the face. I remember asking about "mon velo" and getting agitated that it wasn’t in the ambulance with me and how did they expect me to finish without my bike!
Again it’s a bit hazy but I remember being carried and then being laid out on the floor of what seemed like a gym, where they took a sample of my blood and rubbed me back to life. I remember drifting in and out and just wanting to go to sleep I perked up however when I saw one of the four paramedics attending to me preparing a large needle of what I can only assume was adrenalin! Thankfully I managed to convince him I would be OK.
I suddenly became aware that the empty gym I had been taken to was now FULL of people. The French contingent, fair play to them, were even starting a bit of a sing song.
Eventually the buses arrived to take us to St Flour where I was met by the wife of one of my club mates and looked after until the others came back. One club mate had a mechanical and couldn't make it, the other, an ex pro (who came 88th overall) said it was the hardest conditions he had ever ridden in and one of the hardest rides he had ever done, he also said that the first 60k were definitely the hardest in terms of the conditions.
Looking back at my Garmin data the temperature on the moorland was 1 degrees. Short of wearing a full on winter jacket I am not sure what I could have done differently and even that would have seemed ludicrous given we left Issoire in 17 degrees and had been told the temperature would go no lower than 10 degrees.
To put it things in perspective I have done 4500 miles this year, two, week long, training camps, one in Mallorca and one in the Alps, and I have been racing all season. I am a pretty experienced cyclist and without doubt they were the worst conditions I've ever experienced.
I am pretty sure that the only way I could have made it through is if I had had more protection around me, as in a group of riders that were prepared to work together. Either that or if I had had more body mass, I only weigh 66kg and am 6ft. I can assure you at no point did I "quit". The other point that I would make is that there were a lot of low numbers on that bus so it wasnt just the "inexperienced" that were stopping.
I would also say that the support on the day was absolutely exemplary. They must have been stretched to breaking point but were efficient, caring, cheerful and very very professional and I cant praise them enough.0 -
benji90 wrote:To add my experiences to the thread:
We were staying around 12 miles outside of Issoire in a village on a hill at about 850m. When we left in the morning the temperature was 16 degrees but wet and windy. We were all wearing leg warmers, arm warmers, over shoes and rain jackets. By the time I descended into the start it was around 18 degrees and I was boiling hot.
I had a high start number 717, due to past results and was riding with 2 of my team mates. The pace was pretty quick from the off with two very large pelotons, of over 100 people I should think, forming from our penn, with me in one and my club mates in the other. Pace was 25mph plus. It was raining hard on the flat section and we were all getting wet through but the pace of the ride was keeping me warm enough.
When we arrived at the bottom of the first climb the group shattered pretty quickly, and got very strung out. The first part of the climb was covered and quite steep so was able to get warm and push the pace on. The climb flattened out a little and we arrived at, what I would describe as open moorland. There was no cover or trees or anything to stop the howling gale whipping across the hill. I was more or less completely alone at this point. I could see a group of 15 or so riders in the distance and pushed hard to reach them. The wind was incredibly strong and was a real battle to make progress towards them. The wind was coming hard and from the front right and the rain had intensified and was turning to sleet.
All of the riders in the group insisted on riding in a line on the left of the road which was doing nothing for any of us. I moved over to the right and shouted "a droit" to try and get an echelon formed. Momentarily some of the group lined up to my left but after 3 or 4 minutes I pulled off after my stint and every body shot back over to the left leaving no shelter. Slowly the group started to break up and I was left very isolated.
The wind was so strong that at one point I was moving at 4 miles an hour. In hindsight I should have been giving it full gas to get off that hillside as fast as I could but I was mindful of the miles I had ahead of me. Slowly I started to loose feeling in my hands. I had some gels under my seat and I reached down to get one and couldn’t feel if I had it in my hand or not! Eventually I could feel my core getting cold as I began to shiver. The gradient on the climb was to shallow to offer any shelter or to get much heat going. I started to stomp up the hill to try and generate some body heat. Unfortunately then the descent started.
I just kept telling myself to get to the feed station and I could sort myself out from there. My vision began to shut down and I was getting tunnel vision. Controlling the bike was becoming a problem, I couldn’t pull the brakes and my balance was going.
What happened next is a bit of a blur. I think I missed a corner and ended up in a ditch. I remember being pulled from the ditch by a gendarmerie who I proceeded to vomit on, and then a paramedic arrived and I think I blacked out after that as the next thing I knew I was on a stretcher, naked, in an ambulance with a very young French paramedic slapping me very hard across the face. I remember asking about "mon velo" and getting agitated that it wasn’t in the ambulance with me and how did they expect me to finish without my bike!
Again it’s a bit hazy but I remember being carried and then being laid out on the floor of what seemed like a gym, where they took a sample of my blood and rubbed me back to life. I remember drifting in and out and just wanting to go to sleep I perked up however when I saw one of the four paramedics attending to me preparing a large needle of what I can only assume was adrenalin! Thankfully I managed to convince him I would be OK.
I suddenly became aware that the empty gym I had been taken to was now FULL of people. The French contingent, fair play to them, were even starting a bit of a sing song.
Eventually the buses arrived to take us to St Flour where I was met by the wife of one of my club mates and looked after until the others came back. One club mate had a mechanical and couldn't make it, the other, an ex pro (who came 88th overall) said it was the hardest conditions he had ever ridden in and one of the hardest rides he had ever done, he also said that the first 60k were definitely the hardest in terms of the conditions.
Looking back at my Garmin data the temperature on the moorland was 1 degrees. Short of wearing a full on winter jacket I am not sure what I could have done differently and even that would have seemed ludicrous given we left Issoire in 17 degrees and had been told the temperature would go no lower than 10 degrees.
To put it things in perspective I have done 4500 miles this year, two, week long, training camps, one in Mallorca and one in the Alps, and I have been racing all season. I am a pretty experienced cyclist and without doubt they were the worst conditions I've ever experienced.
I am pretty sure that the only way I could have made it through is if I had had more protection around me, as in a group of riders that were prepared to work together. Either that or if I had had more body mass, I only weigh 66kg and am 6ft. I can assure you at no point did I "quit". The other point that I would make is that there were a lot of low numbers on that bus so it wasnt just the "inexperienced" that were stopping.
I would also say that the support on the day was absolutely exemplary. They must have been stretched to breaking point but were efficient, caring, cheerful and very very professional and I cant praise them enough.
Hats off to you there benji90, that sounded horrendous. Glad your first thought was for your bike, a sure sign of recovery. Sounds like it was tough for one and all, well done chaps.The dissenter is every human being at those moments of his life when he resigns
momentarily from the herd and thinks for himself.0 -
benji90 wrote:To add my experiences to the thread:....
Sounds horrific ... so we can all learn somthing from this...
Now you have experienced this if you were about to set off on the same route in a months time in the same forecast and current weather conditions; would you do anything different?0 -
musto_skiff wrote:benji90 wrote:To add my experiences to the thread:....
Sounds horrific ... so we can all learn somthing from this...
Now you have experienced this if you were about to set off on the same route in a months time in the same forecast and current weather conditions; would you do anything different?
Honestly I am not sure I would have done anything differently. I know that sounds a bit daft but with the information we had I dont think anyone could predict it was going to get that bad. I think on the day the only thing I would have done differently would be to have litterally stopped and waited for a bigger group to come up and hide in, but at the end of the day I was aiming for a silver standard time and so didnt want to stop.0 -
benji90 wrote:musto_skiff wrote:benji90 wrote:To add my experiences to the thread:....
Sounds horrific ... so we can all learn somthing from this...
Now you have experienced this if you were about to set off on the same route in a months time in the same forecast and current weather conditions; would you do anything different?
Honestly I am not sure I would have done anything differently. I know that sounds a bit daft but with the information we had I dont think anyone could predict it was going to get that bad. I think on the day the only thing I would have done differently would be to have litterally stopped and waited for a bigger group to come up and hide in, but at the end of the day I was aiming for a silver standard time and so didnt want to stop.
Would you have slipped one of these into you jersey pocket/saddle pack?
They weigh just under 100g in the packaging?
http://spaceponcho.com/0 -
benji90
It sounds like we were standing next to you at the finish cheering Keith up the hill!0 -
malcolmfrost wrote:benji90
It sounds like we were standing next to you at the finish cheering Keith up the hill!
Do you mean "cheering Mike up the hill?"
Are you the triathalete that also stopped at the first feed?0 -
What was it like at the finish in St Flour? Was it one of those maddening situations where the rain & wind cleared and it was a nice afternoon?
Glad all you guys finished and are (now, anyways) safe and sound.
Musto_Skiff, I'm with you that the Etape can be a real tick-box event for a bunch of friends who've never pedalled a bike before to goad each other into doing. I've done 8 and I've passed 1000s of these guys. Given what I've read here but also what 3 buddies told me of the day (1 was an ex-Rapha rider), this year is the year to put that reason for non-finishing aside.When a cyclist has a disagreement with a car; it's not who's right, it's who's left.0
