Marmotte 2012

mosquitophil

I always worked on the 1g per kg rule and have found it a pretty good rule of thumb. Started using Accelerade a couple of years ago and foudn some good advice on their website and in a little booklet they give out.
FWIY I'll hAve a good breakfast, drink/feed on the way down to Bourg, caffeine before start. One full bottle for the ride up Glandon (save weight), fill both bottles at top of Glandon (with Accelerade which I'll take pre-measured in little picnic bags), then stop again in Valoire to fill one bottle with accelerade then final stop on top of Galibier to fill both bottles. Along the way I'll pick up water at side of road as necessary (water stations on Telegraphe, Galibier and the Alpe where you can pick up drinks without stopping).
I'll have a couple of normal and a couple of caffeine gels and a couple of normal gels, plus some Clif/Nakd bars.
Post ride recovery will be a f****ing big steak and a bottle of red!

alan_a

Any idea what the weather has been like over there?

mikey_748

Alan A wrote:

Any idea what the weather has been like over there?

It rained most of the day last Wednesday..... :roll:

Forecast more relevant - one below is good usually. Getting cooler next week, max of 8 on Wed

http://meteonews.fr/en/Weather/G3016761/Col_du_Galibier

sampras38

Alan A wrote:

Any idea what the weather has been like over there?

In the Alps it's so unpredictable and very difficult to forecast.

Changes daily.

sampras38

mosquitophil wrote:

I always worked on the 1g per kg rule and have found it a pretty good rule of thumb. Started using Accelerade a couple of years ago and foudn some good advice on their website and in a little booklet they give out.
FWIY I'll hAve a good breakfast, drink/feed on the way down to Bourg, caffeine before start. One full bottle for the ride up Glandon (save weight), fill both bottles at top of Glandon (with Accelerade which I'll take pre-measured in little picnic bags), then stop again in Valoire to fill one bottle with accelerade then final stop on top of Galibier to fill both bottles. Along the way I'll pick up water at side of road as necessary (water stations on Telegraphe, Galibier and the Alpe where you can pick up drinks without stopping).
I'll have a couple of normal and a couple of caffeine gels and a couple of normal gels, plus some Clif/Nakd bars.
Post ride recovery will be a f****ing big steak and a bottle of red!

I'm with you on bottle of red...:)

Been really good and hardly touched a drop in weeks.

flamite

I know this changes day by day,

but at the moment, rain is forecast! Us brits will do well then hey!

http://uk.weather.com/weather/10day-Le- ... s-FRRA0871

rongob

The temperture in bourg at midday today was 33 degress

simon johnson

I did this last year...great day. Pace yourselves

One tip: before the Glandon ramps up there is a descent, the ramp immediately after this descent starts sharply and is full of riders because it's relatively early on (depending on the time you start). It's wise to drop down your gear ON the descent before the sweeping left bend...I saw chains exploding and lots of people struggling to change down, getting stuck and getting off in a throng of others attempting to do the same. I made the mistake but managed to stay up and get through.

sunburntknees

Can anyone tell me where are the numbers collected from please?

I'm staying in Albertville, so was hoping to dash into Bourg on the Thursday and pick up my number and scoot off again. There doesn't seem to be much info about this on the official site.

nevman

Should be signing on in Alpe d`Huez at the sports centre,cant miss it-nice warm up for the event if you ride up.
Will be in Bourg d`Oisans all week before with Derby Mercury-look out for the blue/white kit and give us a shout out
Good luck to all taking part this year

hatone

I'm leaving for the Alpe soon - planning to use the week ahead before the Marmotte to squeeze in some high altitude training and survey what's on offer (never been before).

Weather is looking rather mixed and somewhat cool - great for us British people!!!

The Other McHoy

Apologies if questions have been asked already:
1. Does the medical certificate have to be scanned in this year and sent? Last year I handed it over at time of registration and the girl didn't even look at it.
2. I have a number 2050, what starting wave will that be in? e.g. first wave up to 2000, second wave up to?

Thanks and have a great and safe ride everyone.

mosquitophil

I spoke to Sportcommunication earlier in the week and they confirmed that it is ok to show your licence/med certificate when signing on. If you are number 2050 you will be in the second wave starting at 7.30, I think that is 2000-4000 or 5000, whatever it' definetly a 7.30 start.

The Other McHoy

Thanks for the answer.

NoMoreShadows

The weather is looking somewhat mixed on the longer range forecasts...

http://uk.weather.com/weather/10day-Le-Bourg-dOisans-FRRA0871

mosquitophil

Fromn what I've seen (Ski Glub GB site!). It's getting cooler with rain middle of next week then sunshine from friday on albeit with lower temps, not bad if it stays like that but experience tells me that it's best to take any forecast for less than a couple of days ahead with a pinch of salt! Best bet is to take down clothing to cope with all eventualities and decide on what to wear next saturday morning.

Brian B

Good luck to all and hope you get good weather - possibly last years event was THE best day I have had on a bike.

speshsteve

This time next week all

I'll be taking in the beautiful surroundings allowing my mind to wander from the nagging pain of another never ending hill!

derek48

Off to Bourg tomorrow, driving down and camping at Camping la Piscine on the Alpe Duez road. I'm the old bald git with the white Cervelo R3. Say hello if you see me. It's all getting very real now. Can't wait.

sampras38

Flying out Thurs

See you there folks.

hatone

I'm here in the Alpe d'huez - descended & rode up the Alpe this afternoon. Max temp was 39 degrees (34 average) according to my Garmin!

Just too hot in my view and wasn't particularly enjoyable to say the least (did it in a shade over 1 hr). Long range forecast is looking more favourable temps wise so will make things somewhat easier...

The Other McHoy

I see the Weather Channel website has it down for showers most of next week including Friday, Sat and Sunday. Anyone there hearing anything different from the local forecasters? Steep Alp descents in the wet with 8000 + riders doesn't sound like fun . . .

narbs

GFS maps are looking clear for Saturday now, as is Meteo France. Temp showing around 17, but it's all guesswork until around Wednesday.

flamite

Any last minute tips for a first timer for prep before the big day?

Eating pasta/carbs most meals, drinking lots. Worried that I haven't to time to ride at all this week....

matty boy 80

I leave tommoow morning early , all the training done ,weight lost ,hope its enough.

twotyred

I'm off early doors tomorrow with Sleazy Jet from Gatwick. Anyone else here staying with Veloventoux? If so might see you in Alpe d'Huez

alan_a

twotyred wrote:

I'm off early doors tomorrow with Sleazy Jet from Gatwick. Anyone else here staying with Veloventoux? If so might see you in Alpe d'Huez

Yep, Full Merckx and I amongst others coming from Glasgow with KLM.

Leroy42

Flamite,
Don’t worry about getting out on the bike this week; the work is done at this stage. If you can get out for even an hour to spin the legs it would be great be other than that I wouldn’t be worried. Whatever you do during the week, make sure you don’t try to do too much from Thursday. We rode Alpe on the Thursday the 1st time we headed over, sat it out the 2nd time and I think it make a positive difference.

Don’t do anything on Friday, maybe a nice gentle spin for 1 hour with a few fast pedals, but really that is just to make sure the bike is ok, you’re ok etc. We did the last 5k of Alpe on the Friday last time, really easy. Stopping for photos etc. However, if you normally head out the day before a race/ride then no real reason to give it a miss, just take it really easy.

Friday is actually a boring day up in Alpe. Once you have got your numbers etc then it really is about doing as little as possible. Stay off your feet. The old adage that pros either cycle their bikes or sit down during the tour is right. Keep the walking etc to a minimum. – Not to say you spend the day as a veg!

Eating, don’t want to start a whole carbo loading thread but from my knowledge carbo loading only really helps in the last 48 hours. So stick to what you know, eat good food (so pasta is fine) but don’t overload. Drink plenty of water. On the Friday certainly aim to eat & drink as much as possible. After so many months looking after what you eat, trying to eat more breakfast & pasta is actually a bit of a chore.

Last but the most important, relax. Nervousness, apprehension etc is just wasted energy. It’s just a cycle after all. A damn tough one, but a cycle. You have done hundreds of cycles already. Take your time, focus on yourself. If you are heading over with a group, we have found that wishing each other luck at the rollout and then forgetting about them is the best plan. Such a long tough day in the saddle it is highly unlikely that two people will go at the same pace throughout the whole day. So just go at what suits you.

I tend to overworry. Is the bike ok, what gear to wear, new tyres etc. It’s just a cycle. Go out and do it like you have done loads of times before (probably not on such a scale!). Don’t worry about others, what they are wearing, the gear they have, how fast they are going. Especially on the Glandon, there are loads of cyclists, all excited and nervous and people just need to calm down a bit. Lots of people shouting at others to move around, watch their line etc etc, but it will thin out after a while, losing ten minutes on the 1st climb will not make or break your day.

One thing that did help me a lot was coming up with a rough plan or how long each section should take. It gives a rough gauge of how the day is going and whether you can push on or hold back a bit. Know the length of each climb and how you should approach it. There are plenty of great Marmotte guides on t’interweb.

mikey_748

Good advice Leroy and thanks for taking to time to share your experiences. We are considering an easy ride up the Alpe from the easy(er) back way (Allemond to huez) on Thursday keeping HR down below 70% - not certain if this will affect Saturday or not :?

mosquitophil

I don't think an easy ride thursday or friday will affect your ride on saturday, assuming you've been taking it easy for the last 5-7days. Last year we drove down thursday and rode 2hrs friday which felt just right, besides once you've signed on there isn't much else to do on ADH! Expect we'll do the same this year, unless it's raining in which case we'll be glued to the weather forecast for saturday.