Marmotte 2012

speshsteve

I leave in 10 1/2 hours from now...very excited

I intend to carry on as I have all week and not touch the bike until Saturday. Anyone else around on Friday and watching TDF in a local cafe?

millster

Steve, I will be up the Alpe on Friday-if you do fancy watching the tour somewhere let me know and I'll pm you my number (I'm travelling alone so any British faces will be a welcome sight!)

I'm just on the train from leeds down to heathrow, flying with BA in the morning. Still no plan as yet on how I'm getting from Lyon to Alpe D'huez though! All part of the fun. Maybe I'll see if any tour companies have a space on the coach that I could buy.

See you all there, good luck.

Full Merckx

Anyone know the transfer time from Lyon to Alpe d'Huez ?

DavidCr

Full Merckx wrote:

Anyone know the transfer time from Lyon to Alpe d'Huez ?

If you travelling from the airport(Lyon St Exupery) it is all motorway to Grenoble, about an hour. To get around the roc de sud and on to Bourg d'Oisan is about another 45mins, but dependant on traffic, it can build up going around Grenoble. Then the 14kms up to Alpe d'Huez, you will probably have to go around a few bikes on this stretch.

BeauMaximus

I'm leaving home at 330am to catch a flight to geneva for first Marmotte.
Feeling good and ready, and finally hit my target weight of 76 (.9) kg this morning,
Down from 90kg in January.

Let's hope the weather is good!

alan_a

millster wrote:

Steve, I will be up the Alpe on Friday-if you do fancy watching the tour somewhere let me know and I'll pm you my number (I'm travelling alone so any British faces will be a welcome sight!)

I'm just on the train from leeds down to heathrow, flying with BA in the morning. Still no plan as yet on how I'm getting from Lyon to Alpe D'huez though! All part of the fun. Maybe I'll see if any tour companies have a space on the coach that I could buy.

See you all there, good luck.

Veloventoux coach leaving from outside TGV station at noon. They might have space.

steadyuk

Last minute nerves sat in hotel in ADH. I have a 3rd pen start (2000-4000) at 0730, can anyone advise the best time to set off in the morning?

Thanks

hatone

Allow plenty of time. I'm descending about 6 am from ADH for a 7.30 pen start.

Be fully aware when descending. There will be a lot of riders doing same, many half asleep and cold, rusty or riding badly. Apparently riders have had punctures descending in the past so do allow yourself time.

This is my first Marmotte and feeling positive. It's only a bike ride after all.

Good luck to all tomorrow.

mattpage

I hope everyone achieved what they wanted? One amazing event, I spent the whole time in pain but loved it.
6hrs 39min actual time. 6hrs 15min official time for me. Strava link

hatone

Great day! Organisation is second to none.

Came in at 7hr 15 mins (7hr 43 mins actual) Kept a bit too much in reserve and was able to blast up the Alpe with ease, overtaking many riders.

Sub 7 hr time will definitely be doable next year!

Though I have to say I've never seen so many roadside mechanicals and paramedics treating riders, esp. on the Glandon. I saw one poor chap have a total rear tyre blow-out while descending the Glandon - luckily he kept it upright, only just.

Looking forward to 2013.

alan_a

Wow wow wow. C'est Hot hot hot.

2nd toughest day on a bike after etape to tourmalet 2010. Almost 2 stone lighter and without 3month old to keep me awake.

Great event, awesome climbs, stunning scenery, much less of a logistical nightmare than etape.

High points:

Bottom half of Glandon descent piloted superfast by 3 italian super domestiques.
Becoming catalyst of 300 strong peleton in valley with said italians.

Top 20 strava place for Galibier descent.

Low points:

the d!ck on recumbent coming up clised Glandon against the flow of 7000 marmotters.

Telegraph climb was mind numbing
the heat: 34c. Felt as if i was in s fan oven in lower slope of Galibier.

Tour operator: really really disappointed at the lack of organisation and communication. Disgusted by lack of support
at their support stop.

alan_a

Fat fingered mibile phone typing.

bobgfish

I saw one poor chap have a total rear tyre blow-out while descending the Glandon - luckily he kept it upright, only just.

Had the same on the Galibier. Tube was in three pieces and tyre half off the rim. Parts of the tube were wrapped in the cassette and caused the rear to lock as I finally managed to stop. Sidewall cut to pieces. Made it to the next village very slowly with tyre at half pressure before buying and fitting a new tyre. Not investigated rim but may need a new one.

I heard about 5 go pop on the Glandon descent. To much heat when braking? or to much pressure with no expansion left? Mine went on the long open straights of the Galiber and I wasn't braking...

8 hours ride time but 8:35 total.

grimpeur

Out of interest what rims were you using, deep sections carbon? Maybe not but I saw a lot of people on Zipps which are inherently a bad idea for this sort of event. Carbon rims, especially clinchers can't get rid of the braking heat fast enough and as a result people get blow outs. Also bear in mind that even if you are the best descender in the world your rate of descent if often governed by the ( lack of ) ability of those you are sharing the road with. Alloy rims all the way, they are robust and dissipate heat the quickest.

I had a great day out until the Galibier, then nearly got punted off the road by a camper van on the descent and got a little pissed off riding through a tunnel with barely any lights. I've done it three times before and the tunnel lighting was never so bad. Made it to the Alpe and then blew up completely and crawled home in 8h07m, not my finest day on the bike but given how I felt at bend 21 I was thankful to make it to the top.

As a previous poster said I saw the crazy man riding up the Glandon and was pretty shocked. Amazed no one hit him as he wasn't exactly conspicuous!

bobgfish

32 Spoke ALU rims...Non aero...

I suspect I've had carbon I would have left a carbon trail behind me for the 200 metres it took me to stop. My day would have been over as well. I thought it was just with the state of the sidewall of the tyre as it was.

So still no idea why it blew.

jonginge

I've ridden deep carbon rims the last two marmottes and a number of other times in the mountains. They're fine. Newer carbon rims are much better at dissipating heat. They're not too bad in the damp either.

A few caveats apply obviously (general comments here and may not apply to you bobgfish):
One problem is overinflation. Especially if you're topping up in the cool hours of the morning just before the event.
Braking too much, too long. A lot of people seem to ride the brakes all the way down a mountain.
People pretend they're in the tour. As noted above the roads aren't closed (although there was a lot less traffic this year)


Anyway, my ride was officially 7:19:02. Not as good as last year but I'd done a lot less training so can't complain. I started to cramp exiting Valloire and had to manage it for the 50 miles home. My legs don't bend very well today

ugo.santalucia

mattpage wrote:

I hope everyone achieved what they wanted? One amazing event, I spent the whole time in pain but loved it.
6hrs 39min actual time. 6hrs 15min official time for me. Strava link

The Marmotte in 6 hours? WTF... have they shortened it or are you superman?

jonginge

ugo.santalucia wrote:

mattpage wrote:

I hope everyone achieved what they wanted? One amazing event, I spent the whole time in pain but loved it.
6hrs 39min actual time. 6hrs 15min official time for me. Strava link

The Marmotte in 6 hours? WTF... have they shortened it or are you superman?

That's very, very impressive. Chapeau

mattpage

Well considering that the winning time is usually 5.30 (official) I don't see it as that unbelievable.

Followed it up the next day with Etape Act 1 and riding back from the finish to Alberville. Etape Act 2 next weekend will make a nice triple header.
Any idea if the results from the Marmotte are online yet?

ugo.santalucia

mattpage wrote:

Well considering that the winning time is usually 5.30 (official) I don't see it as that unbelievable.

Followed it up the next day with Etape Act 1 and riding back from the finish to Alberville. Etape Act 2 next weekend will make a nice triple header.
Any idea if the results from the Marmotte are online yet?

OK, OK, 5 hours 30 minutes... but you have to know that in the continent at granfondo level there is quite some widespread doping. A few years back a fellow Italian Granfondo rider was caught with 21 (I said 21 !!!) banned substances in his urine in a random anti doping test (they rarely do them at that level) and banned for life.
When Raimondas Rumsas was banned from PRO cycling following the infamous events, he made a name for himself in the Granfondo world... winning virtually every event he was taking part in.
That to say that I am not at all surprised to see PRO level finishes in continental Europe... it is a bit different over here, where there is virtually no doping at this level.

I am of course not suspicious of a 6 hours something finish, just genuinely impressed... :shock:

Tom Butcher

ugo.santalucia wrote:

mattpage wrote:

I hope everyone achieved what they wanted? One amazing event, I spent the whole time in pain but loved it.
6hrs 39min actual time. 6hrs 15min official time for me. Strava link

The Marmotte in 6 hours? WTF... have they shortened it or are you superman?

Ugo - this year they were giving out the time without the Glandon descent so times this year are much faster than last - I'm assuming Matt is quoting the official time rather than start to finish anyway - still a stunning time though.

My ride was a disaster - forgot to put my spare quick link in the seat pack and you can guess the rest - first time I've ever had a quick link fail - 3.5 hours by the side of the road and another 4.5 in the broom wagon - c'est la vie ! Still wasn't my first time at least and was going pretty well up to that point anyway - reckon a 7.30 or thereabouts was possible if things had gone well so might go back next year and hope we get as lucky with the weather again.

mattpage

Tom Butcher wrote:

Ugo - this year they were giving out the time without the Glandon descent so times this year are much faster than last - I'm assuming Matt is quoting the official time rather than start to finish anyway - still a stunning time though.

I've quoted both times, as you can see above.
I thought the Glandon descent has been neutralised for at least a couple of years though? The winning time is practically the same for this and last year.

Results are now online: http://www.sportcommunication.info/LIVE/resultat_live.php?parcours=1

ugo.santalucia

Tom Butcher wrote:

ugo.santalucia wrote:

mattpage wrote:

I hope everyone achieved what they wanted? One amazing event, I spent the whole time in pain but loved it.
6hrs 39min actual time. 6hrs 15min official time for me. Strava link

The Marmotte in 6 hours? WTF... have they shortened it or are you superman?

Ugo - this year they were giving out the time without the Glandon descent so times this year are much faster than last - I'm assuming Matt is quoting the official time rather than start to finish anyway - still a stunning time though.

Ahhh, that explains... so in essence it has been shortened, at least for what timing concerns

Tom Butcher

Matt - last year the times that they gave you at the finish - and on your certificate which they categorised you gold, silver etc on - were your complete ride times and that's what most people quoted as "their time".

I think the website afterwards did give an adjusted time without the Glandon descent. If they are going to neutralise it then the way they did it this year made much more sense - still saw a few people getting medical attention after crashing down there though.

mattpage

I saw two nasty crashes too, on the first few bends. 6hrs 39min was my time as far as I am concerned. Sub 7 was the aim, so I'm happy

dave milne

6hr 44 official time. 7hr 13 actual including glandon descent

knocked 28 minutes off my previous time so very happy. Had strength to burn on the alp and did it in around 56 minutes. It was only 25/26 in the valley which is much nicer than the 30+ it's been the previous two times I have done it.

speshsteve

best day on a bike I've ever had just loved it.

To bring a sense of normality to the times quoted above I got 8hr 30 which I'm very happy with. If I do the same time next year when I'm 40 that gets me gold!

I could mention loads of occasions where I "lost" time (having a number 1, stuck at the top of the Glandon where the massive bottle neck was, queuing for water at the slowest water fountain in France in the town at he bottom of the Glandon) but you know what I think the effect was the extra time gave me a breather and I really enjoyed it. I suffered like everyone else but only really the last half of the Galibier and the last 4k on the alp.

In summary bloody great fun

Well done to all, I saw some people still going after 13 hours which I think is bloody remarkable..shows real guts to keep going and finnish regardless.

grimpeur

JonGinge wrote:

I've ridden deep carbon rims the last two marmottes and a number of other times in the mountains. They're fine. Newer carbon rims are much better at dissipating heat. They're not too bad in the damp either.

But are they any faster? Unless you are running some rather expensive Lightweights, the vast majority of Zipps and Mavic deep sections are heavier. The braking performance will always be worse that alloy rims and the aero 'advantage' is neglible on a course like the Marmotte.

But hey, you look pro, and that is what counts to most people. :shock:

I am the god of hell fire

great ride etc etc

Talk to me about photos please

I know they dont go live till tomorrow but it looks like they are charged at 22Eu each for a digital download
This seems a lot poorer value than the 47 total I paid Maindru last year for 11 pics from the Etape

jonginge

grimpeur wrote:

JonGinge wrote:

I've ridden deep carbon rims the last two marmottes and a number of other times in the mountains. They're fine. Newer carbon rims are much better at dissipating heat. They're not too bad in the damp either.

But are they any faster? Unless you are running some rather expensive Lightweights, the vast majority of Zipps and Mavic deep sections are heavier. The braking performance will always be worse that alloy rims and the aero 'advantage' is neglible on a course like the Marmotte.

But hey, you look pro, and that is what counts to most people. :shock:

*shrugs*
The Reynolds DV46-T-UL I ran last year were 1150g, the clinchers I ran this year 1483g (claimed spec weights). So not heavy in the grand scheme of things.

I used some DA carbon laminate shallow section clinchers in 2010 and they were about 1380g

My time in 2010 was by far the slowest but I'm not attributing that to the wheels