Haute Route - Any Feedback?

WorcsPhil

I received a number of emails from the Hauteroute organisers before the event publicising the 6 day sportive from Geneva to Nice over the French alps, with many of the famous climbs included and 17,000m of ascent over the 6 days. The event looks superb and the website (www.hauteroute.org) shows that this years inaugural run finished at the weekend. The website has excellent detail....but...

Did anyone on this forum ride this? Me and a few friends are considering it for a 2012 event if it runs again (we rode the Marmotte this year, with our times between 9 and 10 hrs), so is it one we could do reasonably well? Or was it all semi-pros and ultra competitive types?

I know we could ride the roads anyway on our own, but a series of organised sportives adds a bit of edge and raises the stakes...i.e. will get me on the bike before 9 o'clock on a drizzly sunday in November.

Any honest feedback on the routes, spirit of the ride, organisation, good/bad bits would be gratefully received....

MattMTB

A guy that I work with has a friend that did it. He is a fit regular cyclist and came 23rd overall in the classsification (out of 300 odd). He was surpised he did so well but was really pleased. I can find out a bit more about the level of this guy if you're interested for comparison.

The event looks awesome on the website - looks like it would cost 630 Euros for entry plus 230 Euros for accommodation, plus overnight in Nice at the end (~100 Euros) plus cost of getting to Geneva and back from Nice, maybe 1200 Euros all in - so it's not exactly cheap but looks like it would be worth it.

My colleague's friend said he would definitely do it again and is trying to drum up some interest for a team for next year.

Cheers,
Matt

dave milne

really want to do this but waiting to hear about the organisation first.

website is top notch though so bodes well

fernholt

I saw them come into the finish at Serre Chevalier (not sure what stage it was) but I was really surprised how "pro" it all looked. Mavic support vehicles, podium, ...
I saw quite a few riders coming down from towards the Galibier and they certainly didn't look semi-pro. They were straggled over quite a distance and struggling but maybe there were some larger groups I didn't see. I did see quite few darn fit looking types at the finish so I have the impression that there is a wide range of abilities. There was a good buzz at the podium. Well I thought so anyway.

istreule

I rode it. Awesome. It was definitely pushing semi-pro in the top-20. Bottom-20 or so got eliminated/swept up. The middle 250 were definitely the better class of a typical UK sportive or UK club rider. For at least half the riders it was a full-on race, and it was run just like a mini TdF: Mass start, neutralised section, cumulative timing, podiums, prizes, itinerant race village, proper masseurs, Mavic support, motorcyle outriders, race vehicles, etc. The route was classic, organisation pretty effective, and great value for money (best £1000 spent in a week I can remember, for all food, accomodation, and a road racing holiday!). I predict it will sell out very fast next year with some very fast club teams entering the race. (Coming down the Galibier was after the timed race, and rightly so, the organisers decided that racing 300 cyclists down the Galibier after 130km or racing would not be very wise! We'd already been up the Madeleine and the Telegraph to get there...). Can't recommend it enough.