Etapes 2012

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  • Ron Stuart
    Ron Stuart Posts: 1,242
    oxoneil wrote:
    Well I have finally resolved my dilemma over the medical certificate. I thought the other day that maybe I should call another surgery to see if they would see me as an un-registered patient and I was greeted by a very friendly receptionist who, when I told her what it was for, said to me "Oh in that case I'll get Dr Cartwright to call you, he does triathlons and I'm sure he'll do you a good deal!!!"

    When he phoned me back he couldn't have been more helpful and said he'd probably charge about £25, happy days.

    Now I've found a sports friendly GP I'll be asking if I can transfer to their practise.

    Great to here you sound like your sorted :D

    My GP did it for nought and he rides a bike to.

    Maybe there should an incentive for trying to stay healthy :?:
  • mikeradar
    mikeradar Posts: 43
    Just a note to say I can no longer make it to Etape Act I, so I have a spare ticket. If you or someone you know wants it, then let me know and I will transfer if that is possible. I'm simply looking for the base price of the ticket plus postage.
  • el_vino
    el_vino Posts: 64
    Anyone recommend Etape travel insurance, my M&S policy wont cover me for the event. I would also like to cover the bike against damage in transit
    thanks
    EV
  • malcolmfrost
    malcolmfrost Posts: 211
    my M&S policy wont cover me for the event.
    Did you tell them it was a race, or a mass participation cycling event?
  • el_vino
    el_vino Posts: 64
    I asked them specifically about the Etape, they seemed to know what it was, all the communication I have so far from the organisers ASO refer to it as a race. Not something I'm prepared to risk to be honest.
  • mattpage
    mattpage Posts: 122
    Is anyone planning on doing both Etapes and might be able to help with a lift from the Alps to Pau?
    If so, please message me. Also any accommodation available in Pau for 1 person?
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  • cdc02254
    cdc02254 Posts: 181
    Hello All,

    Im booked in for stage II and looking forward to the challenge. Does anyone know where I can find some stats such a gradients etc for the mountains or even a gpx file I can bring into my garmin connect to take a closer look.
    Many Thanks
  • skippa76
    skippa76 Posts: 284
    Hi there,

    this site is pretty good - http://www.cyclingthealps.com/#acte2 - providing full analysis of each of the major climbs.
  • davidof
    davidof Posts: 3,124
    Can't help you with Acte 2 but for Acte 1 cycled over the Madeleine last October

    http://www.trainingloops.com/col-de-la-madeleine-from-albertville_David_13-06-2012.htm

    You can see in the various photos that the roads are wide so should be able to take the quantity of cyclists. The Madeleine has some pretty variable grades which could cause some pinch points though, ditto the Glandon which is steep on the first half of the climb, flattens out for a long stretch through St Colomban des Villards before climbing and getting very steep on the final hairpins.

    It will be a very difficult day. The descent from Madeleine is very fast with some wide sweeping hairpins that you can take quickly on the racing line.
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  • mitchventoux
    mitchventoux Posts: 15
    ive booked to do act2 with french cycling holidays ,i used them in 2009 and they were very good ,this time i will be driving down from oxford on the wednesday before from portsmouth to le harvre and taking 2 days to drive down ,my only problem is i have to drive all the way back to le harvre on the sunday to catch the ferry !!should be a great day though ,i predict lots of people lining the route ,hope for sunshine .
  • alywbwfc
    alywbwfc Posts: 9
    So went to my gp today expecting her to just sign the form. Been told i need to book in for a"fitness for sport" assessment that costs £92 :-/
  • Ron Stuart
    Ron Stuart Posts: 1,242
    alywbwfc wrote:
    So went to my gp today expecting her to just sign the form. Been told i need to book in for a"fitness for sport" assessment that costs £92 :-/

    I blame this lot putting ideas into other peoples heads:-....

    The two bailed-out UK banks - Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland - paid their top eight employees £16m and £19.8m, respectively, in 2011.

    Their taking the wee wee why not everyone else? :shock:
  • sunburntknees
    sunburntknees Posts: 272
    Can anyone confirm if the Etape will accept a BC racing licence instead of their medical certificate?

    I know La Marmotte will as I've already completed my registration with them using my race licence.
  • cyclingsheep
    cyclingsheep Posts: 640
    Wow, I can't believe how much trouble some of you are having getting the med cert signed. I mentioned it to my doc and he said just bring it in when my daughter had her first year jabs and he signed it there and then after having a quick look through my records, no charge, and that's in London. Go figure.
  • willy b
    willy b Posts: 4,125
    Last year I was charged £20 in London. Not done it yet but going to book in tomorrow. My mate's doc refused to sign the form!
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  • Mccaria
    Mccaria Posts: 869
    Bib numbers look to be up for Act 1
  • js14
    js14 Posts: 198
    sunburntknees wrote:
    Can anyone confirm if the Etape will accept a BC racing licence instead of their medical certificate?

    The short answer is that I don't know. The long answer, if no-one better informed, is probably not, at least according to the what is written on the Etape site. The site says only licences from the the French federations: FFC, FSCF, FSGT, UFOLEP or FF Triathlon, with the appropriate endorsements, are accepted. Members of all other federations or without a licence have to produce a medical certificate covering cycling in competitions. That said, it may be just to cover themselves if you produce some foreign licence and they are not sure what it is or what it says.

    FFC competitor licences have the magic words "Certificat Médical: OUI" marked on them to show that you produced a medical certificate when you applied for the licence. Do BC racing licences indicate much the same?
  • js14
    js14 Posts: 198
    Mccaria wrote:
    Bib numbers look to be up for Act 1
    Yes, well spotted: they weren't there first thing this morning and Acte 2 numbers are not showing yet but surely will soon follow.
  • Ron Stuart
    Ron Stuart Posts: 1,242
    I think those of you that are finding this medical certificate either hard to come by and/or extortionate in price should contact both this lot:-

    http://www.gmc-uk.org/about/contacts.asp and this lot:-

    http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/

    Explain your difficulties and ask for advice after all you will be Brits abroad as well as Team Sky.

    Lastly it will all happen again next year and there should be somewhat more in the way of good advice on this subject.
  • JLC
    JLC Posts: 39
    Just wondered if anyone can help me out with a few questions on Act1.
    Just looked and I have a number in the 6000's. Does that mean I will start 2/3rds of the way back in the field approx? Looking at the start times it is between 7am and 8am so I am guess I should be leaving approx 7.40am? So 20mins ahead of the broom wagon?

    I have looked at the timetable and can see the end times at each checkpoint. Is the broom wagon time? and how accurate does it keep to those times? If I write these down and make sure I am in front of the times at the checkpoint, should I be ok?
    The average speed looks about 10mph, is that the kind of average?

    Sorry about all the questions, it is just my first etape so very worried about the broom wagon. I did the White Rose Classic 115miles and 3000m of climbing at the weekend and felt fairly comfortable all the way around, so hoping I have done enough training. It is just the speed I am worried about more than anything.
  • oneof1982
    oneof1982 Posts: 703
    Last year (Acte II) bid numbers correlated to start times. Lower the number, earlier the start. This is, as far as I witnessed, pretty rigorously marshalled by allocating you to a pen. So it probably will mean 6000+ starting about 2/3rds back. At minimum you will have 2 hours 45 minutes to get to top of Madeleine. On the up side I got no. 1998! I finished Acte II last year - less than 2000 did, so they have clearly credited this. Our group of 4 have numbers from 1575(finisher last year) to 8263.
  • willy b
    willy b Posts: 4,125
    Seems Act II bibs haven't come out yet this year. Shame, I want to know where i'll start!
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  • alywbwfc
    alywbwfc Posts: 9
    Hi JLC, I think I'm in a similar boat to you. It's my first Etape and I'm doing Act 1.

    My Bib number starts with an 8 so I'll be right at the back :shock: My biggest worry is the sweeper - my only goal is to complete the Etape as I'm new to cycling this year. Done a few Sportives this year, longest one was circuit of the cotswolds at 103 miles and 2500m of climbing. Weather permitting I'm doing Tour of the Peak on Sunday which is 80 miles with 3000m climbing.

    I spent a bit of time putting the following document together on minimum avg speeds. http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/403/etapetiming.pngI reckon its about 11 mph average speed. My strategy I think is to miss out the first feed station as its downhill all the way to the second!
  • mattpage
    mattpage Posts: 122
    Bib number 198 for Act 1, bib 248 for Act 2.
    Happy with that! :)

    Better than a 4000 number I had last year!
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  • js14
    js14 Posts: 198
    Act 2 bib numbers up to the low 2000's seem to have been added this evening.

    There's a nice video showing the the important parts of the Act 1 course here: http://www.velo101.com/videos/voir/224/reconnaissance-etape-du-tour-2012-acte-i. The commentary is in French but hopefully most people will be able to figure out where they are from the road signs or by comparing the order of the hills the route on the official site. By the way, the first thing they warn about is the road humps in the first easy 35 km of the course, which are guaranteed to dislodge a few water bottles...
  • il_principe
    il_principe Posts: 9,155
    Having just come back from the Pyrenees, and ridden the Tourmalet, Aspin and Peyresourde in pretty hot weather, can I just wish anyone riding Acte II the very best of luck, because you are going to need it. Hope you've all trained hard because that route is an absolute beast! I'm pretty glad I'm not signed up. :D
  • BalhamBadger
    BalhamBadger Posts: 6
    Il Principe wrote:
    Having just come back from the Pyrenees, and ridden the Tourmalet, Aspin and Peyresourde in pretty hot weather, can I just wish anyone riding Acte II the very best of luck, because you are going to need it. Hope you've all trained hard because that route is an absolute beast! I'm pretty glad I'm not signed up. :D

    Thanks for that!

    If they're available, please could someone post up a direct link to download the bib numbers for act 2? I really want to see where I'll start but my crappy work computer can't handle the etape's website.
  • willy b
    willy b Posts: 4,125
    This may or may not work: http://orion.cia-sophia.com/EdmPublic/P ... 58&lang=en

    I was 9,000ish last year so anything will be an improvement!
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  • BalhamBadger
    BalhamBadger Posts: 6
    willy b wrote:
    This may or may not work: http://orion.cia-sophia.com/EdmPublic/P ... 58&lang=en

    I was 9,000ish last year so anything will be an improvement!

    That's great, cheers.

    Well I'm definitely in, but no bib number as of yet..
  • cyclingsheep
    cyclingsheep Posts: 640
    I'm in the same boat BalhamBadger. I'm hanging out to find out where I start Act2. This is my first Etape so expecting to be at the back for sure. Been playing the Act2 Recon DVD whilke on the turbo and it's only just sinking in how tough this is going to be....despite all my training.

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