Ardechoise - 2012

forward_loop

I've looked through some old posts but am wondering if someone who has been can give me the low down.
Although the website is a lot better this year - it still leaves some questions
The event is on the saturday and sort of makes sense but what exactly happens on the preceeding days ? as the event takes place from the Wednesday?
There is a list of checkpoints that are open wed onwards but its not clear why/for what they are open
Does one just cycle around randomly or using route maps etc -

Any recommendations on campsites ?

TimB34

The Ardechoise is not just a single route. The one-day cyclosportive part is on the Saturday : about 6000 cyclist all set off from St Felicien through the same timing gate (yes this does take a couple of hours). Once out on the road the one-day routes split off at various points, depending on whether you choose the Doux / Boutieres / Volcanique / Ardechoise / Sucs / Ardechoise Marathon. Participants can choose their route on the day (so if it honks it down on the day, people can take an easier option).

The previous days are for people doing the circuits in two to four days. But everyone finishes in St felicien on the Saturday - no matter if they do one-day timed/ one-day untimed/ multi-day untimed. The Statistics page from last year divides this as Cyclosportifs / Cyclostouristes / Randonneurs : http://www.ardechoise.com/site/resultat ... atistiques

If you go to the blog : http://blog.ardechoise.com/en they have a download link for the brochure in pdf. The 2012 one isn't up yet but the 2011 one is much the same and has maps and descriptions of all the circuits.