Marmotte 2013

richa

Insurance:
The marmotte offers insurance for €10 when you register.

I have used https://www.sportscoverdirect.com/ as a decent alternative / add on.

Car hire:
Are you taking bikes? Not sure you'll fit 5 blokes & bikes in a hire car. People carriers usually the most versatile. But the large ones can be pricey. Expect it would be cheaper to hire two smaller cars: e.g. small hatch and an estate or minivan (e.g. kangoo).

bernithebiker

kfinlay wrote:

Just organising the last few things so a couple of questions I hope you guys can help with.
Any recommendations for travel insurance that includes cover for the event?
Any recommendations on car hire? I need something pretty big (picking up from Geneva Airport) - People carrier for 5, Passat sized estate, maybe a SUV like a Quashqi? Best I've seen so far starts at £320 for a Mazda5 people carrier.

Any advice appreciated.

Kev

Be careful whether you're getting Swiss or French car hire quotes. When you come in from the UK you'll be on the Swiss side of the airport, but it's very easy to get to the French side. The Swiss prices are usually more expensive, but not always. Check both.

richa

bernithebiker wrote:

Be careful whether you're getting Swiss or French car hire quotes. When you come in from the UK you'll be on the Swiss side of the airport, but it's very easy to get to the French side. The Swiss prices are usually more expensive, but not always. Check both.

+1. And if you go for the French side:
i) The French cars usually don't have the Swiss motorway tax, so you need to avoid the Swiss Autoroute or pay €€€
ii) The French side is harder to navigate to/from. Particularly avoiding the (Swiss) autoroute [see (i) above].

IMO the French side without Sat Nav is a PITA.

bernithebiker

RichA wrote:

bernithebiker wrote:

Be careful whether you're getting Swiss or French car hire quotes. When you come in from the UK you'll be on the Swiss side of the airport, but it's very easy to get to the French side. The Swiss prices are usually more expensive, but not always. Check both.

+1. And if you go for the French side:
i) The French cars usually don't have the Swiss motorway tax, so you need to avoid the Swiss Autoroute or pay €€€
ii) The French side is harder to navigate to/from. Particularly avoiding the (Swiss) autoroute [see (i) above].

IMO the French side without Sat Nav is a PITA.

Very true! (But I worked next to GVA airport for 4 years, so I know the sneaky routes!)

Another one to watch out for is if you hire a car for skiing; Swiss side = winter tyres compulsory fitted, French = not. So if it's snowing hard and you pick up a French car, you're in the sh1t basically....!

Leroy42

Just a quick question regarding the starting places.

I have been given bib number 5582 so that means I should be off in the last wave at 7.40.

I have done the event before and was hoping for a place in the earlier wave to go for a good time. Do people reckon starting in the last wave will make much difference to the overall time? I'm thinking there would be more congestion at the food stops, probably more congestion on the Glandon and the roll out to Glandon would be slower?

Any thoughts?

barrybridges

This year I'm in an earlier pen, but previously I've been in the 7:40 pen.

There really wasn't much congestion, even at the start, if I remember correctly. It's not like running the London Marathon; things are still fairly spaced apart. We were rolling well before the line and you weren't slowed at any point by congestion.

The only issue I had - because I was exceptionally slow - was that the food stop at the top of the Glandon was pretty bare by the time I got there - and the one at the bottom of the Telegraph had packed up completely! But I was VERY slow - and ended up packing in at that point (demoralised more than anything, thinking I was exceptionally unfit, even though in retrospect I was probably doing fine).

ransos1

How's everyone's fitness coming along?

I went for a fitness re-test at my lbs yesterday. Pleasingly my aerobic base has increased a fair bit over the last 2 months, but my anaerobic threshold has dropped a little. This would seem to be consistent with the long, steady rides I've been doing. I've been advised to throw in more short, high intensity work for the next month, and to not do anything too demanding in the two weeks before the big day.

maddog 2

Leroy42 wrote:

Any thoughts?

The pace up the Glandon won't be an issue but the foodstop at the top can get very busy.

And don't jump into another pen - I saw one rider try to start earlier than he should and when the marshals tried to stop him he pushed them away and made a dash for it but they grabbed him and he ended up in a load of trouble... silly boy.

Leroy42

So what would people suggest? Just pass through the Glandon food stop to avoid the amount of people and refill bottles at the pre-telegraph stop? Based on my plan I would be hoping to make it there in around 3 hours so would two large bottles be enough?

ogs116

Leroy42 wrote:

So what would people suggest? Just pass through the Glandon food stop to avoid the amount of people and refill bottles at the pre-telegraph stop? Based on my plan I would be hoping to make it there in around 3 hours so would two large bottles be enough?

The top of the Glandon is within the neutralised zone so relax and take as much time there as you want.

hatone

Leroy42 wrote:

So what would people suggest? Just pass through the Glandon food stop to avoid the amount of people and refill bottles at the pre-telegraph stop? Based on my plan I would be hoping to make it there in around 3 hours so would two large bottles be enough?

I wouldn't want to be climbing the Glandon with 2 very large full bottles on my bike!

My strategy was to travel light on the climbs and fill up when fluid was low. I filled up at the top of the Glandon first which was enough to get me to the top of the Galibier, only just.

barrybridges

hatone wrote:

I wouldn't want to be climbing the Glandon with 2 very large full bottles on my bike!

But conversely, you wouldn't want to be climbing any part of any climb in need of water, but having run out.

I fully plan on climbing the Glandon with 2 full water bottles and don't see why you wouldn't - is the weight saving really going to be that significant in the grand scheme of things? The marmotte is surely just as much about survival as it is performance; trying to save half a kilo on the day but risking running out of water when you need it to the most - and when it's a long way to the next food station (e.g. between Valloir and Galibier) - doesn't seem all that sensible?

Tom Butcher

I reckon you could safely climb the Glandon with one large bottle - what is it to the top something like 90 minutes?

From there the feed is neutralised so you may as well fill both and that should safely get you to Valloire. I'd play safe and fill both for the Galibier - you may as well top both up at the top as you are mostly downhill to Bourg and top both up for the Alpe if it's warm.

That's 8-9 750ml bottles - in the UK I'd get through nothing like that even in hot weather so you may want to gamble and only take one bottle on each of the Galibier and Alpe - maybe a litre bottle if you have one - personally I wouldn't unless the weather was cold and damp - if it's hot you can use any spare water on the Alpe to pour over your head.

Edit - thinking about it I can't remember stopping at the foot of the Alpe so I may have run from the top of Galibier to the finish - but I did have 2 litre bottles - that's an option.

NUFCrichard

I think 2h from the start to the top of the Glandon is decent going, 90 minutes would be flying. I agree that if you are well hydrated beforehand, you can probably get away with just one bottle, but it is worth even a minute risk for the sake of 750g?

On a tangent, has anyone done a quick Alpe d'Huez climb a couple of days before the Marmotte. I would quite like to give it a go and try to break an hour, but I don't want to subtract from the Marmotte on the Saturday... I would probably only take 1 bottle for the Alpe climb!

I am the god of hell fire

Theres enough data available online to see that 2h to the Glandon is gold medal pace depending on your age group

I thought long and hard about winging it there with just 1 bottle but am glad I didnt in the end for no other reason that my strategy worked on the day last year

My temptation to go light was that I often ride 2h in the UK without water and I was going to take in plenty of fluids at brekkie and Id be climbing the Glandon early doors in the cool morning temps so why not?

One word of caution is that the food stop was an absolute cattle market, you couldnt get anywhere near the stuff without leaving your bike miles away
When I return to La marmotte I will either do it with a mate, or buddy up with someone near the summit to look out for each others stuff or even skip in altogether and buy something tasty in the village at the bottom of the descent before the timing beam trips again

Good luck

shazzz

Are the gold and silver medal times (below as copied from the official website) excluding the neutral zone? Where does this zone start and stop? Merci

A (18-34) AB (35-49) B (50 et +) C (18-29) D (30-39) E (40-49) F (50-59) G1 (60-66)
Or 09:27 09:41 09:56 07:53 08:13 08:39 09:00 09:27
Argent 11:16 11:33 11:51 09:23 09:47 10:18 10:44 11:16

I am the god of hell fire

Obvious timing mat at Glandon summit just before feed station
Further obvious mat in town at foot of descent

Feed station completely out of timings mentioned ^^^^^
Take your time, have a gel, guzzle some Merlot, have a cigar etc etc

bernithebiker

I am the god of hell fire wrote:

One word of caution is that the food stop was an absolute cattle market, you couldnt get anywhere near the stuff without leaving your bike miles away

Have there been cases of people 'upgrading/swapping' their bicycles for something nicer?!

vermin

I am the god of hell fire wrote:

Obvious timing mat at Glandon summit just before feed station
Further obvious mat in town at foot of descent

Feed station completely out of timings mentioned ^^^^^
Take your time, have a gel, guzzle some Merlot, have a cigar etc etc

Is there no limit to the amount of time one can spend in the neutralised zone? Can I hammer it up the climb, safe in the knowledge that I can go for a nice half-hour lie down somewhere before having to start again, without any impact on my overall time?

nevman

If I recall everyone has the same amount of time for the Glandon descent eg 30 mins-if you take more thats up to you,less and it wont count.Personally I will keep two bottles topped up if its warm,one with Nunn hydration tabs.There are plenty of opportunities for water on the route from locals etc.

hatone

You absolutely don't need to haul 2 full water bottles up the Glandon. If you keep yourself hydrated up to the Marmotte, have a good breakfast and 1 water bottle you'll be fine. The start of the Marmotte is always cool, sometimes chilly.

Only take 2 water bottles if you plan not to stop at the Glandon feed station.

Oh, never do your time in the wind with the Marmotters. Cooperation is virtually non-existant.

Tom Butcher

bernithebiker wrote:

I am the god of hell fire wrote:

One word of caution is that the food stop was an absolute cattle market, you couldnt get anywhere near the stuff without leaving your bike miles away

Have there been cases of people 'upgrading/swapping' their bicycles for something nicer?!

I've heard a rumour of bikes going missing - that said I just dumped mine and went to get water and food and I didn't think the food stop was too busy like that - but yes trying to get your bike through the crowd would be difficult.

Is it still the case you get 30 minutes nev? I know it worked that way a couple of years ago but I thought now they just used two mats and took your time off. I wouldn't spend too long at the feed though - you'll end up behind the riders of your fitness so any group you are in from then on you'll be thinking you are the only one that wants to work.

TheStone

Looking at my only Marmotte, I didn't stop till Valloire after 5:40.

narbs

Tom Butcher wrote:

bernithebiker wrote:

I am the god of hell fire wrote:

One word of caution is that the food stop was an absolute cattle market, you couldnt get anywhere near the stuff without leaving your bike miles away

Have there been cases of people 'upgrading/swapping' their bicycles for something nicer?!

I've heard a rumour of bikes going missing - that said I just dumped mine and went to get water and food and I didn't think the food stop was too busy like that - but yes trying to get your bike through the crowd would be difficult.

Is it still the case you get 30 minutes nev? I know it worked that way a couple of years ago but I thought now they just used two mats and took your time off. I wouldn't spend too long at the feed though - you'll end up behind the riders of your fitness so any group you are in from then on you'll be thinking you are the only one that wants to work.

Yep, definitely two mats and my official time last year matched exactly my Garmin elapsed time minus the descent time. Spent a good few minutes stationary in the neutralised zone as an ambulance attended to at least one rider.

narbs

Does anyone know if the VFD bus runs up to AdH on the day of the Marmotte? My wife doesn't drive but would like to get up to the top for the finish.

gavinbay

Hi guys, best of luck to all doing it.

I was only ski touring up to Galibier beginning of April and I posted on here that with the volumes of snow that there will be no way the Giro would finish up there mid May!

http://www.anotherharddayattheoffice.co ... eblog.html scroll down and see the pics !

To anyone coming out early you might be interested to know that a different Col is shut each morning 09:00 - Noon to traffic so you get to ride up and down with clear roads

Lundi 1er juillet de 9h à 12h : Col Agnel
Mardi 2 juillet de 9h à 12h : Col d’Izoard
Mercredi 3 juillet de 9h à 12h : Col de l’Echelle
Jeudi 4 juillet de 9h à 12h : : Col du Galibier
Vendredi 4 juillet de 9h à 12h : Col du Granon

My place is 16km down from the Lautaret hence I know the area well.

What I was planning on doing on the Sat was to cycle over Lautaret and down to Bourg and then ride up Glandon etc and then Galibier letting you guys go back to Bourg and then your finale up you know what whilst I descend back home.

So without wanting to get caught up in your start where do you all exactly start from so I can avoid that!!

Oh and maybe not best to think about doing the Col du Granon on the Friday, it's reckoned to be the steepest and toughest Col in France, but don't worry about the traffic on it as it's always quite empty as it goes no where but to the Col !

marathon50

Medal Times
Going by my results 2 years ago I think the medal times are calculated on your
gun to tape times and not on your time with the Glandon descent
taken out. I was sure I had done the gold until I collected my cert
and they had me down for the silver based on my gun to tape time. I
could have done the gold time but wasted a lot of time at the top of
the Glandon thinking I was timed out. Did not make the same mistake last year
filled the bottle and away.

kfinlay

kfinlay wrote:

Just organising the last few things so a couple of questions I hope you guys can help with.
Any recommendations for travel insurance that includes cover for the event?
Any recommendations on car hire? I need something pretty big (picking up from Geneva Airport) - People carrier for 5, Passat sized estate, maybe a SUV like a Quashqi? Best I've seen so far starts at £320 for a Mazda5 people carrier.

Any advice appreciated.

Kev

Wee update and another question I hope you can help with!
Sorted for a hire car through hirecars.co.uk, good price and cover plus no card fees
Found travel insurance through http://www.cyclosure.co.uk/ that includes sportive participation for about £20 but this policy and any other I find does not include cover for my bike during transit by plane therefore if my bike disappears between Edinburgh and France I'm screwed.

I don't have it covered through any other insurance as it is kept VERY safe and secure when I'm at home and my house insurance does not cover the full cost of the bike (Colnago EPS as per siggy link) or will extend cover to include the trip.

Can't find anywhere that provides short term cover for my bike (only annual policies), not so worried about accident cover but more a policy to cover the bike when being transported by plane (min £5k value to replace) so have presumed it would be some sort of bike or travel insurance. Any ideas folks??

Tom Butcher

marathon50 wrote:

Medal Times
Going by my results 2 years ago I think the medal times are calculated on your
gun to tape times and not on your time with the Glandon descent
taken out. I was sure I had done the gold until I collected my cert
and they had me down for the silver based on my gun to tape time. I
could have done the gold time but wasted a lot of time at the top of
the Glandon thinking I was timed out. Did not make the same mistake last year
filled the bottle and away.

Ithink that changed last year - i noticed the same 2 years ago but last year from what I could gather that was no longer the case - unfortunately I had a mechanical last year and didn't finish so not certain but tht's the impression I got from the others I was over there with.

ransos1

From what people have said about the first feed station, I plan to take enough water & food to push on to the second stop. But I'll have a break in the neutralised area...