Etape du Tour 2013

grumpygrandad

Really want to do this ride in the Pyrenees next year!
Does anyone know what the date is likely to be?
As a teacher, my holidays (although long!) can only be taken at certain times.
Next year we finish on 19th July. Will I have to wait until I retire (and I'm even older and more knackered than I am now!) before I can participate?

pipipi

I know the feeling regarding holidays. Lots of them but at the wrong times for cycling.

And parents still say to me 'we take Johnny out of school because it's cheaper to have a holiday then'. :roll: Well, surprise surprise, the only time I get to have a holiday is in the most expensive time! :x

I keep wanting to do the L2P but that's always the last week of term.

caledonian1

the Pyrenees mountain stages are on 13th and 14th of July 2013 so I would imagine the Etape to be the weekend before. Easily within Scottish school holidays so nae luck there.

saying that cant believe the rain today..so dull too....yet on the radio they are saying its sunshine and nearly 30c in England...knew there would be some advantage living doon sooth

I am up for one of the etapes in 2013 but will wait for stages to be announced...will proably be iconic mountains as 100th event

Vowed to be a stone lighter next year....14stone made it tough last week

caledonian1

should add...this is what the tour is to be rumoured to be

http://www.velopeloton.com/2013-tour-de-france-route/

malcolmfrost

Corsica Etape, Tasty!!

niedermeyer

probably only 1 etape next year (combined turnout for this year was only around 11k) - and not pyrenees!

cyclingsheep

Any idea why the low turn out? Were more people registered than showed up to sign on or just low numbers registering? I'd have thought, given that it was easy to sort yourself out an entry (without having to go through a tour operator) that there would be more people wanting to do it. Hell, I had a great day out on Act2 so would definitely do it again, just curious.

Road Red

11,000 is hardly a small number. I would imagine they will continue with 2 Etapes, there is no way you will get 11,000 out on one event.

It may be the first signs of the peak having been reached in numbers? The Etape is a great event though there there are many many other great sportives all over Europe.

However I imagine there will be a further upsurge from the Brits after the summers events.

stanthomas

During Acte 1 the announcer kept insisting that we were 9000 riders. We now know it was much less but it's a fair guess that they collected an entry fee from many more than showed up. Sounds like good business. But it's not just about entry fees; the start/finish towns will pitch in with a contribution based on an anticipate increase in visitors. This might be a problem when there are so many no shows. That said, hotels and campsites seemed to be booked up so maybe they were satisfied with what they got.

I'd expect ASO to follow the same formula in 2013.

malcolmfrost

It would be nice to see one of the two being in some of the areas other than the Alps and Pyrenees, the Issoire stage last year was seen by many as "an easy stage" and "not a proper Etape" but turned out to be one of the hardest ever!

xscreamsuk

Did acte 2 this year, just over a year after getting a bike. Loved it, will definitely do it again next year, hopefully in the Alps with some better weather. My advice, start training now, loose as much weight as you can, if you can get a proper training plan it will motivate you. My climbing has improved no end because of it.

FransJacques

The etape has certainly reached it's peak. With 2 events now they're still advertising empty spaces only 1 week before the event (somehow I'm on the ASO's mail list).

Last one I did was 2009 and by then it had become very Mamil-y which means tick-box folks, who tend to be non-life cyclists. So while you won't be riding in an awesome group with speedy riders, you're assured of an entry, even if you leave it until 1 week before the event. And that's good news if you're super keen on doing the event.

mrc1

Think this year's Etape 2 poor turnout was largely down to the weather. Those coming from abroad who have sunka lot of money in are of course likely to start come what may but the local guys who can ride the roads whenever are much more likely to not bother.

We spent the day at the finish line meeting guests and were surprised by how thin the line of finishing riders was given the supposed entry numbers!

caledonian1

mrc1 wrote:

Think this year's Etape 2 poor turnout was largely down to the weather. Those coming from abroad who have sunka lot of money in are of course likely to start come what may but the local guys who can ride the roads whenever are much more likely to not bother.

We spent the day at the finish line meeting guests and were surprised by how thin the line of finishing riders was given the supposed entry numbers!

was the weather so bad that some people didnt turn up. I thought it wasnt too bad. Was about 16c and fine when we left Pau.....ok a bit of rain on the hills buhere were 2000 who did not finish but I believe that number is pretty normal for an Etape?

stanthomas

Just received a mailshot from ASO promising 'something special' for the 2013 Etape du Tour to mark the 100th running of the Tour de France. So, speculation time, what would we like to see? How about two Alpine stages run back-to-back with aggregate times.

DavidCr

stanthomas wrote:

Just received a mailshot from ASO promising 'something special' for the 2013 Etape du Tour to mark the 100th running of the Tour de France. So, speculation time, what would we like to see? How about two Alpine stages run back-to-back with aggregate times.

A persistent rumour for the Tour next year is Alpe d'Huez will feature twice on the same stage, perhaps something special for the 2013 Etape?

davidof

DavidCr wrote:

stanthomas wrote:

Just received a mailshot from ASO promising 'something special' for the 2013 Etape du Tour to mark the 100th running of the Tour de France. So, speculation time, what would we like to see? How about two Alpine stages run back-to-back with aggregate times.

A persistent rumour for the Tour next year is Alpe d'Huez will feature twice on the same stage, perhaps something special for the 2013 Etape?

Ah its possible to make an interesting stage by using one of the back routes. Bring it on I say.

mrc1

caledonian1 wrote:

mrc1 wrote:

Think this year's Etape 2 poor turnout was largely down to the weather. Those coming from abroad who have sunka lot of money in are of course likely to start come what may but the local guys who can ride the roads whenever are much more likely to not bother.

We spent the day at the finish line meeting guests and were surprised by how thin the line of finishing riders was given the supposed entry numbers!

was the weather so bad that some people didnt turn up. I thought it wasnt too bad. Was about 16c and fine when we left Pau.....ok a bit of rain on the hills buhere were 2000 who did not finish but I believe that number is pretty normal for an Etape?

We know of quite a few people that didnt bother starting. As i said, locals have much less incentive to ride if the weather is poor. Think the dropout rate was a bit higher tha usual again due to weather and the particular hard route.

FransJacques

For anyone who did the Etape in 2012 - have they moved to the "safe" method of sprotive timing, i.e. just timing the flats & climbs so people don't race on the downhills?

Just wondering. I'm not a fan of it but it might save a rider's life or 3.

davidof

davidof wrote:

DavidCr wrote:

stanthomas wrote:

Just received a mailshot from ASO promising 'something special' for the 2013 Etape du Tour to mark the 100th running of the Tour de France. So, speculation time, what would we like to see? How about two Alpine stages run back-to-back with aggregate times.

A persistent rumour for the Tour next year is Alpe d'Huez will feature twice on the same stage, perhaps something special for the 2013 Etape?

Ah its possible to make an interesting stage by using one of the back routes. Bring it on I say.

In fact just wondering how logistically a double ascension of l'Alpe d'Huez will work. The route is Gap -> Alpe d'Huez (presumably by the Col de Bayard and Col d'Ornon) -> Col de la Sarenne (it is being resurfaced which is a clue) then Clavans -> Bourg d'Oisans -> ADH.

With a race of 180+ riders I can see that working but a sportif with 5000+ riders will be a bit of a nightmare with tail enders blocking front runners.

stanthomas

FransJacques wrote:

For anyone who did the Etape in 2012 - have they moved to the "safe" method of sprotive timing, i.e. just timing the flats & climbs so people don't race on the downhills?

Just wondering. I'm not a fan of it but it might save a rider's life or 3.

Hell, I hope not.

oneof1982

stanthomas wrote:

FransJacques wrote:

For anyone who did the Etape in 2012 - have they moved to the "safe" method of sprotive timing, i.e. just timing the flats & climbs so people don't race on the downhills?

Just wondering. I'm not a fan of it but it might save a rider's life or 3.

Hell, I hope not.

+1 Not sure anyone's died on the etape (not literally anyway). Only aware of the method referred to being used on a section of the Marmot, Col de Glandon descent(?) which is run on open roads.

Hoping for a Ventoux Etape. Twice up Alp d'Huez whilst being passed by those on there second flight is too painful to contemplate at this time!

xscreamsuk

nope it was all timed. The weather was a little self limiting in the descents for acte 2. There was a climbing category though.

Tricky10601

Anyone know how you register for this event? I do not want to pay a tour company, is there a lottery registration, or first come, first serve until sold out?

Also, when do they decide the route?

Many thanks,

Rich
New York, USA

Mccaria

Rich,

They announce the routes for the Etape at the time they announce the route for the TdF, towards the end of October, TdF route presentation is 24th October. So Etape routes will be out on or about that date.

Entry is on line and on a first come first served basis - although a number of tickets are reserved for tour operators etc. Website attached

http://www.aso.fr/massevents/fr/home.html

Since the Etape has moved to 2 events they have not sold out as quickly although there is usually a rush on the first day and it can take a few attempts to get into the website and book a slot. Obviously if there is a stand out route then it may well book up quickly, 2 years ago the Alp d'Huez route was the much more popular Etape. There is usually a discount for the first entrants.

el_vino

I can easily believe they sold 10,000 or so places for each Etape even if only 6600 lined up for the start of Act 1. Because you have to enter in October lots can come in the way. Out of 4 of us who entered only 2 started. of the drop outs 1 didn't feel he had done enough (any) training and the other guy was injured. Great event though.

oneof1982

Etape will be Annecy stage. Announced this morning. Will get more details.

davidof

If anyone wants to ride it this autumn. I'm planning on doing it between now and mid-November.

speshsteve

circular route makes logistics far easier but I did pretty much all those climbs last year when staying at Annecy! Its really pretty but not as iconic as say ventoux etc and it looks a bit short to me.....nothing like the marmotte or previous etapes unless I'm missing something?

davidof

speshsteve wrote:

circular route makes logistics far easier but I did pretty much all those climbs last year when staying at Annecy! Its really pretty but not as iconic as say ventoux etc and it looks a bit short to me.....nothing like the marmotte or previous etapes unless I'm missing something?

A couple of 1000 meter climbs shouldn't be too hard compared to the Madeleine, Croix-de-Fer, Mollard, Toussuire.

caledonian1

Are there not going to be 2 Etapes next year?

I would have thought either the Alpe D'huez or Ventoux stages would have been chosen. this one is certainly not as iconic or as hard as last year....i did Acte 2 as it was so incredibly tough and would test me to the absolute limit (and it did) i really want an iconic and really tough etape to motivate myself to train as hard (possibly harder) this time round. Does anyone know whern official etape news out?