Northern France Sportives

wander wheels
wander wheels Posts: 64
edited December 2012 in Sportives/audaxes/training rides
Hi Can anyone recommend a sportive to do in either Normandy or Brittany in 2013. A group of us fancy doing something different. Look forward to your suggestions.

Comments

  • Tom Butcher
    Tom Butcher Posts: 3,830
    http://www.velo-cyclosport.com/agenda/c ... -2013.html

    Calendar of French events here - Ronde Picardie is meant to be good - Northern France and popular - not in Normandy or Brittany though and you have to wait until Sept.
    it's a hard life if you don't weaken.
  • bernithebiker
    bernithebiker Posts: 4,148
    You could always try this;

    http://www.frenchberry.com/cycling-holiday-brittany/
  • arlowood
    arlowood Posts: 2,561
    Tom Butcher wrote:
    http://www.velo-cyclosport.com/agenda/cyclosportives-2013.html

    Calendar of French events here - Ronde Picardie is meant to be good - Northern France and popular - not in Normandy or Brittany though and you have to wait until Sept.

    You don't have to wait til September

    Couple of others I spotted in the velo-cyclosport listing. This in April (Sun 21st) is based out of Cabourg not far from Caen so you could get a ferry to Caen as an easy access to the event:-

    http://cabourgcycloclub.free.fr/index.htm

    The second one is in Brittany based out of Plumelec inland from the Gulf of Morbihan- this is run on Sun 27th May - it's a bit further from the Channel ports but if you are planning a short holiday around it then you're in a lovely area of Brittany.

    http://www.grand-prix-plumelec.com/morb ... h/epreuves

    Just a word of warning - reading through the info with my rudimantary French i did note that this latter event requires a medical certificate no older than 6 months to be submitted. Not sure if this is a general rule for all French sportives but might be worth checking in advance for the Cabourg one.
  • bernithebiker
    bernithebiker Posts: 4,148
    arlowood wrote:
    Tom Butcher wrote:
    http://www.velo-cyclosport.com/agenda/cyclosportives-2013.html

    Not sure if this is a general rule for all French sportives but might be worth checking in advance for the Cabourg one.

    Yes it is.

    Any event which is timed in any way, or is deemed to be 'competitive' requires a medical certificate stating the person's aptitude to compete in cycle events/races. Not more than 1 year old.

    It's all a bit of a silly faff. My doctor just takes one look at me (2 seconds) then reprints the form and signs it. Voila!

    I remember when I first did one 15 years ago, the doctor made me do 10 squats. I thought he was joking, he wasn't.

    Normandy; nice, fairly flat and green, some might say a touch boring.
    Morbihan, nice, but the closer you are to the sea the better, and it can get busy on the weekend.
    Finistere; the most like Cornwall. Spectacular coastline, lots of short, sharp hills, never crowded.
  • bernithebiker
    bernithebiker Posts: 4,148
    arlowood wrote:
    Tom Butcher wrote:

    The second one is in Brittany based out of Plumelec inland from the Gulf of Morbihan- this is run on Sun 27th May - it's a bit further from the Channel ports but if you are planning a short holiday around it then you're in a lovely area of Brittany.

    http://www.grand-prix-plumelec.com/morb ... h/epreuves

    Also, looks to me like this one is for 27th May 2012, not 2013. No doubt it'll be a similar timing for 2013, but it's not on their site yet.
  • kilo
    kilo Posts: 174
    If you want to try something different in northern France I would like to suggest the Duo Normand - Ok so it's a time trial but it's the closest you'll get to racing a TdeF stage - proper start ramp with a bloke doing the countdown, closed roads, gendarmes waving you through junctions and a following car. All ranges of ability ride it and there's always a very strong UK contingent there. Highly reccomended
  • giropaul
    giropaul Posts: 414
    bernithebiker wrote:
    arlowood wrote:
    Tom Butcher wrote:
    http://www.velo-cyclosport.com/agenda/cyclosportives-2013.html

    Not sure if this is a general rule for all French sportives but might be worth checking in advance for the Cabourg one.

    Yes it is.

    Any event which is timed in any way, or is deemed to be 'competitive' requires a medical certificate stating the person's aptitude to compete in cycle events/races. Not more than 1 year old.

    It's all a bit of a silly faff. My doctor just takes one look at me (2 seconds) then reprints the form and signs it. Voila!

    I remember when I first did one 15 years ago, the doctor made me do 10 squats. I thought he was joking, he wasn't.

    Normandy; nice, fairly flat and green, some might say a touch boring.
    Morbihan, nice, but the closer you are to the sea the better, and it can get busy on the weekend.
    Finistere; the most like Cornwall. Spectacular coastline, lots of short, sharp hills, never crowded.


    It isn't the organisers being picky - it's French law (and apples to running marathons etc as well as far as I know). There's often a "social" or "Fun" type event alongsde for anyone who can't get the certificate.

    Beacause everywhere else in Europe requires a medical to get a racing licence, a BC (NB only BC/UCI, not TLI or LVRC etc) will be acceptable as proof of medical fitness for French events.
  • bernithebiker
    bernithebiker Posts: 4,148
    giropaul wrote:
    bernithebiker wrote:
    arlowood wrote:
    Tom Butcher wrote:
    http://www.velo-cyclosport.com/agenda/cyclosportives-2013.html

    Not sure if this is a general rule for all French sportives but might be worth checking in advance for the Cabourg one.

    Yes it is.

    Any event which is timed in any way, or is deemed to be 'competitive' requires a medical certificate stating the person's aptitude to compete in cycle events/races. Not more than 1 year old.

    It's all a bit of a silly faff. My doctor just takes one look at me (2 seconds) then reprints the form and signs it. Voila!

    I remember when I first did one 15 years ago, the doctor made me do 10 squats. I thought he was joking, he wasn't.

    Normandy; nice, fairly flat and green, some might say a touch boring.
    Morbihan, nice, but the closer you are to the sea the better, and it can get busy on the weekend.
    Finistere; the most like Cornwall. Spectacular coastline, lots of short, sharp hills, never crowded.


    It isn't the organisers being picky - it's French law (and apples to running marathons etc as well as far as I know). There's often a "social" or "Fun" type event alongsde for anyone who can't get the certificate.

    Beacause everywhere else in Europe requires a medical to get a racing licence, a BC (NB only BC/UCI, not TLI or LVRC etc) will be acceptable as proof of medical fitness for French events.

    I realize it's French law and not the organisers' choice. But it's the lawyers winning again and it's a real faff; for example, if you have your letter saying your medically OK for cycling, you can't do a triathlon or a jogging race. You have to go and get another certificate for each one. In France it costs 22 Euros a pop to visit your GP (although you can claim most of it back). But worst of all you have to wait about an hour in a room full of sick skiving people...

    And the worst thing is, any of us could drop dead in one of these races; you, me or the fat guy. The medical exam is so basic; at best blood pressure, heart rate, breathing, that it cannot screen out heart disease or epilepsy, etc.

    It's the blame game; if someone keels over in a race, who can we blame? Oh yeah, the organisers. Who will they then blame? Oh yeah, the doctor who wrote the certificate. And all so that the insurance doesn't have to pay out....

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