Marmotte Food Stations

hypster

I've entered the Marmotte this year and was thinking about my energy strategy for the ride. I notice from the map of the course that 3 of the food stations have the PowerBar logo attached.

Can anyone who has done the Marmotte in recent years tell me what is available at the food stations in terms of food and/or energy drink?

DeVlaeminck

From memory top of Glandon and Valloire have food - sweets, savoury stuff, maybe some cake, bananas - can't remember them having any gels or energy bars. Can't remember if they have energy drink - the one in Valloire had some horrid mint flavoured drink I took in error which may have been energy drink.

nevman

Last year one of the ladies helping out at the Valloire food stop made me a ham and cheese baguette,which I had under a tree in a small garden opposite.There was loads of stuff to eat to be frank,fruit.dried fruits,small cakes etc.Nice to take 20 mins break from a busy day-good luck.I think they had energy powders for bidons but I only take water on board.It was 39C on Alpe D`Huez later on which was a much bigger factor last year,for liquids that is.

I am the god of hell fire

Ive done it the last 2 years in a row

The food was OK ish, bread, cheese, processed meat and all the usual dried and fresh fruit

I honestly dont remember seeing labelled energy products however there were a number of vats of white powder - not knowing exactly what they were and not massively buying into the energy supplement market anyway I decided to pass

Having said that I was carrying a small number of gels and electrolyte tablets in my pockets just in case

cheers

hypster

Thanks for the replies. It's pretty much as I anticipated that I'm probably going to carry all my own food and energy powder and just rely on water at the feed stations.

itboffin

Eat well in the week leading up and try to have a good breakfast, in my case a foot long ham & cheese baguette, i then used a top tube bag for gels and took one every 10 miles for the first 100, at the food stops i only took water and boy did i need that, it was sweltering, I took the advice of a friend and ditched or drank the contents of my second bottle before each climb.

good luck

term1te

When I rode it there was plenty of food going, I mostly took bananas and orange segments, but I also had a nice ham sandwich. Your guts will appreciate some "proper" food during a 7 hours plus ride. The first food stop was a real crush, the road was almost blocked with the number of people milling about. After that when it thinned out a bit, it was fine. If you are just going to fill up with water en route there are plenty of watering opportunities. There was some sort of old pump at the bottom of the Col du Telegraphe and a stand-pipe tap at the top that a lot of people were using. The water fountain at Dutch corner had the biggest queue though. The food at the end was pretty good and plentiful.

That mint stuff is the taste of cycling. In Switzerland at smaller events you will be offered a choice of warm mint tea or very dilute Bovril "tee or bouyon". The tea is ok with energy drink powder, just don't mix it with the bouyon.

narbs

The stop at the top of the Glandon is a scrum and I've never stopped there in my three Marmottes. There is a village just near the bottom of the descent, still in the neutralised zone, where you can fill up with water.

The water stop just by the train lines before the Telegraph is chaos - just forget you're British and push in.

The field has thinned out by the time you get to the Valloire feedstation. As has been said, there's the usual bananas and oranges, but ready cut baguettes with ham and/or cheese. Same at the top of the Galibier and at Bourg.

DeVlaeminck

My tactic would be start hydrated and take 1 litre water to climb the Glandon. Stop and feed, fill up both bottles (litre bottles). Clock isn't ticking here so a minute or two queuing not a big deal - haven't found it too bad but may depend when you get there.
Don't stop again til Valloire, fill 2 bottles and feed - last proper food - rely on gels/bars from here on.
Fill bottles top of Galibier.
Ride to finish but if it's hot I amount of liquid by the top and glad of locals pouring water on me on the Alpe and you might fill up at the foot of the Alpe if you've used a lot on the descent - if you have extra you may be glad of it to pour over yourself it can make a difference.