Marmotte 2015
buckmulligan
Posts: 1,031
The official website has put up a notice saying that 2015 entries will open in November again this year and I suspect it will still sell out very quickly despite the €80 entry fee.
Anyone know what date they’re likely to go on sale, IIRC it was the start of Nov last year? And what are your top tips for making sure you get your registration in before the door slams shut?!
I'm looking forward to the tunnels already :?
Anyone know what date they’re likely to go on sale, IIRC it was the start of Nov last year? And what are your top tips for making sure you get your registration in before the door slams shut?!
I'm looking forward to the tunnels already :?
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I have been thinking about La Marmotte for 2015 - the registration last year opened on 4 November. I have signed up to a website called www.urbantoalps.com as they will be sending details about registering for La Marmotte as soon as the date is known (I think that previous to 2014's event registrations had usually gone on sale from 1 December).
As it turned out the entries were still open a couple of days later so I wasn't the total sell-out that I was led to believe but I guess you do have to be reasonably quick. The communication from the organisers is pretty bad as well so don't expect too much back from them. I printed out the details of all our entries just in case and didn't get any official confirmation until the end of December. Also, the official print-out of our entry form wasn't available until 17th June, just three weeks from the event. You have to upload a scan of your doctor's letter to the website as well to gain access to the entry form.
I printed copies of the entry form and doctor's letter for each of us but only the entry form was required at registration. I get the impression that the doctor's letter is only a cursory check and with some 7500 entrants is probably automatic anyway and is just to cover the organisers' backs in the event of some sort of medical problem with an entrant on the ride.
The registration process the day before at Alpe d'Huez was a lot smoother than I was anticipating. The queue was reasonably long but it moved quite fast and picking up your entry pack was relatively painless.
This year clashed with Le Tour Yorkshire. Hence the reduced number of Brits.
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Is the Marmotte traditionally the first Saturday in July?
And is there a standard day for the Etape du Tour?
I need to book next year's annual leave before these dates are announced and want to try and get some time off around one of these events.
They seemed to have sorted out the issues from previous years, I was able to put through my registration with no hassles.
However, does anyone know what their password is?
I tried logging in to me to make sure I was actually in and it asks for a password. I did it last year through an agent and was told it was my date of birth but I've tried that and no luck. Maybe it needs to be in a different configuration. Anyone know. I don't remember the form asking you to enter a password.
pick your town & type of accomodation etc.
I plan to stay at le Colporteur again which is in town but doesn't have a pool (you can use the municipal one). There are a couple of sites up the road in Rochetaillée which are nice (and a little cheaper).
How do you go about finding accommodation?
It all seems to be booked/closed according to usual internet sites...
Cheers
The d.o.b. thing seems to just get you back to the details you entered earlier however I think you may need to access your account later on.
I assume the mere fact that they took your money means that you are in. However I had what I also assume is a confirmation email later this afternoon. Hope you got one too.
Also wondering about hotels etc. All booked. As far as I can see they have been for months. I don't know if places are made available later on. Maybe people cancel who prebooked if they didn't get in. I remember there were still places this year until about May. But I can't remember if that was just for Saturday and Sunday nights or not. Any Ideas?
In terms of accomodation, have a look at ski rentals in Alpe d'Huez. We found there were still things available in May and if you get in early now you should have no problem finding decent self catering. I think all the hotels in the Bourg and Alpe d"Huez will have been booked by the specialist cycling packages as they know the dates years in advance and lock everything up way ahead of the average cycle tourist.
One or two less mince pies this Christmas, I think...
"What happens when the hammer goes down, kids?"
"It stays down, Daddy."
"Exactly."
I wouldn't worry too much. Most places will just be looking to get their bookings for the ski season sorted out right now.
I found a very decent hotel in Alpe D'Huez last year which didn't even show up as having any vacancies until about March time. There are a lot of beds in ADH!
I've booked through the AdH tourist office website and got a room at the Pierre et Vacances building not far from the altiport. Also stayed here - http://www.skiboundholidays.co.uk/hotel ... lle-aurore - which we booked through a UK tour operator.
As BenderRodriguez says, they'll all be gearing up for the ski season so I wouldn't worry until next year.