Etape du Tour 2015

JSS

2015 Etape du Tour announced this morning. Over 4,000 metres of climbing in the Alps including the Glandon/Croix du Fer.

Runs from Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne to La Toussuire and I've done a route analysis here - http://www.sportive.com/etape-du-tour/5 ... -toussuire

I'd say it looks quite a lot tougher than some previous Etapes and it will be a real struggle if its run on a hot day. I guess it's not as bad as a Marmotte but it's not far off.

Who's up for it? Entries open on 6 November.

Rodrego Hernandez

Lame Etape really. They had some better stages they could have used - looks like a pain as far as transfers and hotels goes and nothing particularly special about the route. Glandon is a nice climb, not mega tough and the last climb isn't that severe so in all a good Etape for newbies, quite possible ASOs aim to get some new riders along as numbers have decreased over the last few years.

JSS

Why are the transfers a pain? You can ride 18km downhill all the way back to the start line (bit like descending Alpe d'Huez back to Bourg d'Oisans in the Marmotte) which makes life much easier. No need for a transfer, is there?

poweredbyidris

Don't think you can call 4,000m climbing in 140km 'lame'.

Glandon / Croix de Fer from the north is a great climb, especially the steep bit at the top.

The final climb is what you make of it. Think it's easy? Go faster then.

stanthomas

The date is Sunday, 19 July 2015.

Basically a re-run of Acte 1 from 2012 substituting the Col du Chaussy for the Madeline.
The final climb is harder than it looks on paper and should not be underestimated (like I did ).

Ed F

The most direct route encompassing all of the climbs is c.115km. As mentioned by JSS in his blog, I cannot work out how they are going to fit in the extra 30km between the bottom of the Col de Chaussy and the Glandon. Any thoughts?

cc78

"lame"... brilliant

stanthomas

Ed F wrote:

The most direct route encompassing all of the climbs is c.115km. As mentioned by JSS in his blog, I cannot work out how they are going to fit in the extra 30km between the bottom of the Col de Chaussy and the Glandon. Any thoughts?

Looks like they run down the valley on one side of the motorway for 10km, cross over and come back down the other side to the foot of the Glandon.

oneof1982

I did the Acte 1 in 2012 over a similar route. This is challenging. The top of the Glandon is tough and the heat on the Toussuire nearly did for me. Having said that the logistics should be fairly straight forward, with a descent to the start line and hopefully close by car parks. In 2012 we had a 2 car strategy and had to drive back to Albertville at the end which was a right bark.

grimpeur

Anyone who says La Toussuire from St Jean is easy is an idiot. It is a long climb and after the Chaussey and Croix de Fer/Glandon it will be even harder, more so in the heat. The descents off the Croix de Fer and Mollard are also technical and won't offer as much of a chance to rest as some of the easier descents.

I think it is a good Etape route with a short distance between the finish resort and start town.

Ed F

stanthomas wrote:

Ed F wrote:

The most direct route encompassing all of the climbs is c.115km. As mentioned by JSS in his blog, I cannot work out how they are going to fit in the extra 30km between the bottom of the Col de Chaussy and the Glandon. Any thoughts?

Looks like they run down the valley on one side of the motorway for 10km, cross over and come back down the other side to the foot of the Glandon.

So something like this then? http://www.strava.com/routes/1088375

DeVlaeminck

It may not be easy but it's probably a cat 1/HC climb short of being as tough as the Marmotte - that said how often is there a circular Tour stage that is.

stanthomas

Ed F wrote:

So something like this then? http://www.strava.com/routes/1088375

That looks like the route they're showing on the fly-over video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=wPsIKN5H-4M. Although it's hard to know how far down the valley they go before the turn.

bernithebiker

A tip for anyone wanting to do the Etape with a tour guide company and not wanting any transfer hassles;

I'm going to do it with Ronan Pensec Travel who seem to have bagged some of the best hotels in the area, meaning that you are only minutes from the start / finish, no need for buses.

Looks like a nice one, Col du Chaussy looks like a very nice climb.

othello

It does look the toughest Etape in a while. As someone said to me on twitter, about 40% of it is downhill or flat, and the rest is like a big gravity headwind.

poweredbyidris

Ed F wrote:

stanthomas wrote:

Ed F wrote:

The most direct route encompassing all of the climbs is c.115km. As mentioned by JSS in his blog, I cannot work out how they are going to fit in the extra 30km between the bottom of the Col de Chaussy and the Glandon. Any thoughts?

Looks like they run down the valley on one side of the motorway for 10km, cross over and come back down the other side to the foot of the Glandon.

So something like this then? http://www.strava.com/routes/1088375

Looks pretty close, although the route isn't going up the Lacets de Montvernier - it's going up through Le Chatel to the east instead.

The Lacets are being used at the end of stage 18 instead

elbowloh

Did the etape for the fist time this year, with the conditions probably being the hardest thing!

Will definitely be signing up for 2015.

mrushton

I wouldn't want to be going up Montvernier outside the front 500, can see it being standing room only trying to get up there.

othello

mrushton wrote:

I wouldn't want to be going up Montvernier outside the front 500, can see it being standing room only trying to get up there.

As its so early, many riders will be going far too quick up there. Hopefully that will mean it spreads everyone out.

grimpeur

Just as well the route isn't going up the Lacets de Montvernier - it's going up through Le Chatel to the east instead.

mrushton

Starting in Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne (the same venue that hosted the start of the 2012 stage won by Britain's David Millar), riders will first tackle the Col du Chaussy which tops out at 1,533m. A climb like no other, the Col du Chaussy is known for its stunning Lacets de Montvernier - or Hairpins of Montvernier - which number 17 in total over a stretch of just 3km. After this breath-taking opening, the climb then continues for a further 9km at an average gradient of 8%
Read more at http://www.cyclosport.org/22-Oct-2014/n ... g1gy9bf.99

From the TdF Etape press release

grimpeur

That is a verbose description, the Tour stage definitely does not go up the Lacets de Montvernier on the way to La Toussuire. So you are suggesting that the Etape route does not follow the Tour stage or match the animations of the Tour stage given in the presentation on Wednesday?

If you climb the Col du Chaussy from Chatel as the Tour stage does then you pass the top of the Lacets de Montvernier but you do not climb them. The ascent of the Lacets de Montvernier comes on the previous Tour stage.

The animation showing the route up from Chatel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPsIKN5H-4M#t=11

You are incorrect.

mrushton

Actually the TdF press release is incorrect or perhaps badly worded in that they say it's famous for the lacets as opposed to you will be going up this climb. I only pasted the info into my reply. I'm sure the press office at the TdF will happily adjust their info if you point out their error.

poweredbyidris

Profile of the first climb from the Etape website shows Le Chatel rather than Lacets de Montvernier:

fcc1310

I took part in the 2012 Etape and it certainly wasn't easy. Top of the glandon and the heat up the final climb were particularly testing.
Decent off the Mollard is fast!

davidof

The lacets are suprisingly flat they are so well designed whereas the climb up via le Chatel seemed (to me) to be a bit harder. It is quite a hard first climb but easier than the 2012 etape.1 as you miss out the top 500 m. over the Madeleine.

Did anyone have a profile of the la Toussuire climb, I assume they do the same as 2012 and turn left after le Mollard?

Grifteruk

Just to add anyone who thinks that the final climb out of St Jean De Maurienne up to La Toussuire is not a hard climb (whether alone or after all of the preceding climbs) is IMO seriously mistaken.

I have stayed at the top of La Toussuire for my last two trips to the Alps in mid July and can tell you that the climb up from St Jean is one of the hardest climbs I have ever done in the area or Alps generally. Starting the climb out of St Jean is hard with long straight sections of road and little to no cover in the event of hot weather at gradients of over 8%. This is followed by you joining La Toussuire with still over 14km to go to the top, thereby giving the feeling of having climbed 4-5km before you get to the La Toussuire climb proper. From then on in you get undulating gradients of not less than 7-8% all the way to the top and again have very little shelter from the sun in the afternoon.

For the last 2 years the temperature from the valley up to the start of the La Toussuire climb was 40c and at the top of La Toussuire it was still around the 30c mark. Having done all of the climbs on this years Etape only a few months ago, it is going to be a challenging course.

markwb79

I am really happy with the course, yes its very similar to 2012 (which I also did).

But the fact that its a hard course (see point below) - 140km and 4000m of climbing
Its a loop so logistics should be simple like in Annecy, if not easier.
You get to cycle with 10k people in the alps on closed roads.

Not a hard course? I think its slightly easier than the Marmotte, less distance and less climbing. But still, any ride, anywhere in the world is as hard as you make it.
If L'etape was a 200km flat stage, you could make it just as hard as this (if not harder as there isnt any rest)

Cant wait for it..

hubba hubba

2015 will be my first Etape. I'm doing it with 3 friends. Hopefully we'll still be friends on top of La Toussuire . Can I register all 4 of us tomorrow morning or does it have to be 4 separate registrations?
Ta

white_cannondale

hubba hubba you'll love riding the Etape, it's an amazing experience but it's tough. Not sure how many you can register for.

Getting a bit bored sitting here looking at the waiting page, website is very busy.

poweredbyidris

I'm in.

Accommodation is proving to be a bit difficult, what with the etape and the Tour coming through town later in the week.