l’Etape du Tour 2016
stanthomas
Posts: 265
Not sure I can plan this far ahead...
So entries are open the moment they announce the route. Tuesday, 20 Oct at 2pm (1pm UK time). 100€ this year.L'ouverture des inscriptions aura lieu le mardi 20 octobre 2015 à 14h00 !
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Am sure I read on earlier info that first batch of folk to register pay about 80 euros, thereafter 100 euro. Start number is the big problem though, - having just scraped through by the skin of my teeth this year, really worried will end up rolling out at the end of a very long queue....0
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My 'sources' tell me the climbs next year are relatively unknown.......we shall see.
A shame the price has inched up. There are many other French sportives just as good as the Etape for much less money. And you avoid all the crazy busy-ness.0 -
UPDATE 18 October 2015 at 2.40PM: without being 100% sure, based on the hotel bookings by A.S.O. in Morzine on the night of 10 July, it's almost sure that the Etape du Tour will finish there. Looking at the pro stages and following the logic which says that the Etape du Tour takes place on the race route of one of the pro stages, the only logical conclusion can be that the Etape du Tour 2016 will be Saint-Gervais > Morzine on 10 July 2016.0
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Route confirmed at Megève to Morzine. 146km of riding with roughly 3,350 metres of climbing. On 10 July, 2016. Just about to write my annual Etape route analysis.0
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[img][/img] 0 -
Well, I'm all signed up. I wasn't going to, but when I saw the route, I knew I had to do it.
I know those climbs fairly well, especially the Joux Plane which is gorgeous, (if tough).
Megeve and Morzine are both very nice, and easy to get to from GVA.0 -
Couldn't resist either so here we go again!
Any tips on where to stay so logistics are manageable? Plan is to have a car and my dearest wife would be able to drop-off / fetch if neccessary.Shut Up Legs!0 -
Try this:[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19726844#p19726844]white_cannondale[/url] wrote:Couldn't resist either so here we go again!
Any tips on where to stay so logistics are manageable? Plan is to have a car and my dearest wife would be able to drop-off / fetch if neccessary.
http://www.chalet-la-giettaz.com/0 -
I've done my route analysis - http://www.sportive.com/etape-du-tour/519507/2016-etape-du-tour-route-analysis-megve-to-morzine - and it looks like a pretty tough stage. I think that a lot of riders will blow up on the Joux Plane, especially if it is a hot day.
To me this looks as tough as a Marmotte...0 -
It's a fair bit shorter with a lot less climbing than the Marmotte.[Castle Donington Ladies FC - going up in '22]0
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I've done my route analysis - http://www.sportive.com/etape-du-tour/519507/2016-etape-du-tour-route-analysis-megve-to-morzine - and it looks like a pretty tough stage. I think that a lot of riders will blow up on the Joux Plane, especially if it is a hot day.
To me this looks as tough as a Marmotte...
nice preview
it's going to be a hard day in the mountains...0 -
Yes really helpful route analysis from JSS. Wondering & worrying about the comment that 'ASO have gone a bit easy on Etape riders recently'....having only done the last two and found them both VERY tough, perhaps I should just pull out now
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Yes really helpful route analysis from JSS. Wondering & worrying about the comment that 'ASO have gone a bit easy on Etape riders recently'....having only done the last two and found them both VERY tough, perhaps I should just pull out now
I only did 2014 and so aren't qualified to compare that etape to other earlier years in terms of toughness, but I think 2014 became about 50% tougher because of the atrocious conditions which made descending Tourmalet an exercise in self preservation0 -
It's a fair bit shorter with a lot less climbing than the Marmotte.
There's more recovery time between climbs on the Marmotte. Crucially, I would say, the lack of cover from forest/trees on this route will contribute to it being particularly hard, unless riders are lucky enough to get a cool day. A large part of the Etape 2016 is on exposed roads.0 -
The Etapes I've done so far have either been;
a) roasting hot, heatwave conditions,
or
b) absolutely bloody freezing, hypothermia stuff.
Something in between would be nice!
The Joux Plane is a great climb, done it many times, we used to own a chalet in Samoens. The views on to Mont Blanc from half way up are amazing.0 -
Thanks as well to JSS for the briefing on the route.
Whatever the difficulty of the route, it doesn't seem to put anyone off! ASO have just over 6500 entries right now according to their site. Entries are coming in at the rate of over a hundred per hour, so probably you shouldn't wait too long to enter once you've decided you want to do the EDT.0 -
If you've entered and trained for the Etape then 600m @ 12% should not have you walking? It's not London to Brighton.before there is about 600 metres at 11.8%. I'd be slightly concerned about whether this will create bottlenecks as some riders will definitely be forced to get off and walkBianchi Infinito CV
Bianchi Via Nirone 7 Ultegra
Brompton S Type
Carrera Vengeance Ultimate Ltd
Gary Fisher Aquila '98
Front half of a Viking Saratoga Tandem0 -
^^Yes but the Etape attracts riders of all abilities! There are always lots of ill prepared hikers pushing bikes0
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Try this:[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19726844#p19726844]white_cannondale[/url] wrote:Couldn't resist either so here we go again!
Any tips on where to stay so logistics are manageable? Plan is to have a car and my dearest wife would be able to drop-off / fetch if neccessary.
http://www.chalet-la-giettaz.com/
I cannot recommend this place enough. Chris (cc78 on here) runs it and it's a perfect location.0 -
I have signed up to ride this next year and it will be my first time. I have a couple of questions if there are any etape veterans looking at this.
When do they announce the average speed that the broom wagon will be traveling?
How do they decide on the start times and is it possible to start at the same time as your mates?
Thanks in advance.0 -
I stand corrected then, I'd assumed it was a bit self selecting with it being generally a pretty full on days cycling and having a broom wagon.^^Yes but the Etape attracts riders of all abilities! There are always lots of ill prepared hikers pushing bikesBianchi Infinito CV
Bianchi Via Nirone 7 Ultegra
Brompton S Type
Carrera Vengeance Ultimate Ltd
Gary Fisher Aquila '98
Front half of a Viking Saratoga Tandem0 -
When do they announce the average speed that the broom wagon will be traveling?
How do they decide on the start times and is it possible to start at the same time as your mates?
With 8 months training ahead of you, I think it's a bit early to worry about elimination. But, to answer your question, sometime around May they will publish a time schedule on the website showing the time the roads open car is expected to reach various points along the course, together with specific time cut-offs at one or two locations. If you fail to reach the cut-off points in time, you're out. If the roads open car passes you, you're out. And, should you be unfortunate enough to be eliminated, you will have to surrender your race number and either put your bike in the broom wagon and be taken to the finish or continue on your own on open roads.
Start numbers, and hence time, is determined from previous Etape results and other, similar, events e.g. Marmotte. If you have no history you'll get pot luck towards the back.
Blocks of several hundred riders, grouped by number, start together. It's quite possible that you and your friends are in the same start pen. And it's often possible to start out of sequence in a later group but they're very strict on moving forward. If you and your friends can't start together then the early starters can always hang back before the timing mats and join up - just remember what you agreed 'cos someone is going to be really p*ssed if he's left waiting while you all ride off in the crowd.0 -
I have signed up to ride this next year and it will be my first time. I have a couple of questions if there are any etape veterans looking at this.
When do they announce the average speed that the broom wagon will be traveling?
How do they decide on the start times and is it possible to start at the same time as your mates?
Thanks in advance.
I did it with my mate in Annecy in 2013. Although quite a good rider, he didn't put anything on his application form and so was back at 12 thousand and something. I was 4 hundred and something as I'd done OK in the 2012 Etape.
No way I could get him in my pen, so I had to move back....which I regretted as it just meant thousands of riders to overtake and a much hotter ride (later in the day, we started 2 hours after the front guys!!)
So my advice would be; exaggerate your abilities a bit if you don't want to be right at the back!0 -
Based on this years sh1t fight after the first climb and the pedestrianised descent caused by crashes I'm glad that next year has good roads and a long hill to sort out the chaff before the first descent.
Overestimating abilities is what causes crashes and unfortunately it is usually the brits that have done that and it's them causing problems on the climbs by being out of their depth and having to walk or on descents by again being out of their depth as far as skill is concerned. It would be funny if it wasn't for the people getting hurt.0 -
I have done the Joux plan 3 times now (Twice in the Morzine sportive, once on it's own). It was brutal both times in the Sportive but that is because your head is quite different, the second time especially I forgot to eat and drink on the way up and arrived near dead at the top! I had to have a seat and my blood pressure got taken but I was fine after 10 minutes. Wiggins talks about it his book as being hard. When I did on a leisure ride with my friends, they didn't think it was as hard I had made out because I originally did in the Sportive.
The descent is pretty fast, I think it was where Sean Kelly hit 77mph so would be careful.
The Ramaz is great climb as well, slightly less tough and has a few breaks in it. But again when you are in the Sportive is will seems a lot tougher.
It will probably be warm as well as these climbs start lower in the valley, and the top of the climbs are not that high. Still around the treeline.0 -
Could give you a very long list of things which cause crashes - 'overestimating abilities' is by no means the worst. Its a shame that folk always feel the need to criticise those they feel are somehow lesser cyclists than themselves. In an event of this size you will never get over 12,000 cyclists to arrange themselves perfectly in speed order - and if they did, there'd be no crashes?0
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Thanks for the replies, there is some interesting stories in there. We have all signed up saying that we have never done a mountain sportive before so I guess that we will all be at the back somewhere.
I did the Velothon in Wales this year and there were 15,000 people on that ride too. Loads of crashes again but I guess that it is bound to happen with that many people. I guess that the Etape should be a little better as the mountains will string everybody out a bit.
Another question if I may? I'm not sure if there are any but, how do you deal with going into tunnels on the descents? I am assuming that going from bright sunlight to pitch black could cause some issues?0 -
Yes if you hit a tunnel with sunglasses on it's "interesting" to say the least. I find some of the longer tunnels a bit hair raising even without glasses. I tend to slide mine down and look over them though it might depend on your glasses and your nose whether that works ![Castle Donington Ladies FC - going up in '22]0
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If you are able to remove sunglasses safely then do so and put them in your back pocket or clip them in your collar
Top tip: close one eye for a couple of seconds before you reach the tunnel then open it as you go inside; your eyes will adjust much more quickly to the darkness
In any case I know there aren't any tunnels on the descents from Aravis or Colombiere; the preview above doesn't mention any on Ramaz or Joux Plane either. Aravis has two short ones as you go up, the second one is dark and has a left hand bend but going uphill it's not a problem.0 -
I can confirm there are no tunnels on the descent or climb of the Ramaz or Joux Plan.0
