Exact start-finish spots for Alpe D'Huez TT

FrankGrimes

10 of us heading off to do La Marmotte route on Tuesday and also aiming to do the regular Alpe D'Huez TT on the Thursday morning.

Does anyone have a link to a route with the exact start and finish locations for the proper Alpe D'Huez TT? When I did it 2 years ago I went all the way to the very back of the town but can't pick out the exact spot and with so many versions online it's hard to pick out the right one.

This is the La Marmotte route I was going to use for my Garmin Edge 705 as it looks about right - any issues with it?

Looking forward to it big time by the way!

Does anyone happen to have a link to a site that gives updates of the weather on the top of the Galibier? Seems normal weather sites just give general updates, can't be sure if it relates to the top. Looks like Tuesday should be sunny and reasonably warm with low chance of rain down low but more difficult to tell what it'll be like at the top of the Galibier.

kincsem

http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/47862426/
This is a 13.77 km route.

The book "The Tour is won on the Alpe" by Jean-Paul Vespini has a section on page 187 "The Fastest Ascents".
"Official timing began in 1990 at the behest of watchmaker Tissot ..... six official timers clocked the first thirty racers from Bourg d'Oisans to the finish, a distance of about 15.5 kilimeters."
"Ever since 1990, the final climb has been timed, but at different starting points. The original one at Bourg d'Oisans was eventually moved up to the "false flat" leading to the foot of the Alpe, resulting in a distance of about 14.5 kilometers. More recently, however, timekeepers have tended to eliminate that initial stretch from their calculations and have started keeping time at the very foot of the Alpe, a distance of 13.8 kilometers."

Marco Pantani's 36:50 in 1995 is the fastest.

Hope that helps.

cnz8euq6x7syj2

The weather on the Galibier is very hard to predict. Its so changeable that even up to date weather forecasts are out of date up there. Be prepared clothing wise. It could be averaging 30 all over the course and then it could be 10 and chucking it down up there.

Your map looks spot on. Dont think there is anything wrong with it.

Also most time trials start at the place. Think there is a small bridge or wall on the right just as you take the left onto turn one. Then the ending can be either of two places and maybe more. The first one being beside the cinema and before the roundabout for the Bergiers. The other being the tour de france sign(think there is a podium there) basically on the wide open road that has the mountain and ski lifts to your right. (you will know it when you see it)

Enjoy the ride. I love the Galibier. Proper mountain.

andy69

kincsem wrote: »

http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/47862426/
This is a 13.77 km route.

..actually i'm heading over next weekend and i was wondering the exact same question about where to start/stop the stopwatch!

I just noticed from the link above, that it seems to cut off the main road, and then the last stretch is the wrong way up a one-way street, so i assume for non TDF or L'Etape days out, that we won't be allowed to do that.
I did see a funny youtube clip on here a while back about some Dutch lads climbing up to huez and it showed the guys stopping just before the 'tunnel', which i *think* is opposite the Tourist office? it seems they started from near the car park just after the roundabout off the main road, but i'm not certain. i was gonna ask the guys i'm hiring the bike from when i get there, but if anyone here has done it and timed it, i'd be very grateful for the start/finish points.
not that i'm gonna break a world record or anything, but ye know yerself.... it'd be nice to think i did it in 'x' minutes and be sure that i actually DID IT, not some shortened version of the route, or longer version...

jiffybag

There is an offical timing point at the start of the road up the climb . The Dutch guys on youtube where probably stamping their timing cards at the tourist office at the top . I think these cards are available from Bourg tourist office . Stamp it at the start and stamp it again at the top for your exact time.

Its also worth noting that the weather on the Glandon and the Croix de Fer can also be very unpredictable . It get very cold very quickly up there!

FYI the decent for the Glandon down the valley on the Marmotte route is a real hairy ride . Caution needs to be the main concern on this route. Enjoy .

FrankGrimes

Mmm, the Alpe D'Huez finishing point on the Marmotte route I posted is very different to the Alpe D'Huez TT finishing point andy69 posted - which one should it be for the Marmotte? Seems it's clearcut that the TT should finish in the spot in andy69's route.

Poxy MapMyRide not exporting in .crs format (seems that Garmin Training Center will only import .tcx and .crs files, not .gpx) and looking for premium membership to get the elevation data - why pay for that when it's available elsewhere for free?

Greyspoke

I did the Alpe TT on consecutive Thursdays a few weeks back. The start point for the official timing is a few hundred metres beyond the roundabout on the outskirts of Bourg. Head from the roundabout towards the climb, after a short stretch the road bears right and then at the end of that straight the road bears left and the climb begins. There is a sign on a post on the right just before the left hand bend that defines the actual start point. At the top there are two recognised finish points - the lower, which is the one used in the Thursday TTs is in the village at the end of the first line of shops/cafes, just before a mini roundabout and a short tunnel to the left - I think there was a banner above the road at the time saying arrivee or something. The higher finish that the T de F uses is another couple of kms further on.
If you do the TT (which they also call a race since you all start together), it assembles across the road from the tourist office and you follow the lead car with the clock at a steady pace to the foot of the climb (where the clock is started) where it pulls ahead and just stays in front of the lead rider (who, when I was there seemed to be a local specialist who delighted in thrashing the tourists with sub 40 min times!). Despite the fact that you're carrying a timing chip, the times that are recorded at the top and displayed in the tourist office window later are taken from the clock on the car so a tip is to stick close to the car at the start if you don't want to be done out of hard earned seconds!
There is a very useful little brochure available in the tourist office that lists all the regular climbs, giving their distances and ascents with the idea that you can self time using a chip that you can purchase - times are automatically recorded and updated onto a website hourly (it says).
Bourg d'Oisins is a wonderful place - Have fun!