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la Mi-Marmotte

  • 12-08-2014 3:34pm
    #1
    Red Belly
    Registered Users Posts: 195 ✭✭


    Anybody done this?

    The Marmotte (or L'Etape or similar) is on my bucket list but as a middle-aged relative newcomer to cycling I want to get used to long hard efforts before I commit to such an expensive endeavour without being pretty confident of avoiding the broom wagon. My current ability level has seen me take on three 100k+ sportives so far this Summer with the Sean Kelly 160k in a fortnight the main goal.

    In each of the sportives I've completed so far I've been in the middle to back of the pack, and I've been far from shattered by the efforts.

    At the moment I can manage a flattish 100k spin comfortably enough at 26/27kph.

    A lot of advice re the Marmotte etc recommends doing some riding on the type of climbs they include beforehand and obviously that can't be done in Ireland so necessitates a trip to France. That led me to the idea of taking on the shorter Mi-Marmotte in 2015 with a view to tackling the main event in 2016, by which time I'll have been doing long distance efforts for more than three years.

    So has anyone on here done the smaller event? Would you recommend it? Should I just go for the big one on 2015?



    tia


Comments

  • #2
    07Lapierre
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,272 ✭✭✭07Lapierre


    Go for the full Marmotte...its an expensive trip to go and just do 1/2 of it!



    http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057044244


  • #3
    borntobike
    Registered Users Posts: 56 ✭✭borntobike


    Go do the whole thing. Start with the Kelly 160k and take it from there.
    In the spring you would need to be doing 150-160k spins with 2500-3000M climbing.
    If doing it I would suggest Sportactive who have great on the road support


  • #4
    Trojan
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 16,413 ✭✭✭✭Trojan


    A friend of mine did it this year. They had a guide who paced their small group perfectly, sounded awesome. Tough as hell, but awesome.

    🎙️ The Recognized Authority Podcast



  • #5
    2 Wheels Good
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,103 ✭✭✭2 Wheels Good


    Just go for the big one! You've a year to train, and if you maintain and build on your current levels you'll be fine. I did the Etape for the 2nd time this year. Due to injury I did nothing for the month of June, did the ROK and a 90k west Cork cycle. Got a few rides in from the Wednesday to Friday and did the Etape Sunday. With a good base built up over the year you'll be fine. I ended up with about 19000 metres climbing in a week.
    Go over a few days early to get acclimatised with the climbs and the weather. I do Bikram yoga which helped with the heat. The Tour de Cure helped with the cold and wet we had for the Etape.
    It'll be tough but with a steady training plan you'll be fine. Spinning helps (me at least) with climbing as you can get used to doing a solid effort for ~45 minutes to mirror hill climbing, something you can't really do here.


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