Marmotte 2016

Kaisr Sose

Red Belly wrote: »

11:24

Not nearly as fast as some of you (kudos to one and all) but I'm delighted with it. Goal was to finish within cut off and with this in mind I had target times to reach certain milestones en route and I was within a few minutes of each one. I was very efficient at breaks, (eat, stretch, get moving again). Average heart rate of 132 with only 12 mins in threshold indicates (I think?) excellent endurance which was the focus of my training.

rb

Well done on completing it and to your goals! Extremely low avg HR for the terrain. Perhaps your long breaks brought it down or you are fitter than you think or have a very low HR! (Or else you just did not suffer enough - which of course I say in jest)

Well done again!

2016

Ok, apologies in advance for the length!


Background

I came across the Marmotte last year when I was looking for some event to motivate myself for. I've lots of triathlons, an ironman and bike races under my belt, but what attracted me to the Marmotte was the epic nature of it obviously, and very much the idea of a gold medal time to aim for. If it wasn't timed, and specifically if there wasn't a goal like this, I wouldn't have been as motivated by it. At around 90kg at the time I wasn't ideally built for high mountains, so dropping a few kg would be a part of it.

So going for the gold time was the clear goal. That mean <8hrs 39 min for my age group. A very fit guy I know got well over 9 hrs last year, and said he
would have struggled to go quicker. But he didn't specifically go out to get that time, whereas I'd be treating it much like I would plan for an Ironman.

My main information source was this one, which I must have read dozens of times. Also this one which was the only one which talked power numbers http://mr-miff-on-tour.blogspot.ie/2009/04/marmotte-power-pacing-guide.html.

My strategy would roughly involve dropping around 10% in weight from January to July (approx 90kg to 81kg), then aiming for around 250W on each of the 4 climbs. That should get me the gold time based on some calculations and lots of assumptions.

Training
I didn't think lots of hill/mountain training was essential for the Marmotte, but not having done it I kept my mouth shut.

Bascially, my approach was to get my gearing right, to get my cadence high and allow me to stay in the saddle, and after that it is just developing sustained power and general endurance, with the fact that you're on an 8% gradient having only a secondary effect. (That turned out to be mostly right).

I used http://bikecalculator.com/veloMetricNum.html

So, for 81kg (me) plus 9kg (bike), at 250W on an 8% gradient, I'm hitting around 11kph.

From here (http://www.bikecalc.com/speed_at_cadence) you can see that to get above 80 RPM at 11kph I'd need around a 34x32.

There are lots of sections at >10% on mountains with averages of 8%, so again putting a premium on that type of gearing.

I used a 34x32 when I rented a bike on a trip to the hills in northern Spain and that validated what I'd need, so I ordered that cassette and it arrived the week before the Marmotte.

In hindsight, I should have added some some specific big gear training, as even with the gears I brought the cadence was much lower than normal.

I ramped training gradually from January (5 hrs/wk), February (10 hrs/wk), March (12 hrs/wk), April (15 hrs/wk, but I lost 10 days on business travel), with a solid 6 weeks from the start of May (19.5 hrs/wk, with a few days in Spain on multiple 6 hr rides), climaxing at the Wicklow 200, before a 2 week taper.

The approx 500k per week for those 6 weeks, with plently of high intensity thrown in, were key I'd say. I had a few races and TTs in April and May too.


Nutrition Plan
I was going to carry enough food to see me the 100k to Valoire (just before the Galibier) at least, meaning I only needed to stop for water. The time cost of the extra weight due to food was much less than the possible time lost at busy food stops. PLus I would focus on eating steadily all day, rather than stuffing myself at foodstops - a big mistake that too many make I feel. I planned that I would not stop at the water/food stop at the top of the Glandon, and hit a fountain at the foot instead. In reality, given where I started and given where the timing stopped (before the food stop), it didn't matter much.

Carried:
2 bottles (with High 5) - 500 Cal
8 High 5 zero tablets
12 x Lidl cereal bars - 1120 Cal
8 x gels - 800 Cal


Pre-Race
I flew out on the Thursday. I had booked the flight, and booked my bike onto the flight, very early - even before I had the entry slot. I was warned on here about the Aer Lingus limit of 6 bikes, so I got in early. Nevertheless, when I arrived in Dublin to load my bike into over-sized luggage, the guy there said "Oh, I'm not sure about this, we've lots of bikes on board, I'm going to have to make a phonecall". He said that some people had booked their bikes on as sports equipment etc, not as bikes. I explained that I had booked a bike specifically, and had probably been first, and eventually I was put through. Not sure how much danger I was in of actually not getting the bike on-board, but obviously Aer Lingus doesn't have a great system.

Later I met some Welsh guys while out on the bike and they told me that one of their group could not bring his bike with him on Easyjet - I think it arrived the day of the event eventually. All that training and expense down the drain - nightmare.

I had a car rented in Lyon and drove to Bourg D'Osians. I was staying in a crappy, but very cheap, hotel a few km from Bourg. I picked this because it allowed me to cycle from the hotel to the start line with no stress of getting up very early and driving from Grenoble for example. I arrived too late to sign on on the Thursday evening, and went for a 1.5 hr ride instead. I went up the first few hundred metres of the Alpe, seeing that it was very manageable with good cadence and target power, and went home happy.

The next morning I went up to Alpe D'Huez by car. The ride up seemed endless even by that mode of transport! There was a big queue for sign on (this was before noon), although it moved fairly quickly. They had run out of size L jerseys (€40) even that early. There was a decent exhibition and lots of things for sale, and I got a pair of discounted Giro glasses.

Did another 1.5hr ride in the afternoon, with a few 30 second very high intensity bursts, and all was well. Everything was prepared that night and I had the bike etc ready to roll. I brought no track pump with me, but there was a bike shop on the outskirts of Bourg with one left out for anyone to use.

Day of Event
I was in the last tranche of riders to set off (at 7:50AM), so I set my alarm clock for 6:15AM. The hotel started breakfast at 5AM though so I was awoken early and ended up getting up at 5:45AM. I had a decent breakfast (few croissants, cereal, coffee, orange juice) - definitely several hundred calories. I also brought a spare bottle with High-5 in it to the start line, so that was another 250 calories.

This is what I had written on my stem (worked out from the blog above). My stretch goal was <8hrs:

Marker Start Stop 8hr Time
Glandon 13k 36.2k 5% Average
Top of Glan 36k 1:45
Base of Glan 57k WATER **Timer**
St Mich de M. 80k WATER 2:45
Telegraph 80k 92k 7% Average
Top of Tel 3:50
Valoire 97k FOOD 4:00
Galibier 97k 115k 7% Average
Top of Gal 115k FOOD 5:30
Bourg D'O 160k FOOD 6:50
Alpe D'Huez 161k 174k 8% Average


We started moving at 7:50AM, but it was 10 minutes before I crossed the actual start line. I was definitely towards the tail end of the 7000+ starters at this stage. We moved smartly out of Bourg, and I jumped on a few wheels, even let some go as it would have cost too many watts to follow them. We got to the start of the Glandon about 20 mins after the start line. Here my power pacing strategy kicked in in earnest, and that meant that I was being passed by umpteen riders for much of the first 20-30 mins of the climb. I had been in this situation before and had the discipline to let them go, but it was tough especially with all the female riders passing. Still, I expected the tables would turn soon. Sure enough, by halfway up the climb I was overtaking steadily (not necessarily the same guys who passed me earlier of course!).

One point to note is that the Glandon has about a 5% average gradient - but this is useless information. There are a couple of steep descents in the climb.

In reality, any time I looked at my Garmin during an uphill I seemed to be doing at least 8%.

I hit the top of the Glandon at just over 2 hours, so 15 mins outside the 8hrs time goal. And also not looking good for 8:39 either. Because I started close to the back, and because I had rode at a controlled pace, the food stop at the top was chaos. The road was completely blocked with riders. In fact, I followed a few others in putting the bike on my shoulders and going cross country about 100m to rejoin beyond the road just before the descent. I had a big worry then that I had bypassed the "timing mat", and that worry stayed with me all day (in fact, I later discovered they were two vertical sensors either side of the road well before the food stop). At the top of the Glandon I made one of my two big errors. I screwed up the timing on the Garmin, only realising this later, and ended up losing track of my time (specifially I didn't know how long I was in the neutralised section). By the end I could guess to within maybe +/-15 mins. Since I was aiming for a specific time, this really messed things up.

The descent of the Glandon was very busy with so many people on the road, and it was impossible to get momentum going, so I was on the brakes a lot more than normal. Here I said to myself how good a decision it was to leave the carbon clinchers behind. I passed a lot of people on the descent, and took on some food. I stopped at a very slow running fountain halfway down.

Through the timing mat again to finish the neutralised section (about 45 mins including the delay at the top, the descent itself, and the brief stop at the bottom to fill up).

We were then in the notorious valley section. The temperature was getting up there (though no more than about 30C I think) The key here was to get in a group and do no work. Easier said than done actually, because decent groups in the flat would work too hard on the drags (Jesus guys, we have the Telegraph, Galibier and Alpe D'Huez to come!) and I'd be hitting 300W+ until things levelled out again. There was a badly signposted water stop at St Michel de Maurienne at about 80k. My target time to hit that stop was 2:45, and I came in at 2:55, so I had actually made up time since the top of the Glandon (I didn't bloody know this at the time of course). The water stop was incredibly busy again and it took me a good 5 minutes simply to get 2 water bottles filled, and it felt like much longer.

A few minutes later we hit the base of the Telegraph. I felt comfortable hitting my target power again, and I was passing a steady stream of people. The top of the Telegraph was a bit of an anti-climax. A few people stopped to take selfies of the sign at the top. I took a quick pic of it, and moved onto the quick descent into Valoire. I hit the top of the Telegraph at about 3:55 versus a time target of 3:50.

A nice quick descent into Valoire, then through the town to the food/water stop. I had been prepared for the fact that the stop was well outside the town, but even so I started worrying. It is actually a good 10 mins after the end of the descent. I stopped here to fill up my water bottles. I only had one empty botle, so I filled it with a pink Etixx mixture. I took my first drink of it later on the bike and it was disgusting. I knew this might lead me to under-drinking, so I made sure to keep getting it into me.

I spent about 6 mins at the stop. I took on no food from the stop, as I was still had plenty of bars and gels left. I took a couple of pictures and video, but got moving pretty quick.

The Galibier ascent started a few minutes later. I felt comfortable all the way through. Hitting >250W with good cadence - the 34x32 paying off in spades, I was more or less continuously passing folks out. Temperatures were low.

The Galibier is an epic climb to be sure. We hit snow drifts at about 2300M I'd say. I had no knowledge of the summit, but it turned out that the final 1km had been blocked by snowfall (as mentioned by a previous poster) and we went through the tunnel instead. I didn't know this, just thinking it was the actual summit. I hit the top at 5:34 vs a target of 5:30.

I put a gilet on at the top of the Galibier and started on the descent. It's a nice descent on a good day, good visibility on the bends etc. There was quite a headwind and really 50-60kph was all I did in the descent. There was some nasty dark clouds visible as we were starting downhill, and at the first drops of rain (20 min in) I stopped and put on my rain jacket. This was the signal for it to start pouring rain, and I'd guess this lasted for the next 45mins. This was a miserable experience - descending at speed in the cold and wet. I felt bad for the guys who hit that rain earlier in the descent and who may have had no waterproof jacket.

Eventually the rain stopped and we began to slowly dry out. I was feeling a bit sorry for myself and my speed here wasn't what it could have been. We were still descending on average towards Bourg, but there were some ups and downs. We were so strung out at this stage that we were singletons or groups of 2-3. As we were coming closer to Bourg, there was a sharp right hand turn alongside some body of water, and some eejit was zooming down the descent, touched his brakes and down he went. He skidded a long time on his side, still holding onto the bike with both hands. Best thing to do probably.

So we arrived in Bourg having descended more or less constantly for almost an hour and a half.

I had still one full bottle, but I stopped in Bourg anyway to fill my empty. My goal was to be here in 6:50 and I hit it at 6:55. If I had known that I would have skipped the stop and worked harder on Alpe D'Huez, but at the time my best guess that I was well outside the 8:00 goal, but probably inside the 8:39, but just possibly outside it as well, as I was just guessing the duration of the neutralised section. I find my IQ drops about 30 points when racing.

So my misplaced worry as I climbed the Alpe was to make sure I didn't fall outside the 8:39, and I worked hard. I aimed for 260-270W between hairpins, and got off the saddle and relaxed for a few seconds as I went round each hairpin. My power file looks like an interval session (21 x 3min ON, 15 sec OFF) for Alpe D'Huez. My power dropped back towards 250W over the last quarter of the ride - this was the only time I felt tired during the day. I think I did the Alpe in about 1:10. I think my second mistake of the day was nutrition. At the end I looked at all the bars and gels left over and calculated that I took on only about 2100 calories - or 250 cal/hr. I felt great all day though, until just the last bit of the Alpe.

A decent amount of cheering from spectators as you climb, plently of places to stop for water.

There's quite a ride from the last hairpin to the actual finish line. Bit of an anti-climax as I crossed the finish line. I was a small bit apprehensive as I queued for my finishing certificate, but it turns out my official time was 8:10 (excluding the 45min neutralised section). Only then did I realise that the sub-8 would have been achievable if I had done a better job of tracking my time, and trimmed a few mins from the stops and worked a bit harder from the top of the Galibier onwards.

It's humbling to realise that the winner was 2.5 hrs quicker and that I was barely in the top 30% of my age group.

So overall very happy, great experience, eminently do-able for the vast majority of people. Highly recommended.

But - most people go over there under-trained and over-geared. So at least get the gearing right!

ednwireland

great write up 2016
three of our club guys did it unfortunately they were in a group where the lead guys bottled a level crossing which took the the group down . one shredded tyre which they managed to fix with gels and got to the next town to buy a tyre.
they were in in 11.5 hours !

2old4this

Hi,

A bit late to the party at this stage.

has anyone did the marmotte through Sportactive? Was wondering if it worth the money going with them for 2017.

Thanks

Red Belly

Hi 2old4this,

I went with Sportactive in each of the last 2 years. They are good. They have guaranteed entries and good accommodation located in Alpe D'Huez. Martin Birney will lead the group around at a "finish within the cut-off" pace, you can go faster if you wish. Martin is very knowledgeable and helpful with tips and advice etc. I didn't stay with the group for most of the day but I reached the Alpe just after them so was climbing it just behind the main group and while Martin didn't interact much with me I spotted him holding back from the others to make sure I was ok: if I had got into trouble I think he would have been there with advice/encouragement on the final climb.

This year they seemed to me to have over-booked the package: some of the group were staying in Bourg and were a bit outside the loop so to speak. Those were probably late bookers and probably knew that when they booked.

I wouldn't have done it self-organised as I'd be very nervous of getting caught out by a mechanical issue/crash etc on my own, so that on the road back-up is very nice to have. Meeting their cars twice and having some proper food without the melee around the official food stops is very useful too. In the extreme heat of 2015 I abandoned quite late in the day and they were there to get me and my bike back to the hotel safely and I don't know how I'd have coped without them or a similar service.

All in all, despite the price, I do think the service and back-up they provide is well worth it.

rb

Jim Stynes

Red Belly, how much harder was 2015 compared to 2016? Would be tempted to do it next year but I have to say I really enjoyed my week cycling in the Alps this year without the pressure of an event! Plus I would hate to get unlucky with the weather again!

joxer72

2old4this wrote:

has anyone did the marmotte through Sportactive? Was wondering if it worth the money going with them for 2017.

Hi 2old4this.... Glad to say I completed the Marmotte this year with 3 other friends. We organised it ourselves and it was pretty easy (to organise). The difficult part is getting on the website and registering before the slots run out. After that you need to book accom, travel and put the training in. The only other admin is getting your Doctor cert (template available on website) and printing out the confirmation letter they send you (french bureaucracy overkill). As the start and finish are so close you have an easy ride down the Alpe to Bourg which has plenty of accommodation. The foodstops are fine but you would probably bring a lot of your own gels and bars anyway rather than trying something new on the day. Also, I find hanging around food stops is a bad idea.... best to keep it quick. In any case, its not like you're going to get a fillet steak from sportactive! Also, the only person who will get you up the mountain is you and if you don't have the legs, no amount of Jimmy waiting for you will help ;-) Nevertheless, in an emergency it would be good to have the support, there were guys this year really struggling in the rain at the top of Galibier, some looked pretty cold and I imagine they would have liked a warm car to get into. So in summary, it's not difficult to organise yourself, the real benefit I see from paying extra is security in case something goes wrong and the guaranteed entry in case you miss the website registration.

1bryan

joxer72 wrote: »

The only other admin is getting your Doctor cert (template available on website) and printing out the confirmation letter they send you (french bureaucracy overkill).

did they ask for these when you registered?

Red Belly

Jim Stynes wrote: »

Red Belly, how much harder was 2015 compared to 2016? Would be tempted to do it next year but I have to say I really enjoyed my week cycling in the Alps this year without the pressure of an event! Plus I would hate to get unlucky with the weather again!

I have to say that this year was a LOT easier than 2015. The weather in 2015 was crazy.

rb

Leroy42

1bryan wrote: »

did they ask for these when you registered?

They tend not to, but can. Get a Cycling Ireland Leisure licence for the year and not only does that cover it it also provides some insurance whilst out training (not sure exactly the levels, I know its small).

You can then send a picture/scan of the licence prior to the event to get everything sorted prior

1bryan

Leroy42 wrote: »

They tend not to, but can. Get a Cycling Ireland Leisure licence for the year and not only does that cover it it also provides some insurance whilst out training (not sure exactly the levels, I know its small).

You can then send a picture/scan of the licence prior to the event to get everything sorted prior

cheers. Yeah, I took out a leisure license this year. I'm heading over to do the pyrenees marmotte in a couple of weeks. I submitted the license (the PDF that you can d/l from the cycling Ireland website). A couple of days later I checked back and saw that the registration was complete.

I just wondered if there was anything extra they'd ask for on the actual day (or the night before when registering).

Leroy42

1bryan wrote: »

I just wondered if there was anything extra they'd ask for on the actual day (or the night before when registering).

No, just bring a copy of your confirmation letter. In many cases one person will do the reg for a few mates so the people themselves don't even have to be there.

joxer72

1bryan wrote:

did they ask for these when you registered?

Yes they do because they file it. They do the same at l'Etape so be warned! They don't query the medical cert but look for a date, signature and stamp. It's a very basic piece of paper with about 3 sentences on it that you get the "doc" to sign and stamp. They're just covering themselves for insurance reasons. The registration letter is separate. It's a letter that they put on the website about 5 days before the race with your "official" invitation. You must print this out (annoying if you're travelling at the time it's made available). Personally I wouldn't take the risk of not having these. They do like you to follow the process and if you get the wrong person on the day at registration you'd possibly be denied entry. For something so simple I wouldn't risk it...... [13/08] Just to add to this after reading other posts. I have heard that if you have certain affiliations you don't have to provide some of the documentation. I'm not a member of any club or affiliated with any cycling organisation and I didn't have a leisure license so I can't comment on the above. All I know is that me and my friends were all asked for the the 1) Doctor Cert and 2) Registration Letter when we went to register in Alpe d'Huez the day before the event. There was one other thing that I almost forgot - which was 3) We did also have to upload the Doctor Cert to the website

They don't make this very clear - but just keep checking your emails and the instructions come through ............ eventually

1bryan

joxer72 wrote: »

Yes they do because they file it. They do the same at l'Etape so be warned! They don't query the medical cert but look for a date, signature and stamp. It's a very basic piece of paper with about 3 sentences on it that you get the "doc" to sign and stamp. They're just covering themselves for insurance reasons. The registration letter is separate. It's a letter that they put on the website about 5 days before the race with your "official" invitation. You must print this out (annoying if you're travelling at the time it's made available). Personally I wouldn't take the risk of not having these. They do like you to follow the process and if you get the wrong person on the day at registration you'd possibly be denied entry. For something so simple I wouldn't risk it...... [13/08] Just to add to this after reading other posts. I have heard that if you have certain affiliations you don't have to provide some of the documentation. I'm not a member of any club or affiliated with any cycling organisation and I didn't have a leisure license so I can't comment on the above. All I know is that me and my friends were all asked for the the 1) Doctor Cert and 2) Registration Letter when we went to register in Alpe d'Huez the day before the event. There was one other thing that I almost forgot - which was 3) We did also have to upload the Doctor Cert to the website

They don't make this very clear - but just keep checking your emails and the instructions come through ............ eventually

thanks for the info. Agreed, the website is not very clear. Lots of instances of 'and/or' that I'm worried might be lost in translation.

I'm only 50/50 about wanting to ride the event. I'll be down in the pyrennes for a few days and, as someone else mentioned earlier, going for a few hassle-free spins without the pressure of an event, is greatly appealing. I did want to have everything in order though to leave myself the option of doing it. If there was going to be the added expense of 50 quid to get a doctor's note, than that was likely to be the deciding factor.

My entry on the website says 'Registration complete'. That only happened after I uploaded my license so I'm guessing they are happy to accept that in lieu of a doctor's note. But I'm only guessing. As you said, it might depend a lot on the person you get at registration.

2old4this

Thanks for replies. I will probably go with Sportactive for the added insurance of having back up on the road, should something go wrong.

2old4this

Hi, Another question on marmotte. What wheels have people used on this event? I'm a bit concerned about the long descents and rims overheating. Currently using Fast Forward F2R's / F6R's. I am thinking about upgrading to full carbon.

Thanks

thekooman

2old4this wrote: »

Hi, Another question on marmotte. What wheels have people used on this event? I'm a bit concerned about the long descents and rims overheating. Currently using Fast Forward F2R's / F6R's. I am thinking about upgrading to full carbon.

Thanks

aren't F2Rs and F6Rs full carbon already? u need an alloy clincher.

07Lapierre

2old4this wrote: »

Hi, Another question on marmotte. What wheels have people used on this event? I'm a bit concerned about the long descents and rims overheating. Currently using Fast Forward F2R's / F6R's. I am thinking about upgrading to full carbon.

Thanks

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=97221082&postcount=23

Red Belly

Context: I'm a nervous descender, prone to over-braking and this was exacerbated by the type of descents on the Marmotte.

The risk of overheating and causing a blow-out was something I was very worried about.

Things to do: Do not have patched tubes on your bike. The patch glue can melt and cause a blow-out. Also, have new tyres in good knick.

Be better at braking/cornering/descending (I only made small improvements here, I'm still more nervous than most and prone to overbraking).

Replace plastic rim tape with cotton/fabric rim tape. This was on the advice of my LBS. Apparently the plastic rim tape can melt and cause punctures as well.

Don't use carbon rims. Overheating and subsequent blow-outs are more likely.

Use a bike with hydraulic disc brakes: When I changed my bike before this year's Marmotte I went with the Giant Defy Advanced Pro 2. I like a lot about the bike but the advantage of the discs on high speed descents and given my propensity for over-braking was a significant plus for the bike. Not for everyone, and not necessary for everyone I know, but I was very confident I wouldn't overheat the disc brakes.

rb

2old4this

Both have alloy rims. I did get a blowout on mahon falls descent a few years ago. Luckily wasn't going too fast and was able to stop. Not sure that would be the case in the Alps.

Daroxtar

Blow out from over breaking or a pebble/thorn?

2 Wheels Good

2old4this wrote: »

Hi, Another question on marmotte. What wheels have people used on this event? I'm a bit concerned about the long descents and rims overheating. Currently using Fast Forward F2R's / F6R's. I am thinking about upgrading to full carbon.

Thanks

The descents are fine, your brakes will only over heat if you use them! Use the roads and learn to flow through the corners. Judge from others ahead of you and use both brakes when needed.

1bryan

Red Belly wrote: »

Use a bike with hydraulic disc brakes

pretty sure disc brakes aren't permitted in the marmotte.

2old4this

I thought it was just a puncture, until I went to remove tyre, the rim was roasting. Thats a horrible descent though, bad surface, steep, sheep, cattle grids. So lots of braking.

Red Belly

1bryan wrote: »

pretty sure disc brakes aren't permitted in the marmotte.

I used 'em this year. There was a period when it looked like they would be banned but mass participation events were made an exception.

Paul

joxer72

2old4this wrote:

Hi, Another question on marmotte. What wheels have people used on this event? I'm a bit concerned about the long descents and rims overheating. Currently using Fast Forward F2R's / F6R's. I am thinking about upgrading to full carbon.

Hi, I had Mavic Krysiums and had no issues. Personally I think you'd be fine with standard brakes if you take it easy - aren't disk brakes for Mountain Bikers anyway? lol! The trickiest descent is Glandon, especially the first part but I think you'd be better focussing on your cornering and flowing through the bends as someone else said.

golfer555

Didn't want to start a new thread but I'm seriously tempted to enter next years event.

I'll be training for a half ironman in May and will step up my bike specific training afterwards. I do quite a bit but it'll be a massive challenge. Logistically it looks good in regards flying into Grenoble and getting the bus to Le Bourg d'Oisans, hopefully I'd go for a spin Friday & Saturday before the race.


Two questions:
1) Provided your by the computer the minute entry opens on November 9th or 10th are you guaranteed to get in? It's not a lottery system? I'm asking as I want to book accommodation shortly.
2) Do most people stay in le bourg d'oisans? It seems a handy spot from the finish line.

Buzwaldo

golfer555 wrote: »

Didn't want to start a new thread but I'm seriously tempted to enter next years event.

I'll be training for a half ironman in May and will step up my bike specific training afterwards. I do quite a bit but it'll be a massive challenge. Logistically it looks good in regards flying into Grenoble and getting the bus to Le Bourg d'Oisans, hopefully I'd go for a spin Friday & Saturday before the race.


Two questions:
1) Provided your by the computer the minute entry opens on November 9th or 10th are you guaranteed to get in? It's not a lottery system? I'm asking as I want to book accommodation shortly.
2) Do most people stay in le bourg d'oisans? It seems a handy spot from the finish line.

Not sure if you can fly into Grenoble in the summer. Think Ryanair fly there for the skiing season, but not in the summer. Or at least that's how it was a year or two ago - may have changed recently.
Pretty sure registration is first come first served, but it fills quickly (a day or two I think). I registered easily enough first morning last year, but alas did not get to do it.
Think Bourg would be ideal for accommodation, although if you were staying in Alpe itself, you would have no option but to finish it😜

1bryan

golfer555 wrote: »

1) Provided your by the computer the minute entry opens on November 9th or 10th are you guaranteed to get in?

no guarantees in life but I'd be highly surprised if you didn't. Anyone I know who ever wanted to do this, got an entry.

ladder in me tights

Two questions:
1) Provided your by the computer the minute entry opens on November 9th or 10th are you guaranteed to get in? It's not a lottery system? I'm asking as I want to book accommodation shortly.
2) Do most people stay in le bourg d'oisans? It seems a handy spot from the finish line.[/QUOTE]

1/ You should be able to register ok if you do it ASAP on the 9th, if you dont, some of the tour groups offer 'entry only' or 'entry and support on the day of event' (Cyclemundo being 1)

2/ Most people stay in L'Alpe-d'Huez as this is where all the skiing hotels are.