La Grande Marmotte

Dear all

only 9 days to go! If you're doing the Marmotte and haven't done so yet read this article!

api.ning.com/files/6DLnZfDv*8KVV8uKn3Kfy...E/marmotte_guide.pdf

See you all on Saturday for the bike drop off at Wheelworx

garret

Best of luck to all of you. You'll all fly around it!

I might see you on the road. Haven't decided yet on whether I will do it. Depends on how well my legs withstand my 5 day holiday training plan and on much French cuisine and wine I consume next week! Also I will not do it if it rains :)

Might see you in Bourg anyway beforehand!

Oh and bring a couple of small LED lights for the tunnels. They are usually lit, but sometimes are not.

thanks Emma
would be great to meet up for it if you're doing it....there will be 16 of us doing it at fairly similar standard so you'll fit right in if you want to meet up for it or after for drinks/food/festivities! my number over there will be 00353 87 2390130 if you're about.

Fyi everyone if link isn't working above check out 2nd post of this thread
orwellsportives2014.freeforums.net/threa...?page=1&scrollTo=727

Garret

Folks
A lad from Wexford had booked a trip to the Marmotte but due to an family illness is unable to travel, he is offering the package detailed below to anyone interested free gratis, the only cost is changing the flight. I know its short notice but it might appeal to someone with a bit of time on there hands.

Flight:
Fly out this Sunday 29th June at 1200 to Lyon and arrive at approx 1515hrs local time
Return flight booked for 1500hrs on Sunday 6th July from lyon to Dublin.
Bike box booked for both flight legs.

The cost of changing the name on the booking will be €100 as per EI.


Accommodation:
One week booked from Sunday night till following Sunday at King of the Mountains – web is kingofthemountains.co.uk.
Booking is for 1 person in a twin room share
All meals are included in the trip with the exception of one night’s dinner.
This place is located 8km from Bourg, which is the Marmotte start point.


Marmotte Entry
One entry to same along with a medical cert signed and already submitted to the organisers.

This will only appeal to a few, but if any of your club mates has an interest, let me know.

Good luck all & enjoy the day. There has been some impressive training rides the past few weeks. I'm arriving on the Saturday morning for family holiday so will be a the bottom of Alpe d'Huez in Orwell top to cheer you on. I'll have some cokes with me if you want some more caffeine & sugar.

Hope to see a few of you on the Alpe TT the following morning. A chance to improve your Alpe time.

I've done the Marmotte a few times so I've resurrected a post I put up a couple of years ago, apologies for the length but hope it's of use.

BTW - saw Stephen's post. www.kingofthemountains.co.uk are a great bunch if you want to go for a cycling holiday in the Alps. Great food, quiet place, excellent help.

---

Here’s a few tips I put together from questions:

Food
I try to be self-sufficient so start with lots of gels & bars in saddle bag & triathlon bag along top tube. Also carry a couple of small baguettes with cheese/ham or cheese/tomato just to give my stomach a break from all the sugary gels/bars/drinks.

Food on the route:
Sorry I’m not sure on this as I bring my own. I’ve just picked up the odd banana or bit of baguette but others thought it was ok. Queues didn’t seem too bad.

To give you an idea of quantities, in 2012 with ride of just under 9hrs:
4 Torq gels (2 caffeine), 3 Torq bars, 2 bananas, 2 small brie & tomato baguettes, 500ml coke ½ can Red Bull, 4L Torq/SIS electrolyte, 2L water.
I finished the Alpe ok so I think my nutrition was fine.

Drink
I use the Torq energy drinks. I bring a few of their small sample like packets (Joe Daly’s sell them) as they are already nicely sealed in foil so easy to fold into saddle bag & use on the course when refilling.

Two 1 litre bottles filled at start, one with SIS energy & one electrolyte. The water provision is fairly good but there are also lots of village fountains on route which are safe to fill from. There are official refill spots at top of Glandon, nr start of Telegraph, top of Telegraph, Valloire (after descending Telegraph), top of Galibier, bottom of Alpe & a few hairpins up on the Alpe.

It's important to have full bottles of fluid when you leave Valloire as I don't think there are any more official stops till top of Galibier (about 1 ½-2 hrs climbing). For Galibier & Alpe ascents I switch to having one bottle with energy drink & one with water so that I can squirt water over myself to keep cool.

I've left cokes & red bulls with friends on Alpe & Galibier to give me a caffeine boost.

What kit will I need other than normal riding kit?
Gillet? Long sleeve jacket etc?
Bring quite a few options with you to France but all I have used & carried on the day has been short-sleeve top, cap & arm-warmers. A couple of years I've used my light gore-tex to descend from Galibier & in the morning waiting. You'll get a good idea in the day or two before just how hot it is & will be. Just in case, I've brought leggings, base layers, long-finger gloves etc with me to France but never needed them in July. Probably all you need is gillet & arm-warmers but bring the other options to France just in case. A cap is really useful for the heat on the climbs. I take my helmet off and put cap on to protect from sun-stroke. The Alpe is normally very hot (30+ C). Keep pouring a little water over your head & back of neck to cool.

It can be cold in the start pen at 6:30am (7c last year), so bringing an old sweater to discard is an option.

www.meteo.fr is good for checking & local tourist office in Bourg d’Oisans (has free wifi too).
Bourg d’Oisans:

www.meteofrance.com/previsions-meteo-fra...bourg-d-oisans/38520


I also always carry 2 inner tubes. 5 lucky years of no punctures helped but also running on newish tyres each year & the roads are good. I also carry a very small travel suncream & always re-lather up during ride as the sun is strong at that altitude & it's a long day. Boots have some kids ones which are perfect small size & strong protection.

Things to bring from home:
All your gels, energy bars, drinks powders, some ziplock sandwich bags if bring your own little sandwiches. Bourg d’Oisans has good bike shops & experienced mechanics.

Route tips:
Start Glandon, Telegraph, Galibier & Alpe climbs in your lowest gear. Let you legs spin & get yourself into a good rhythm. Ignore the very skinny Dutch & Belgians powering up Glandon. Glandon is the longest continuous climb of the day but gets easier for last few kms. Even the fastest riders aiming to finish around 7hrs warn not to push too hard on Glandon, there’s a long way to go after that.

On the section from bottom of Glandon to bottom of Telegraph, find a good sized fast moving peleton & hide in it.

Telegraph & Galibier are about 3 hours total climbing with a small interruption of Valloire descent. That's a long time to climb so go easy on the knees & keep a high cadence with a low gear.

Do get out of the saddle regularly to change position. Wiggle your toes inside your shoes to keep blood circulation to avoid suffering from hot feet.

The Alpe starts very steep & doesn't relent all that much on the way up until last 1-2 kms when you can finally change up gear again.

On the day of the ride, are the roads closed?
The road is closed from start to the top of Glandon I think. I know the first 10-15kms are closed. Not sure about Glandon but there never seems any traffic although it is pretty early. There will be traffic on the descent of Glandon & a few idiotic cyclists cornering on racing lines. Not worth it..... Nothing closed after that except for the last 2kms on Alpe d'Huez. Traffic isn't really a problem during the day though. The only unpleasant (from scenery & noisy road) section is along the Maurienne valley after Glandon descent to beginning of Telegraph.

How do supporters get around? Do they drive from spot to spot, say from Telegraphe, Galibier and then Alpe D’Huez..? Or do they get in a spot and stay there?
Marmotte is a pretty big course around the mountains & due to those mountains there are no real short cuts so drivers have to go along the same route to get to other parts of the route. With 8,000 cyclists out this is slow so any spectactors normally stay put. I think most spectators opt to wait on Alpe d'Huez or Galibier which is probably most useful if someone is planning to provide support. Those that are super keen get up early & wait on the ascent of Glandon & then probably drive back down Glandon to see them again on the Alpe. Given that the fast riders probably reach Glandon about 7:15 the road is probably closed from 6:30am so that's an early start. You could see someone on the Galibier & then overtake & see them again on the Alpe but it'd be a little anti-social to the cyclists & a rush.

Oh yes & smile & enjoy the day. It will really hurt on Galibier & the Alpe and you’ll have to dig deep but you'll forget the pain a few weeks later. I know that it will really hurt again but I can't really remember what it felt like. I will be reminded in a couple of weeks.

Here’s a video I put together from for my old London club:
vimeo.com/41192964

Fair Play Dan...super information for us all and a great video too! 8.47! Holy Jaysis!
I guess that's our target then:-(
Looking forward to that coke on the bottom of Alpe already!
gar

Thanks to everyone back home for all the texts Facebook tweets emails and forum posts on both forums!
Just over 12 hrs to go and we're all ready to roll!
Hope all of us are back on the alpe safely by 8pm tomorrow after a little 5400m tackled. Best of luck to everyone!

A few pictures from the bottom of Alpe d'Huez. Excellent to see all in great spirits and make it round. It's been raining solidly here since you left.

flic.kr/s/aHsjZw2qLW