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Anyone else doing this on Saturday?
Forecast sounds interesting....high 30s on Alpe d'Huez might be rather brutal.
Yep - I'll be there with 5 others. Seemed like a good idea 8 months ago, but with the arrival of Mcobie Junior and multiple illnesses, training time has been somewhat lacking.
My aim is simply to finish 😯
Forecast sounds interesting....high 30s on Alpe d'Huez might be rather brutal.
Best of luck. My Garmin was showing 40 degrees at the bottom of AdH in La Marmotte 2013. Locals were chucking bottles of water over us that they were collecting from the springs.
My aim is simply to finish
I was in a similar situation. I ended up placing about halfway, so you may surprise yourself. Do make sure you get yourself into a big group at the bottom of Glandon - it's quite a long haul to Telegraphe so take the opportunity for a break.
If you're desceding from AdH to the start, don't drag your brakes in the straight bits - just about every hairpin had riders fixing blowouts caused by overheating rims.
I've not done the Marmotte but the Haute Route stage 3 in 2012 was Madeleine, Galndon and AdH - and that was about 38C in the valley at the bottom of AdH. We had the bike escort handing out water which I was mainly pouring on my feet - I was suffering with shoes that were just a little narrow for me and with the heat-driven swelling I was in agony.
Moral - make sure your shoes are big enough.
For the roll call - my mate Darren. He only started training 10 weeks ago, got a late entry. He'll be fine though, lots of previous experience and responds well to training.
Do make sure you get yourself into a big group at the bottom of Glandon
Good advice but drop back slightly before the crossing of the railway tracks, there are always a few you get their wheels caught.
You'll not be going anywhere along the Maurienne valley, only down from the Glandon, and then back up! As the route has changed whilst the road is shut in the Romanche Valley (since April). The mountain is due to fall this weekend as well. 800 000m3 into the chambon reservoir....Let's hope it goes safely and without any damage to the dam.....
Well that wasn't the easiest day I've had had on a bike.
39 degrees on the Mollard, 38 on the Croix de Fer and to top it all off nicely 45 degrees for the first 7km of Alpe d'Huez.
Even allowing for some Garminisation of the temps that is pretty warm. Car said 32 degrees 4 hours later.
Well done anyone that finished, or even made it back to Bourg!
Very jealous though!
Had a text from my mate - took him 11 hours. Got his nutrition wrong, threw up three times, had a little sleep before getting to the finish.
Then again, he did similar at Enduro 6 a few years ago.
Results are out, looks like 3000 non finishers out of 7500, compared with 1200 last year.
Conditions certainly took heir toll by the sounds of it.
I wasn't too pleased with my 8.54, but maybe not too unhappy about it now.