So, I appear to have just entered it. Anyone else done it? How bad is it likely to be?

It’s a very very big day out and the weather can play a huge role too from freezing to sorching. Probably one of my hardest non-racing days. Train well!

So, I appear to have just entered it. Anyone else done it? How bad is it likely to be?

I did it in 2013. The hardest day I’ve ever had on the bike, but it was a fantastic experience.

Tips:
1. Get really fit. I was placing well in UK sportive times (Gold times, top ten etc). In retrospect, hilly sportives weren’t that useful – constant up/ downs are very different from three massive mountains. I’d be tempted to go time-trialling if I did it again – a 25 miler is an all-out effort for an hour or so, which is quite similar to climbing Alpe d’Huez when you think about it.
2. Consider professional coaching. I had a fitness test done which showed that I had a very good aerobic threshold, but poor fat burning ability, so I tailored training around that.
3. Arrive in good time. I got there the day before following an all-night drive, less than ideal. Better to have a few days prep and bag a col or two to get you used to climbing mountains.
4. If you’re staying in AdH, buy some old woollens to wear on the descent to the start, then bin them. It’s chuffing freezing at 6am going down the mountain.
5. Work on your braking technique. I lost count of the number of riders with blown tubes because they’d dragged their brakes and overheated their rims.

There’s other stuff.

My top tip is to have new tyres and tubes – particularly if you are staying at Alpe d’Huez and some scabby old kit to ride down the hill to the start in. Time trialling is a good analogy, the climb up the Galibier is evil coming after a long flar ride down the Maurienne valley when you want to be in a bunch and not on the front! Make sure you fill your bottles at the feed at the bottom of the Alpe – it was 40 degrees as I crossed the level crossing. Ransos post contains good info 🙂

powermeter and a wifli cassette/mech

mine was in 2011 – put me off road biking completely. half way up alpe d’huez I realised it just wasn’t fun.

point 4 of ransos post very true.

Also remember it may feel like closed roads due to number of riders and the fact that the locals obviously avoiding driving on the day, but it is not and coming round a bend when descending at speed to find a car coming the other way is quite disconcerting.

Most of the other participants are idiots that cannot handle their bike properly/cannot ride in groups.

Enjoy.

My top tip is to have new tyres and tubes – particularly if you are staying at Alpe d’Huez and some scabby old kit to ride down the hill to the start in.

I fitted new tyres & tubes, cables, cassette & chain a month before the event, so everything was properly bedded/ scrubbed in and tested.

Also remember it may feel like closed roads due to number of riders and the fact that the locals obviously avoiding driving on the day, but it is not and coming round a bend when descending at speed to find a car coming the other way is quite disconcerting.

Even worse – some bits ARE closed (Glandon IIRC). Oh, and the tunnels down Galibier – use the little LEDs they give you and take your sunglasses off.

Most of the other participants are idiots that cannot handle their bike properly/cannot ride in groups.

I paid extra to go off at the front, which got me away from the worst of that, but did mean I spent most of the day being overtaken (I finished about halfway)and the peloton that formed on the flat section to Telegraphe was quicker than I should’ve ridden, which I paid for later on. I’d suck up the bad riding and go in the main bunch next time.

Rode it in 2008. Its a big day, if warm then by the time of Alpe d’Huez it’ll be very warm – someone went into convulsions and collapsed when I was going up it, fortunately some bystanders went to his aid.
We had a week out in Valloire beforehand so had time to do plenty of riding in the area.
Not sure I’d do it again as I think that the standard of riding has gotten worse over the last few years – certainly I won’t be riding the Maratona again mostly for that reason.

Do hill repeats – lots – and then some more

The length of it isn’t the problem, its riding for 2 hours uphill thats the problem, you then have a while to recover before the next 2 hours

Basically be as fit and as light as you can be

Prepare to suffer – done it twice and it wasn’t any better the second time, horrible long day out

Would love to do it again !

Just entered.
For those that have done both, is it harder than the Cristalp?

Great day out.
Don’t be too worried by:

I was placing well in UK sportive times (Gold times, top ten etc)

Depends on your physiology. I would never get near a top ten in anything on a bike, I’m not fast but can keep going for hours. But do get fit.

Always fancied a crack at this, more likely to just do the route though rather than on the day.

Is the Galibier still out for next year?

My top tip is to remember that you need to ride back down the Alpe at the end. I emptied myself on the way up and had to limp down – worst part of the day.

I did it in 2005 – my first ever sportif! Trained hard from January, solo hilly 100 milers most Saturday mornings and got my weight down to 10 stone (at 5’11” I didn’t look great that light, my wife hated it).

Went with the aim of getting a Gold finish, and managed it by 7 minutes. One thing that helped me was I’d practised dressing and undressing (wind top, arm warmers etc) whilst riding – as I needed to do this at the top of every descent and bottom of every climb this saved me a fair bit of time. Ate and drank on the go to, I only stopped to piss (once on the whole ride- hmm perhaps I wasn’t drinking enough).

The final climb of Alpe D’Huez was the most miserable experience ever on a bike, I was close to tears most of the way up I was so mentally and physically exhausted. That said, it was an amazing experience, overall I loved it, and I’d do it again if I could be arsed to get fit enough.

Great day out.
Don’t be too worried by:

I was placing well in UK sportive times (Gold times, top ten etc)

Depends on your physiology. I would never get near a top ten in anything on a bike, I’m not fast but can keep going for hours. But do get fit.

Yeah, sorry. It was an illustration that my fitness and weight improved dramatically. I certainly wasn’t fast on the day!

I think I got down to 70kg, which is the lightest I’ve been since I was 18 years old. It helped enormously on the climbs.

Another tip: the descent on Glandon is neutralised, so it’s a good opportunity to eat/ drink/ sort out your clothing, without costing time.

2008 and 2009 for me. Its a great event, made a proper hash of it in 2008 (rode a 53/39, late entry meant I started in the last wave of riders and destroyed myself trying to catch all my club mates up on Glandon and Telegraphe who went off early. I finally blew up on the Alpe big time and grovelled) was much more realistic of my ability and respectful of the course and modified my tactics in 2009 and had a great day on the bike, loved it.
Was thinking about doing it in 2016 but the plan just didn’t come together. I have no idea of your ability so my tips may not be relevant to you, but if I looked back at my rides at the riding ability at the time, these are the three things I would have wanted to know 🙂

1. Don’t underestimate the Telegraphe, just because its a Cat 1 and not HC. I found the constant nature of the gradient with no respite really tough.
2. Don’t go too quick on the flat transitions. (Chainganging on the run toward the telegraphe on the main roads was a massive mistake for me)
3. Try and ride ADH once before the day, It really does get easier after the first 4 bends but early on when you are exhausted (if like me) it can blow your mind “this is too steep”, “I cant do this for an hour” etc etc. If you get to ride it before the big day, you know whats coming.

Have a great ride, its the best thing I ever did on my bike. 🙂

Having driven alongside the riders for an hour or two into AdH I have total respect for anyone finishing it.

I’ve never seen mass human suffering like I saw in the dozens and dozens of riders strewn at the sides of the road or just trying to keep the pedals moving up that final climb.

I’ve just registered for 2016 🙂

Got a reasonable idea of the suffering to come (I know several people who’ve done it before). I’ve done the Maratona dles Dolomites for the past 2 years – absolutely loved it, but fancy a bit more of a challenge for next year.

The going up doesn’t bother me too much (I love long alpine climbs and at only 46 kg there’s not much of me to get up hill!), but not a big fan of descents.

Training will start in January, so in the meantime I’ll just enjoy a couple of months of social rides!

Dunno how heavier you are, but lose some weight! Makes the big hills a far more pleasant experience.

tbh french hills aint that bad, you can just grind them out for an hour or so.

Much prefer that to the relentless are we coming or going short sharp uk hills we have up here in scotland……

taken at a leisurely pace its a nice day out – the descent back down to bourg just goes on forever. Can see the benifits to being in a group for the valley though.

Dunno how heavier you are, but lose some weigh

6’4″ and 95kg so not exactly climbers weight, plan is to be low 80’s which’ll be the lightest I’ve been since I was 18.

Thanks all for the advice/scare stories, I’ve entered it on a bit of a whim, it was only when the confirmation e-mail arrived that I realised the full extent of the fun to come. 😯

Have ridden it, but not all in one go. (Have done the Tour du Mont Blanc sportive though).

These longer rides are all about pacing yourself and keeping eating and drinking.

If you go off too fast you’ll end up with cramp or other problems.

6’4″ and 95kg so not exactly climbers weight, plan is to be low 80’s which’ll be the lightest I’ve been since I was 18.

A rule of thumb is height in inches = weight in kgs. I feel about best on the bike around the 75kg at 6’3″ – last time I rode in the alps I was 85/86kg – the hills were hard! But if you’ve been training, then you’ll be alot fitter than I was.

As per TR’s post above, the French Hills aren’t too bad, as long as you’re in fighting shape (although if you’re trying to go quick; still horrible)

I did it in 2013. The hardest day I’ve ever had on the bike, but it was a fantastic experience.

Tips:
1. Get really fit. I was placing well in UK sportive times (Gold times, top ten etc). In retrospect, hilly sportives weren’t that useful – constant up/ downs are very different from three massive mountains. I’d be tempted to go time-trialling if I did it again – a 25 miler is an all-out effort for an hour or so, which is quite similar to climbing Alpe d’Huez when you think about it.
2. Consider professional coaching. I had a fitness test done which showed that I had a very good aerobic threshold, but poor fat burning ability, so I tailored training around that.
3. Arrive in good time. I got there the day before following an all-night drive, less than ideal. Better to have a few days prep and bag a col or two to get you used to climbing mountains.
4. If you’re staying in AdH, buy some old woollens to wear on the descent to the start, then bin them. It’s chuffing freezing at 6am going down the mountain.
5. Work on your braking technique. I lost count of the number of riders with blown tubes because they’d dragged their brakes and overheated their rims.

I did it in 2011 and 2012 and got silver medal time both times. All the advice above is sound. Yes get a few UK sportives done but you don’t have to be doing gold medal times- I usually finish with silver times and the occasional gold.

Main thing is to be conscientious with your training- the Marmotte will find you out if you aren’t. You don’t have to do century rises every week but you need to be doing 8-10 hours a week at least. Do a mix of endurance and high intensity intervals/hill repeats and make sure you have longer efforts of at least 1 hour close to your functional threshold (as another poster says 25 mile TT’s are good prep)

If you can get out early to acclimatise as its likely to be hot. Both times I did it the bottom of the Alpe was 35°C. First time I did it I went out the week before, second time a couple of days before and certainly suffered more in the heat.

Work out a pacing strategy and stick to it. Even very good riders fail on the Marmotte due to going too hard and cooking themselves. Take every climb at top of tempo pace and then see what you’ve got left in the tank at the end for the Alpe.

I did it this year – horrid, horrid day on the bike – the average temperature for the day 31.8c with a max of 44c. I have never known heat like it. I vowed to never do it again.

I seem to have entered for 2016 😆

I had just upgraded my bike to a Tarmac Pro Disc – great for out braking the numpties that wouldn’t hold their lines on the corners and insisted on cutting you off. Also, no risk of blowing tubes as I saw loads of people do. Two of our group de-laminated their carbon rims due to the heat 😯

Eat/drink more than you think you need.

I drove out on the Thursday which worked well – hoping to get an entry into Mega the following week, so will make a holiday of it.

Yep all great advice and as mentioned by uponthedowns dont forget the heat you are likely to encounter on the Alpe. I think one of our group saw 42 degrees !
Some people manage short sharp UK style climbs and some Alpine types. I did the Fred Whitton earlier this year, and mentally prepared myself for it to be as tough as the Marmotte (in a different sort of way) as this is what I had read. Personally for me it was not even close to Marmotte suffering. I remember thinking after finishing the Fred that I’d ride three Fred’s for every Marmotte ! Others may feel totally different.

Some people manage short sharp UK style climbs and some Alpine types. I did the Fred Whitton earlier this year, and mentally prepared myself for it to be as tough as the Marmotte (in a different sort of way) as this is what I had read. Personally for me it was not even close to Marmotte suffering.

I did “Le Terrier” as Marmotte prep – a sportive in Lancashire with even more climbing than the Whitton (I recorded 3,800 metres). A totally different beast to La Marmotte, and like you I found short, sharp UK climbs much easier to handle than the unrelenting drags in the Alps. That’s why I said earlier that you may be better off doing time trials or maybe turbo sessions, or fly out to Tenerife if you can afford it, and ride up Teide.

I’ve not ridden the Marmotte, but have ridden the route in various stages of fitness and weather conditions.

The route was changed last year due to a collapse in a tunnel on the descent of the Lauteret. A new road is close to being completed (along the other side of the lake), but it’ll be more like a local road than the fairly major road that was there before. No idea how much of a difference this will make.

Done it a couple of times, my tips:

1) You can’t be too fit. If you were to go out on a fast,hot, very hilly 100 miler, how would you feel? La Marmotte is this, getting hotter as they day goes on, and you hit the Alpe with humidity at a high level. Build your miles up to regular 100 mile plus rides, with mates and really push on the climbs.

2) You can’t be too light. That’s you and your lardy arse! Ok, that’s me really, but if you work on item 1), 2) will surely follow. Unless your a world champion pie eater. I’m your size, it’s not much benefit!

3) Your bike must fit you. Spending all day riding up proper mountains in building heat and humidity will find out any issues. A super super light bike, Assos shorts and electronic gearshift couldn’t matter less. There will be a very dark skinned pensioner riding past, smiling, wearing a woolen top on a bike he bought as a teenager. Clever marketing won’t make you faster, but a bike that fits will keep you riding comfortably for longer.

4) Go down the week before and practice a few climbs and descents. The Glandon at speed is fearsome. They don’t advertise it but several people have died on its slopes. The roads can have a very poor surface and watch out for melting tarmac patches. A buzz, certainly, but it’s nice to know where the road goes. The first descent can be (has been) carnage.

5) Start slow, enjoy it. Look at the view, chat to your fellow riders. If it’s your first time and you’re not chasing gold take some pics. Remember you’re doing it for for fun.

6) Try and avoid taking the front in the peleton on the valley roads, sit at the back and spin!

7) Have a drinking and eating strategy. There are many water fountains and pumps away from feeding stations that will get you filled up more efficiently. Take some nice sarnies wrapped in foil. Endless energy food is tiresome,have some nice nosh for a pick me up.

Eight) THE MOST IMPORTANT BIT – the route can vary, but:
The Glandon is a long climb. It’ll probably be cool and seem quite easy. You’ll wonder what all the fuss was about. Go steady on the descent. Cruise the valley.
The Telegraphe is a nice climb, enjoy.
The Galibier gets progressively tougher. After Plan Lachat it turns back on itself and gets steep and unrelenting. The descent of the the Lauteret is a main road with traffic and tunnels. Some lit, some not. One rider I saw ended up in intensive care crashing in a tunnel…
SAVE SOMETHING FOR THE ALPE. It’s steep, the first three ramps will set the tone nicely, and it’ll probably be very humid at that time of day. You’ll have 99 mountain miles in your legs by the time you start it…

Enjoy! I shall be going again. It’s a truly epic day out.

I quite fancy it but may wuss out and do the mi-marmotte as a first bite and see how the big mountains are. I’ve never ridden up a mountain of more than 700m in one go before so pretty nervous about the whole thing first time out. Basically what I’m saying is I’m treating it as a ride in the alps with closed roads.

Oh bollocks. Never mind. There’s no mi-marmotte any more, just a 2-day run of the full marmotte

The new route, which is also the 2016 route is EVIL. Enjoy! 🙂
No Galibier again, but the Mollard is a tough one and the Croix der Fer is very steep for several KM.

Same total climbing, but it seemed much harder this year for me than previous years and times reflected that.
It was pretty hot this year, but the top riders are fully supported so for them it shouldn’t make much difference.

For those that have done both, is it harder than the Cristalp?

I’ve only done Cristalp once and that was the 140km one, which I would say was harder. I think year on year it would just come down to weather conditions.

Have done it twice and can echo all of whats been said especially the fitness thing

Admittedly I have good physiology for climbing, Im definitely not a sprinter, but found it to be OK with the benefit of training as much as a full time job and young family allow

I started seriously from decent base fitness around Feb and managed 6-10h a week which was usually 3-4h on a weekend morning and then a 2h midweek coupled with a 1h extreme nutter all out thrash under cover of darkness
When the seasons improved I eventually built up to 6h at the weekend – getting up at 5AM to avoid pissing off the family – and the midweek evenings stretched a little too
Oh and I dont have a turbo – when the weather was rubbish it was MTB

Arriving a couple of days early worked for me – not only to take in a bit of the scenery but I think acclimatising may have helped. Bourg is at 1000m or so and the Alpe obviously a lot more. Lots of people struggle as it is brutal but I did wonder how many of them were having altitude related issues having only arrived the day before

Its always good to have a feed stop buddy so if youre on your own strike up a cynical friendship from time to time. There are definitely thefts of bikes at the stops and its a lot more efficient if you can leave your bike with a “mate” and then steam in to fill your bidons and grab as much grub as poss. Real food works for me not gels and potions

On the day pace yourself and dont go too giddy, its tempting to get stuck in on the Glandon but you will suffer later for sure. I dont use power but these days have a very good idea of how to ride within myself

Finally stop just before the end of the neutralised section and wait for a decent sized train for a shameless ride up the Maurienne valley – Belgian arses work best for me 🙂

Enjoy – one of my best days on a bike