Le Tour Challenge time coming up
http://app.strava.com/challenges/rapha-rising-2013

In the week which starts on Bastille Day (14th-21st July), Rapha is challenging participating riders to climb the combined height, from sea level, of the Peyresourde, Ventoux and Col de Sarenne, all of which feature in this year’s race. The Peyresourde is one of the giants of the Pyrenees, which featured in the Tour’s first excursion into the bear-infested mountains in 1910, while Mont Ventoux, the Giant of Provence, first appeared in the Tour in 1951, a year before Alpe d’Huez. Together, they’ve been the sites of some of the Tour’s most famous battles. The Col de Sarenne, however, has never been scaled in the Tour. It’s a little known col, 1,999m high, that the pros will climb this year, having first climbed the Alpe. Descending on a road resurfaced especially for them, they will loop back round to the foot of the Alpe to make that climb again.

Just as the pros will have to scale Alpe d’Huez twice, Rapha is challenging riders to scale the Alpe once more, making a total climbing distance of 7,235m, the combined elevations of the Peyresourde, Ventoux, Sarenne and Alpe d’Huez from sea level to top.
Cause last years hurt enough…
http://app.strava.com/challenges/powerbar-take-on-the-tour

To celebrate this amazing race and ensure you spend as much time riding outdoors than you do watching each day’s stage, Strava and PowerBar are challenging you to ride half the distance of the 2013 Tour de France in 33 days. This 1,680 kilometer Challenge starts on the first day of the race (June 29th) and ends ten days after the winner is crowned (July 31st).

Who’s in?

I’m giving it a shot but i have my doubts that i will complete.

1000m a day for a week is pushing it.

i have figured a short loop, 100m of climbing in just over 2 miles, but it would mean climbing a 25% gradient 70 times.

I have the advantage of a few good hills (repeated) got it in 4 rides last year might have to get in early rather than leaving it till the Sunday this time.

ill be in the alps ….. perhaps ill do those climbs 😉

realistically i wont manage it though as ill be watching the tour and following it to paris.

That’s a shame as I did 9,000m of climbing the week before last.

I’m in, another silly plan in my head…. Managed 10000 feet of climbing the other day but it was a tad sore!

I’m hoping to be doing the tourmalet, aspin and hourquette on Bastille Day so that would be a solid start.
But if you correct your elevation on the Strava website it adds like 1000m to your route so not sure what the point is.

did 400m last week over 50km, does that mean I win?

I’ve done 9500m in 10 days on holiday over the last couple of weeks, but that’s because I’m somewhere hilly and that week I’ll be at home, at work and recovering from a triathlon, so I reckon I’d be pushing it to do the actual challenge even if my legs could probably cope.

i’m in but i dont think i can get close to achieving this down south unless i do a SDW double or something crazy, not going to happen but ill pick some tough hilly rides and see how we go.

Would quite like to do this, but it’s winter here so no chance of fitting it all in around work. Looks like a great way to get yourself tired.