Etape 2005 - Anyone doing it ?

[Mindrocket]

Is anyone doing the Etape this year ? I can only find old postings for last year….?



I am doing it and went to have a look around the Pyrenees last week for some Etape preparation and stayed with http://www.sport-adventura.com/. They were excellent and looked after me a treat, excellent food, accommodation and local knowledge of all the local cols. If you’re looking for a great place to stay I would thoroughly recommend them. I’m going to stay with them again when I do the Etape too.

While I was there they took me to the Etape cols and to be honest the key things I noticed will be obvious to anyone who has ever ridden either the Alps or Pyrenees but they weren’t obvious to me until I got there…

If you’ve only ever trained in the UK riding up mountains is completely different, you really have to find your groove and stay in it. As the climbs are mainly long slogs my training up until I got there was pretty much completely wrong. I live in Wales so I know what hills are and the Pyrenees are something completely different….

I did the Marie Blanc and the D'Aubisque twice, once when it was like a typical English spring day (cold and damp) the other day it was 34 centigrade and staying hydrated even when you were fully supported was tricky enough, if it’s that hot on the day then staying hydrated is going to be a challenge….

One last useful nugget, probably the most useful part of this post really, the hotel you can see above the tunnels on the D'Aubisque is not at the summit (it looks like it is) and planning that it is will definitely ruin your day…

See you in July, I’ll be the one at the back…

 

[robkit]

im doing it for the first time with another first timer from london.

two weeks before we're going to the peak district to ride the route used by the tour of the peak, taking in snake pass which is i beleive 3.5 miles at 8%. thats the best preparation we can come up with in england.

well that and putting down as much power as we can in 25 mile TT's - i figure the effort is similar to climbing for one hour.

its going to be interesting. do you think its fair to think of it as say 50 miles of flat effort, 30 miles of climbing, and 30 miles of descent (free). isnt the last 30 miles all downhill?

 

[Mindrocket]

If you’re looking to do training in the UK that sounds about as good as it gets, to be honest that’s why I went out to have a look. I’ve been training on the trainer in the garage, a similar kind of effort thing to the time trial level you mention, currently doing 200 watts for hour and building it up to two hours through June which feels about right for the effort I remember.



Have a look at these for the profiles, they seem pretty close to what I remember



The Marie Blanc is this profile although I can confirm the sign on the side of the road does say 13% not 12%



http://www.cyclingcols.com/asp/colframe.asp?cl=434



Col d'Aubisque on the way up, (the west setting) I don’t know how accurate the profile is as there weren’t any signs, there is one very sort 13% bit but it’s not really worth worrying about…



http://www.cyclingcols.com/asp/colframe.asp?cl=399



The way down is the north setting on the compass and it does go on forever, I will be sticking very closely to the right as the drop off on the left looks pretty steep…



I think the usual description for the last part is undulating…



If you have a look at this video on the SIS site it does show you the profiles of the climbs, it’s worth a look.



http://www.scienceinsport.com/SiSEtapedetour2005_0003.wmv

 

[limerickman]

Did the Etape in 2004, fellas.
What can I say ?
237kms of climbing pretty much sums it up.
Like you guys, we simply do not have climbs of similar length and gradient here.
So you're pretty much left to "getting over them".

If I had to give you one piece of advice - it would be, pack the triple.
There is no shame in having it and after 130km of what was mostly climbing, I needed it when I hit the Puy Mary on the Etape last year (17% gradient for 2.5kms).
The Etape is a wearing down process - so you need all the aid that you can get to avoid that broomwagon.

Good luck fellas - and let us know how you got on afterward, ok ?

 

[Mindrocket]

I must confess all the French cyclists I saw there were either on triples or compacts, I've gone for 50/36 on the front and 12-27 on the back so I should survive...

The other advice I got from Paul of Sport Adventura, the French chaps I spoke to en route up the mountains (when I could speak) and it's also on the SIS website video, so there really is something in it is take it easy on the Marie Blanc, particularly on the bottom easy 5km as the top is brutal and if you blow up on that then your day will only get worse...

 

[drewdoddy]

hello there, i live in the hautes pyrenees dept and the nearest cols are only 20 mins away...only took up cycling bout 18 months ago but have managed to do the col d'aspin, pont d'espagne and the couraduque. am gonna try do the aubisque tomorrow maybe but from the soulor side, or if my bottle goes gonna try the col du portalet, longer but not as steep. can only suggest to anyone whos doin the etape who aint tried yet to just find your own rhythm, whatever you do dont break it, concentrate on your breathin and it sounds daft, but relax!

 

[Mindrocket]

I think drewdoddy's advice is spot on, it really is a case of finding your rhythm and hanging on through the changes in gradient (the tricky bit...) I concentrated on my breathing, my heart rate and trying to relax. if you try and climb like you climb in the UK you'll just run out steam way to soon.

 

[limerickman]

I think drewdoddy's advice is spot on, it really is a case of finding your rhythm and hanging on through the changes in gradient (the tricky bit...) I concentrated on my breathing, my heart rate and trying to relax. if you try and climb like you climb in the UK you'll just run out steam way to soon.

Also make sure you eat at every feed station : this is important.
Even if you're not hungry, eat and make sure you take on plenty of liquids.

The climbing advice about relaxing is fine : if you panic, you can end up in trouble.
Just pedal moderately and keep your hands on the top bars and minimise body movement.
That's why it's good to have the triple there - just in case.

 

[robkit]

we're making a big effort to capture the moment and want to post polar hr/power/altitude/speed files, digital photos, and digital video footage on the web - i will report back if we do!