Anyone fancy a little excursion to ride La Marmotte? 3rd July 2011

What can one say? The Daddy of them all, the Doyenne of Cyclosportives, this is the star in the calendar, the most difficult one day event for amateur road cyclists in Europe.

The route traces a northerly course out from Le Bourg dOisans (the town at the bottom of lAlpe dHuez) over the Col de la Croix de Fer into the Maurienne valley, and then clockwise back to Bourg via the Col de Telegraphe and the 2,600m+ Col du Galibier (by its far harder northern side) - finishing with the ascent to the ski station at lAlpe dHuez.

For some reason very popular with Dutch riders, who seem to make up a large proportion of the foreign entry every year (where on earth do they train for this in the Netherlands?!). Not for the timid, it is a case of bon courage if you enter and chapeau if you finish. Anyone entering the elite of amateurs who have climbed 5000m in a day on a bike will be unlikely to forget the experience.

Climbing the Galibier

Marmotte 2010. 

After riding a couple of Etape du Tours that can be logistically impossible I'd always wanted to ride the Marmotte with it's circular Alpine route and Alpe d'huez finish. It's such a easy event to get to that we left on Friday morning and returned Sunday night and never felt rushed. The weather and scenery were amazing and the long weekend break was capped off with some fantastic chalet styled food and accomodation. The 174km route is one of the hardest on the sportive calender with over 16000ft of climbing but with some planning and preparation is an achievable goal for many. With a few water and food stops I 'rode' around in under 9 hrs which even at a steady pace is a long day in the saddle!

 

 

Alpe d'Huez

Around 7000 riders took part and although the roads are not closed the body of riders was always sufficient to make it feel as though the road was your own. The highest point of the route is the col de Galibiere at over 2600metres. The air is thin and the legs hurt but the views are breathtaking. This climb is rewarded with a 40km descent to the foot of the final climb to the line and was the highlight of my day with it's flowing sweeping corners and adrenaline fuelled speed. I struggled up the final climb to the top of the Alpe but was gratefull we were staying at the top as within half an hour of finishing I was showered and enjoying a beer. I'll definitely be back another year and can't recommend this event enough if you have ever felt like a challenge in the alps!

Steve C