My training plan for the Marmotte had gone badly! The plan to start getting fit for a serious attempt at going around the 174km course as fast as I was able was stopped dead in its tracks just when it was supposed to really get going after Xmas 2017. A couple of months later (after an amazing trip to South Africa to celebrate a birthday and to help get over life’s stresses) I was ready to start training and then I was hit with the worst flu and cough ever! Seven more long weeks later (yes, seven weeks, so no ordinary man-flu!) I finally got shot of the cough and felt able to start training properly. The idea of putting in a fast time had now gone out the window, there was barely enough time left to – hopefully – get fit enough to simply finish. Would just seven weeks of training even be enough?
La Marmotte is an annual, one-day cyclosportive event in France for amateur cyclists. The first event held in 1982 makes it one of the oldest cyclosportive events of its kind and in France it is often called La Doyenne (“the old lady”). The Marmotte remains one of the most popular cyclosportive events today in Europe.La Marmotte, Wikipedia
Gathered in the car parking area that was turned in to one of the holding areas for a group of some 4000 (of 7500 total) riders due to start rolling at 7.50am was a bit cool in the early morning shade of the mountains around us in Bourg d’Oisans. And over our shoulders we could turn to see, and anticipate the pain of riding, the famous 21 hairpins that zig-zagged their way over 1200 vertical metres up to Alpe d’Huez and the finish line that we hoped to cross some time that evening! A very tough ride lay ahead…
Finally we did start moving, and cruelly we had to ride an extra 2km or so on top of the course’s 174km to navigate from the car park before crossing the formal starting line. At which point the chips attached to our race numbers taped to our handlebars would be electronically sensed and our official timing would begin. But then we were off – and it was fast. The first section from Bourg to the righthand turn towards Allemont and the Col du Glandon is straight, well surfaced, closed to other traffic to allow 7500 eager racers to get underway, and ever so slightly down hill. The result was that once I’d calmly passed and waved to Laetitia, who had stationed herself to grab a photo and wave us off from the edge of town, I found myself drafting along in a massive peloton at 50km/h.
Once the long climb, 28km, to the Col du Glandon began I also found myself making good progress, and faster than I had earlier in the week. This was a worry as I did not want to burn too much energy on this climb, the first of four massive climbs on the route. But I felt good and knew I wasn’t trying too hard. I was on plan. So I resolved that the cool morning temperatures versus the 30+°C I’d tackled on my training ride, coupled with a bit of drafting here and there from so many riders was helping. Not to mention a bit of unavoidable buzz from finally being engaged in such a famous race.
I arrived at the Col du Glandon about 2 hours and 20 minutes after leaving Bourg d’Oisans. The official timing stops at the col to allow riders to casually descend over 20km to Saint Etienne de Cuines. I used the time-stop to enjoy a leisurely break at the feeding station at the col. It wasn’t costing me any time on the race, but I was mindful of the cut-off of 6.15pm back at Bourg d’Oisans – miss that time and your race was over, you would not be allowed to ride up to Alpe d’Huez and complete the course – so soon enough I set off again.
The timing is stopped as it is supposed to be a dangerous, tricky, and steep descent with plenty of opportunity to over shoot the corners, which have no barriers! And I did see one rider being helped in to an ambulance with her arm in a sling and covered in blood, her bike was a wreck at the side of the road. However, I thought it was a pleasant descent and seeing as I descend well, and fast, I was a little upset that I wasn’t getting the timing advantage I felt I had earned on that long climb. 🙁
With timing restarting at St Etienne there was now a long section of flatish riding to the next major challenge, the climb from Saint Michel de Maurienne to the Col du Télégraphe. This flat section is in fact a false-flat with an ever so slight rise of around 1% all the way for about 20km. This could be tiring, so my plan was to find a group going at a comfortable pace and form a peloton to share the work moving all that air ahead out of the way. I saw a group a few hundred metres away that I seemed to be keeping pace with and decided that was my peloton. As I pushed to close the gap I started to wonder if I’d made a mistake, my thighs were starting to burn catching them. Was I burning too much energy? If I couldn’t catch them and stick with them I was making a big tactical mistake putting in so much effort. As it turned out everything was fine. The peloton even dropped a few riders, but I stayed firmly in the bunch and rolled along at about 26km/h with virtually no effort.
After a water bottle refill at St Maurienne I made the right turn to begin the 12km climb to the Col du Télégraphe. In my mind I had this climb as the easiest of the four – it had the smallest vertical gain at around 900m, and when I’d driven up this road the previous year it had been nicely shaded by the deep pine forest that embraces the winding road. However, due to the time of day I’d arrived the sun was directly overhead. The middle of the day, the hottest part of the day! It was 39°C. Damn it was hot!
The closed roads from Bourg and the climb to Glandon were also a thing of the past. Endless cars and groups of motorcycles weaved their way up the road alongside the thousands of riders strung out up the climb. Their fumes, and especially the scream of the motorcycle engines, were unpleasant company. I was glad to reach the col at around 1pm.
The next stop was the feeding station at the lovely looking, alpine meadow surrounded, ski resort of Valloire. I had imagined that the small down hill section from the Télégraphe to Valloire would put me at the station. It didn’t. Had I missed it? The first sign for the biggest climb of the day went by – 16km to the Col du Galibier. I’d started to formulate a plan in my mind to refill water bottles and eat an energy bar (or two) from my jersey pocket before the big climb when another sign came up – ravitaillement a 1km.
I knew the climb to the Col du Galibier would be tough, not least because at over 2600m above sea level the air was thin. So I took a good rest at Valloire, I even telephoned Laetitia. 😉
Then I was off again, just 14km to the summit. And along easily the most beautiful section of the entire route. It’s like mountaineering on a bike – alpine meadows turn to a rocky landscape, then to snow patches, and finally glaciers seem to be almost alongside. Magical!
The top kilometre to the Col du Galibier was really tough – it was steep (much of it at 13%) and the lack of air was telling. My legs were tired now!
After a short time refuelling I fixed the LED lights we’d been given to my bike, there are long pitch dark tunnels on the descent from Galibier, and set off.
Near the Col du Lautaret I experienced something I’ve never endured before, deep in my quads I got excruciating cramps. I had to stop and massage my legs for about ten minutes to get the cramp to go away. And I then proceeded on the nearly 50km descent back to Bourg taking it easy and extending and stretching my legs as much as I could. The last climb of the day to Alpe d’Huez loomed. Would my legs cramp on that final effort?
I’d made it, 174km (177km for me thanks to a circuitous loop to the start line in Bourg) and 5000m of climbing, the finish line at Alpe d’Huez. Easily the toughest ride I’ve ever undertaken. Long. Hot. Loads of uphill. Amazing!
Laetitia and Zac were there to congratulate me. I collected my finishers medal. I massaged my cramping legs. And then we waited for Rachel and Andy to arrive. In fact Andy’s official time was nearly a minute faster than mine overall even though I’d arrived some ten minutes ahead of him – damn that lack of credit for descending skills from the Col du Glandon to St Etienne! 😉
Here’s a neat video from the folk at Relive of my ride…
Well wrote and experienced and on top of it all a big well done to Rachel Andy .
And what about Steve Scotts ride in Ireland ? hats off to you all.