"The Marmotte??? Why not put your balls in this vice, and I'll tighten it up. It'll have the same effect and save you the plane fare", said Alastair at Wheelcraft to me a week before I was going. I was here to get a compact chainset fitted. "A compact?? You don't want that, the chain line is awful. Get a triple instead". I had another coffee while Al explained to me the benefits of a triple, elegant gear ratios, and compatibility problems with the curvature of a traditional front mech compared to a compact front mech.
I had volunteered for this 174km Cycle Sportif event after a friend mentioned there was a group going, and a place might be available. I thought this would act as a motivational aid to get me training again, and I had fond memories of my 2004 trip with JWCC to the Alps and relished the opportunity to get back again. La Marmotte is one of the hardest sportif events in the Alps, with four of the most famous mountain passes which added up to 5,000 metres of climbing. The route starts in the town of Bourg d'Oisans and then takes in the Col de la Croix de Fer (2067m), Col du Telegraphe (1561m), Col du Galibier (2649m) before descending for the final 1,000 metre ascent of the Alpe d'Huez. Route profile: http://www.sportcommunication.com/newsi ... 8&langue=2
We checked into the hotel on Thursday evening, after arriving at Geneva, picking up an MPV for the bike boxes and driving to the top of the alp. On the Friday morning after building up the bike, I rolled down Alpe d'Huez, with the intention of spinning up again in a low gear just to prepare myself for the event on Saturday. It must have taken 15 minutes descending the 21 hairpins, and as I lost altitude the air changed from warm and fresh to heavy and oppressive. I'd forgotten how hot it got in the valleys, forecast for today indicated 35 degrees. I passed a runner on hairpin 9, a suffering cyclist on hairpin 5. He was standing by the side of the road, still straddling the bike top-tube, his head in his hands on the handlebars. I got to Bourg d'Oisans, and turned around.
Damn its hot. Almost immediately into 34x27 as I turned the corner and began climbing. The first section notoriously steep, I was still surprised at the resistance I felt on the pedals in such a small gear. By the second hairpin I had my sunglasses off due to too much sweat. At the fourth I recognized the steepest section where Mark Whitehead had taken off several years ago, and we had struggled to follow him. I smiled and got out of the saddle in 34x23. I soon stopped smiling and sat down again. http://www.grenoblecycling.com/images/alpedhuez103.jpg I got off after this bend to dip my cap in the water from the stream trickling by the side of the road. Back on the bike, I passed the cyclist from earlier. He was still at the side of the road with his head in his hands, this time on hairpin 8. “Bonjour†I offered. He didn’t want to talk it seemed. At hairpin 18 I approached the village of Alpe d'Huez and the runner from earlier. An attractive young woman with lycra shorts painted on with a fake denim print. I lingered and exercised my fluent French again. “Bonjourâ€. I received a glance but again she was not the chatty type. 2.8% of this year’s entrants to the Marmotte were female. I think if more women entered men would need less powerbars to climb mountains. Then into the village, big ring under the small bridge and through the streets, to the café where I discovered my cycling buddies. Lots of lounging around, eating, and an early night to bed followed.
The day of the race began early, with a 515 wakeup call. Then downstairs for breakfast, got the gear packed in the van (we were avoiding the chilly descent.. air temperature 14 degrees C) and headed off to the start happy in the warmth of our van. Our start numbers were all over 4500, so we would be among the last to leave, setting off about 30 minutes after the elite riders. Around 6000 riders would start this year. Once the van was parked in Bourg d'Oisans, our arm warmers went on, followed by gillets and rain jackets. Then we got in line with the thousands of others queuing at the start, waiting until about 745 before we could begin.
Quite soon we split up. I intended to stay together at least until the top of Col de la Croix de Fer, but its easy to lose sight of people in the melee. What a colourful spectacle with people from all over the world wearing team and club jerseys, and a celebration of the love of cycling. The first 14km were flat and the stream of cyclists rolled along at a steady pace. We passed through Allemont, locals on the street cheered as we passed and it was barely 8am. Then our first climb started as the road turned up the face of the dam that overlooks the town. The climb didn't properly kick in till 3km later after crossing a small bridge, and then the road wound up the left side of a wooded valley with grey peaks above. This was the signal for me to stop briefly to remove rain jacket and gillet, then the real climbing would begin.
Spinning away comfortably in 34x27 my only goal this year was to enjoy myself and maybe come back in future years to chase a good time. At the top of the Col de la Croix de Fer I picked up a little food and lots of water, and noticed there was a huge crowd of cyclists standing around.
The descent through the tunnels had been closed for several years, and last year’s diversion down the Col du Glandon was the route again this time. The initial descent from the Glandon was extremely treacherous, with several fatalities in last year’s event. There had been a serious incident again this year; hence the long delay, and the authorities were stopping everyone from proceeding until the way was clear.
Standing around I took the opportunity to put on all my warm clothes and eat some more of my food. An hour passed and still we did not seem to be moving. I noticed a trickle of riders descending on the hairpins below, and the riders around me started to edge forwards. About another 15 minutes passed and we were off again. I found out later that a rider had ran into a marshal pushing him over the edge on the descent, to the road 20m below. Several other riders had gone over also, and the road below was a mess of broken pelvises, bloody limbs, and cracked skulls. What a waste for the sake of a few seconds and a few places in GC. I descended carefully.
There followed a flat section through St Michel de Maurienne before the approach to the Col du Telegraphe. All the warm clothes went back in the rear pockets again. I noticed that gearing was an issue for some riders - out of the saddle and looking uncomfortable. For the next 12km this was only a 7% gradient, so there would be much worse to come. I was happy to spin away over 90rpm passing many riders in my 34x27. I noticed several riders on mountain bikes, and even one guy with an artificial leg! At the top of Col du Telegraphe I was quite cooked in the heat however, stopping for lots of water. Setting off again there was a short descent before we passed through the food / water stop at Valloire. On a good day this would have been my only real stop, but in this heat I felt it was better to keep well hydrated. The sight that greeted me on arrival in Valloire was an eating frenzy. Cyclists hoovering up everything available, helpers constantly replenishing food stocks. I got stuck in eating lumps of brie, tomatoes, oranges, pork, fruit loaf, bread, apricots, bananas, anything in fact. I walked over to the river nearby to stretch my legs, stuffing my face, awestruck by the mountains surrounding and enjoying the moment. I also considered the climb that lay ahead.
I had experienced the Col du Galibier before from the Col du Lautaret side, grimacing on the final section above the tunnel. On that occasion I’d raced up most of it in the big ring accompanied by JWCC riders Christian, Mark W, and Stevie B. Because of these drinks stops I found myself passing the same people several times, so I was determined to ride sensibly this time. Today there was no danger of any big-gear heroics: from the beginning of the climb I was glued to my easiest gear. By the top I was feeling quite sick, and when I got off a little dizzy, and the sounds around me seemed to be coming from underwater. I’d been drinking well and eaten properly, maybe it was just the altitude. One of my mates mentioned later that he passed a cyclist lying by the side of the road being resuscitated, as a rescue helicopter circled overhead. I hope the guy was ok. I finished eating, zipped up my rain jacket and began the descent.
This was the easy section, a long descent, followed by undulating terrain on the long approach to Bourg d'Oisans. I tucked in behind a group of riders; it was nice to get pulled along and give tired legs a rest. Through a few tunnels, and a fast descent onto the final straight. I remembered Dougie Da Rosa passing me on this section a few years ago, happy days. Another 15km of flat riding and only Alpe d'Huez would be left.
Later in the hotel that evening, I was chatting to the chef and he mentioned he was a keen runner. He ran up Alpe d'Huez every day; his best time 1hr 17mins. He mentioned the record had been set by a runner from Namibia the previous year – 57mins. Lance and Marco Pantani can cycle to the top in under 40mins while a good club rider can break the hour. Many people at the end of La Marmotte, with 158km already in the legs, would take over 2 hours.
Today I grovelled up Alpe d'Huez, stopping 4 times for water. I could have stopped even more, but I just wanted it all to be over. On the final straight the roadside barriers were out, and the crowd were each side of the road cheering the riders on. What a fantastic feeling after a long day in the saddle. I finished with a time just over 10hrs (10hrs 4 mins 48secs) finishing about 2000th in GC. Taking away the time for stoppages at the top of the Col du Glandon gave me a riding time of about 8hrs 50mins. Stumbling around the finishing area later I bumped into a few of the other guys. We had silly grins on our faces and congratulated each other on finishing. Cycling didn’t get better than this. All I needed now was some red wine.
