# La Marmotte



## bigpinkt (Jul 20, 2006)

La Marmotte is the largest and oldest of the Cyclosportif races. To call it a race is perhaps a bit of a misnomer. For the first 300-400 riders it is a race, for the rest of us it is a test in survival. The course is epic, covering many of the most famous climbs in the Alps, The Glandon, Telegraph, Galibier, and finishing on the top of Alp d'Huez. All together it adds up to 107 miles, 16,000 feet of climbing. Just like the Special Olympics if you do well you get a medal, Gold for under 9:15, Silver for under 11:06. My goal was to get a finish under 9 hours and beat as many of the 8,000 entrants as possible (only about 1/2 finish).

The race starts at the foot of Alp d'huez at 7:00 in the morning. The first group to leave are about 500 pros, elite amateurs, and ex-pros serving doping suspensions....a growing group these days. About 10 minutes after that they send off the rest of us in 2000 person groups based on when we entered. The crowd is very international. The elites are mostly little Italian, Spanish and French climbers, who can go up hill like they have a motor on their bike. The group back where I was were mostly Dutch, Belgium, German and Italian. During the entire race I only saw one other American, he was from Colorado and flew by me as he climbed...he must have weighed 140. You know those carbon saddles you see in the magazines? You wonder who would ever buys one or rides one....ALL the little Italians have them. I would break it in a single ride. The Germans have the best of everything, $4,000 carbon wheels, carbon bottle cages, all white Assos. The Dutch all seem to be 6'4" and cannot descend to save their life. Then you will also find plenty of guys on junky bikes who are crazy strong, they ridden thousands of hours and know it is the engine not the bike.

While standing at the start it started to sink in that maybe I had bitten off more then I could chew. Looking down at the road map of climbs taped to my stem just reinforced that it was going to be a long, painful day in the saddle. Once my group started things went hot very quickly, I jumped from group to group and soon was in the front group. This was pretty cool, jamming down the one of the most famous roads in cycling, fully closed roads, multiple motorcycle escorts, in the front group, going 25-30 MPH. During the first climb reality set as riders began to pass me like crazy. Some were these skinny climbers who moved up the climb with smooth, seemingly effortless strokes. I knew that I would not see them for the rest of the day. The majority were in over their head and were going to pay later in the day. The Glandon stretched about 4500 feet of vertical and took about 1 1/2 hours. I tried to take it easy and save some for later in the day. The descent, like most in the Alps, was very dangerous made even more so due to the inability for the Euros to descend. All those skinny climber dudes descended like Tri-Athletes on Softrides. They would either come to a near stop or they would often tripod as they slid out. I used my best combo of loud whistles and yelling to clear the way of these Freds and passed about 100 people on the descent. 

There was an about 30km stretch across the valley on the other side, I burned some matches and bridged up to the back of a big group that was motoring along the valley. While a bunch of Germans and Dutch took turns at the front I sat at the back and ate everything I could find in my pockets to make sure I would make it thru the day. The next climb was actually two, the Telegraph and Galibier. The Galibier, at 8,500 feet, is the highest point of the race as well as the Tour de France. The Tour will be passing over these roads in a few weeks, the first to the top of the Galibier gets 5,000 Euros. Today the reward for my 2 1/2 hours/8,000 feet of climbing was a treacherous descent. The climb hurt, but I still held back from pushing all the way as I knew I still had an hour of descending then Alp d'huez to climb. I began to pass many of the same riders who passed me 5 hours earlier on the Glandon.

As I neared the top of the Galibier the leaders of the second group of 2000, who started 1/2 hour behind me, began to catch us. Mostly skinny Italian climbers. Unlike the rest of their Euro friends these guys could descend extremely well. I jumped in with them and a German and went for a crazy ride down the back side of the Galibier. The top part is as dangerous as it gets, narrow roads, no guardrail, very poor road surface. One mistake, a flat in the wrong turn, and you are over the side for a nice 100-200 foot drop. All this is made even worse as I already had done 6 hours and 10,000 feet of climbing and my brain is not exactly working at its best. Looking back I probably took more risks then I needed but it was very exciting to open up the accelerator like that. The Italians were very happy to have someone who weighed 50 pounds more then them to drag them thru the flatter parts and I did everything I could to match their technical skills.

Once we hit the valley it was just was just few short km before we hit the final climb of Alp d' huez. Beth was stationed not far from the base with fresh bottles, a cold coke, and a ice cold water bottle that I stuffed in the back of my Jersey. The other riders looked at me like a mirage as I cruised up the Alp, sipping a cold coke, poring icy water over my head. I reached one of the guys who had been at the front of our group doing the work thru the valley and offering him the ice cold bottle from my Jersey...the guy looked at me like a crack addict and I was giving him a free hit...he thanked me and said to thank my wife as he poured the ice water over his head. It did not do much good as he cracked soon after and I did not see him again for the rest of the day.

As I climbed the Alp I began to realize that perhaps I had taken it too easy. I was hurting but I felt like I had more in the tank. I passed a bunch of riders. There were some seriously hurting people, over all not a pretty sight. I finished in 8:41. I am not sure of my official place but I know I beat at least 7,000 of the Euros and beat the gold time by over a 1/2 hour. For the stat geeks out there. My VAM (Average rate of climb) was an average of about 2850 feet per hour over the 16,000 feet. Not bad but the winner was about 4500 feet per hour. My Heart rate averaged 152 for the 8:41, with about 5:45 over 150. Ouch.

The pictures are from the Glandon, Telegraph, and Galibier, I took them earlier in the week when I rode a bunch of the climbs with my wife to get a handle on the descents.


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## bigpinkt (Jul 20, 2006)

*More pics*

some more photos


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## fasteddy07 (Jun 4, 2007)

*Something I want to do in this lifetime*

and you did it.

Great shots, outstanding story.

Thanks for sharing it with us.


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## jhbeeton (Dec 8, 2004)

*Cyclosport ...*

I did the Etape back in 2005 .. the summer that Lance was making his farewell rounds.

The lead up and event was fantastic and the week following with the tour in the Pyranee was as exciting as the first time I saw the tour live ( Prologue in St. Sebastien in 92)

Your recollection has reminded me that I am anticipating making the trip back to do this very race and now I am thinking that though I am going to go with some friends, I am going to be riding it a bit more aggressively ... my experience in the etape was that I had gas in the tank at the end .. though I had climbed 12,000 ft over 180 km which I had never come close to in my life, I now ride smarter & have began to learn to climb efficiently.

Enjoy the memories and thanks for the posting with the great pictures... the mountains, the cities and the caloric rewards.

Cheers.


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## Ridgetop (Mar 1, 2005)

I would have been at least 4 hours behind you . Great stuff! Love the food photos.


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## MarkS (Feb 3, 2004)

*Congrats*

I was on the starting line for the second year in a row. And, I did not go further than the base of Alpe d'Huez for the second year in a row. My ride this year was better than last year when I missed the time cutoff by ten minutes and was completely spent.. This year I arrived 20 minutes before the cutoff and felt good but decided that I had had more than enough riding for one day (and I wanted to save something for the rest of riding I had planned for my trip). The Galibier is a killer. One of these years I will conquer that mountain pass. However, this year like last I had to do a little walking on the upper reaches.

I really enjoyed the report of your ride. But, as a veteran and victim of La Marmotte, I have to say that you really are much too modest about what you accomplished. The ride is incredibly hard and you did extremely well. My hat goes off to you.

Mark


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## bigpinkt (Jul 20, 2006)

Thanks,

Bummer to hear about your ride, reading your posts of your suffering certainly inspired enough fear in me to go easy in the beginning. I felt a little guilty on the Alp as I felt so good, and for some reason none of my fellow riders felt much like talking though  I would love to do it again and try to get under 8:00...that means only 2 hours behind the winner! They should have a handicapped race based on your BMI (Body Mass Index) I'm 6 foot, 195 and most of those guys were 50 pounds less....If I cut off one of my legs I still would not be 50 pounds less.

The Galibier is such a beast. Did you watch the stage the other day when they went up it? At the 5km to go point where it goes very steep those guys were riding crazy fast.

I had my own "Fun" day on the Galibier on the Tuesday before the race. I somehow convinced my wife to ride the Telegraph/Galibier combo so I could get a grip on the descents. We had a friend drop us off at the top of the Glandon, descended the backside, cruised along the valley, then headed up the Telegraph. Got some food and drinks in Vallore then headed up the big one. My wife seemed in good shape so I went tempo to the top. By the time I reached the top the weather had changed big time. I called our friend and she said that the weather had been horrible all day on their side of the mountain range...from the looks of it it was headed in our direction, very quickly

I quickly bombed back down the Galibier and found my wife, she had completely cracked. I basically pushed her the last 2 km up the climb....luckily she was too tired to remember that I got her into this mess. I talked to her as calmly as possible and pushed away. I knew that the descent is gnarly on a good day, impossible when it is snowing. When we got to the top it was raining and about 35 degrees. We descended down to the top of the Lautaret, where we took shelter in the big hotel/cafe. We ordered every hot thing on the menu and waited a few hours while our friend came to pick us up. Crazy day, but good crepes and hot chocolate.


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## MarkS (Feb 3, 2004)

bigpinkt said:


> Thanks,
> 
> Bummer to hear about your ride, .


Not finishing again was disappointing. But, I did much better than last year -- I gained 30 minutes in my getting to Bourg d'Oisans and felt pretty good. In 2006, I felt like I was going to die. I was much more attentive to early nutrition and hydration and went into the easy gears at the beginning of each of the big climbs rather than waiting for my legs to hurt too much. In 2006, I was totally bummed out. This year, I feel better because I now think that a finish is within my reach. Every time I do a ride like this I learn more about what I need to survive. Given than I am 48 and did not start riding until I was 40, I realize that I cannot have the same expectations that a lot of other people on the start line have. But, just being there makes me feel very good. It sure as hell beats riding around in a golf cart or watching football on TV like lots of my age contemporaries. And, those 50 and 60 year old guys who were passing me on the Glandon and the Galibier give me hope for "when I grow up."


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## wooglin (Feb 22, 2002)

bigpinkt said:


> All those skinny climber dudes descended like Tri-Athletes on Softrides.


Great report. You do have a way with words. 

Sure sounds like a ride I'd like to do.


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## BoulderGeek (Sep 19, 2005)

I did the Dirtbag's Marmotte this year.

I had forgotten that it was on the same weekend that I had booked a room at the Relais du Galibier in Les Varneys (right past Valloire). I took the train over to St. Jean de Maurienne, from Chambéry, where I have been spending the summer. From St. Jean, I rode up the valley and encountered a lot of La Marmotte riders, whom I joined (sans numero) up the Télégraphe. 

I felt a little bad, because I was so fresh and was passing people right and left up the Télégraphe. Though, I was carrying clothing and gear for an unsupported two day trip, so I had my own burdens (plus a 205lb body).

I stashed my gear at the hotel as we cleared Valloire (and stole some figs and cheese (fromage for pit food?)) from the Marmotte rest station. Now 20lbs lighter, and still fresh, I went up the Galibier. I did see a lot of Marmotte carnage as folks on sweet rigs were walking their Look cleats into the ground. I descended back to the hotel, where paul, the owner, was waiting with a pint of beer and welcomed me to a seat in front of the TV for the first stage of the Tour.

Next day, I got up, had petit dejuner, and headed out toward the Galiber for the second time in 12 hours. And five minutes later, the rain started.

I went up over the Galiber cold and wet, in sharp contrast to the day before, when it was lovely and sunny. I shivered all the way to Bourg d'Oisans. Damn, I hate those tunnels. It was the price I had to pay for making it look so easy for the Marmotte folks.

I wanted a blankie and hot cocoa when I arrived at the base of the Alpe d'Huez. But, I headed up, and finished, in the rain and misery.

Some day, I'll come back and try La Marmotte for real. It was hard enough splitting it into two days. I might have to give up the wine and beer before the next effort.

Watching the last TT of the Tour right now, on France2.


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## MarkS (Feb 3, 2004)

BoulderGeek said:


> I did the Dirtbag's Marmotte this year.
> 
> . . .
> 
> ...


I think that we probably saw each other. I distinctly remeber someone passing me on the Telegraphe with panniers on his bike. I was too delerious to think to see if he had a race number or not. But, it definitely was a shocker to be passed by a bike with loaded panniers. Insofar as the Galibier is concerned, I have to plead guilty to walking my Look cleats into the ground on the final KMs.

I have started La Marmotte twice. In 2006 I missed the time cutoff in Bourg d'Oisans by ten minutes. This year I made it to the cut off point with 20 minutes to spare, but decided to stop. Some day, I will complete La Marmotte. But, I don't plan to give up the beer and wine before the effort.

Thanks for the post. Even if you were not the guy who pasesd me with panniers, it makes me feel good to think that whoever passed me was not doing the whole ride.

I, too, am watching the TT right now.


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## bigpinkt (Jul 20, 2006)

MarkS said:


> But, I don't plan to give up the beer and wine before the effort.


Completely possible, my Bourbon and pork rinds diet helps my climbing...at least that is what I tell myself

During this years ride I was riding up the Glandon, griding away, and I hear the crowd on the side of the road go a bit crazy. I look up and see that I am being PASSED by a guy we here in the states would call a Fred. The guy is riding a MTN bike, with shocks, slick tires (Maybe 1.50's), rack on the back, T-Shirt, Telekom shorts (The old school pink ones), and Camelback. Oh yeah, the bike also had the full fender set up, not those little clip on fenders I am talking the ones that cover 1/2 of the top of the wheels. Hairy like a gorilla. The complete set up had to be over 40 pounds.....the dude passed me, and the crowd started calling him Captain Mountain bike. The good side is I did pass him later and did not see him again, but never judge a book by its cover. The guy had an engine


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## MarkS (Feb 3, 2004)

bigpinkt said:


> Completely possible, my Bourbon and pork rinds diet helps my climbing...at least that is what I tell myself
> 
> During this years ride I was riding up the Glandon, griding away, and I hear the crowd on the side of the road go a bit crazy. I look up and see that I am being PASSED by a guy we here in the states would call a Fred. The guy is riding a MTN bike, with shocks, slick tires (Maybe 1.50's), rack on the back, T-Shirt, Telekom shorts (The old school pink ones), and Camelback. Oh yeah, the bike also had the full fender set up, not those little clip on fenders I am talking the ones that cover 1/2 of the top of the wheels. Hairy like a gorilla. The complete set up had to be over 40 pounds.....the dude passed me, and the crowd started calling him Captain Mountain bike. The good side is I did pass him later and did not see him again, but never judge a book by its cover. The guy had an engine


Are you sure that wasn't Jan Ulrich in disguise?


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