La Marmotte

Gulp! My main event for the year is less than a fortnight away and I feel like I've done nowhere near enough training for it. All I have is my general fitness levels and hours of various types of training (intervals, high level endurance, etc.) on the Spinning bikes. I got some road miles under my belt in March but the accident soon put paid to my plans of increasing my weekly ride up to 8 hours. Still, how hard can it be? Well, La Marmotte has been called the Doyenne of Cyclosportives, the most difficult one day event for amateur road cyclists in Europe. Not a bad choice for my first ever sportive!

The 174Km route goes through the Alps from Le Bourg d'Oisans, over the Col de la Croix de Fer, down 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, which has been closed until recently due to heavy snow), finishing with the ascent to the ski station at l'Alpe d'Huez. To some like me, the distance won't be such a big deal but the 5000m of climbing - not a common feat among amateur cyclists - and the high altitude take their toll to make a sub-9 hour finish a major achievement (it's won in about 6 hours).

For an idea of the masochistic nature of this event, read this excellent article from Cycling Weekly. If that doesn't put you off, nothing will. And here's the profile for the ride:


So why am I doing it? As any mountaineer would say, because it's there!