etape du tour 2014 pau - hauticam

nigelhic

Did the etape last year with less 1 yr cycling experience. As already mentioned, you need to get as many 100k plus spins in as possible. I signed up to as many of the toughest 160k sportives as I could. Also had a couple of one week training camps in Tenerife and the Alps. Will head to the Pyrennes at least once before July. You do need to start training/planning about 6months before. Many will be working off the Xmas excess now and planning their sportives. If you are serious you will start hitting the hills, if it does not hurt you are not training hard enough for the etape. You should be thinking of dropping as much weight as possible. A week away in hot weather will help, you just can't re-create the heat and climbs in Ireland. Love Tenerife myself, Teide is very long and great for climitising your legs. Go for it but if you don't look upon it as a serious challenge you will end up walking up Hautacam or even the Tourmalet. Look upon it like a marathon, you need to be fit but you also need the miles in your legs to avoid suffering and having to walk.

Curnode

Hello ,
Myself and my family have just booked our holidays for this July near Bayonne. Obviously I am too late for registration for the Etape which is nearby in Pau this year. Does anyone know how I might get an entry for this. Obviously I will not require accomodation etc so a tour operator is not what I require......

Thanks and regards.

Pinch Flat

Curnode wrote: »

Hello ,
Myself and my family have just booked our holidays for this July near Bayonne. Obviously I am too late for registration for the Etape which is nearby in Pau this year. Does anyone know how I might get an entry for this. Obviously I will not require accomodation etc so a tour operator is not what I require......

Thanks and regards.

You will get an entry from one of the official tour companies - looking at around 200 lids though.

Curnode

Thanks Pinch Flat . Do you know which tour companies I can/should contact . the timing is perfect for me as I'm flying home from holidays on Monday 21st July .....so hopefully I can get an entry .

Pinch Flat

Check the official Etape page:

http://www.letapedutour.com/ET1/us/details_tarifs.html

onyourbike.ie used to do them here, but looks like they're no longer involved.

2 Wheels Good

Try Trail Seekers in Cork, they're going again this year.

Curnode

Thanks Pinch Flat !!!
I got sorted with Ronen Pensac travel - €220 euros for entry only . Expensive but I wouldn't miss it for the world when I'm in the area on hols.. FYI -La Fuga were nlooking for £260 stg for the same.......... I was warned that they are expensive.

Here is a very good link I found with Pyractif showing all the details for the big climbs in the Pyrennees
http://www.pyractif.com/profiles/index.html

ROLL ON JULY !!!

letape

Pinch Flat wrote: »

You will get an entry from one of the official tour companies - looking at around 200 lids though.

It is not necessary to enter through an official tour company where you pay them for the entry as part of a provided package including transfers and accomodation etc.

The two years I entered it, I registered directly with the L'etape organisation. It used require a written application but is now on-line. Entry on-line if I remember correctly, is in November.

The only challenge with just buying the entry directly is organising a transfer from the finish back to where you are staying.

gr3g0ree

Even though I will be traveling from London thx for all the info shared here gentleman. I did the Etape last year, my 1st bike race whatsoever! Before that I only did a charity ride From London to Cambridge. And I don't own a racing bike!!! My all purpose bike is a 4y+ 17.5Kg hybrid. I did my training from last Febr. till last year July on that one bike!

Got my entry last year with a charity, did rent a Scot Metrix 20 in Annecy for 3x days (I 1st sat on the bike the day before the race, but it had awesome balance and disk brakes) and finished the race, over 8h, but wasn't over exhausted in the end, the granny gear helped a lot

The plan for this year is the same. Rent a bike, fly in somewhere close, find private accommodation - just organize it on a budget really. And do better than last year. I don't know what your perception of minimal requirements are for finishing it, but you only need to train well and to know what are you up against. My longest single bike ride before the Etape was barely 115Km including a few Box Hill repeats(where they did the Olympic road race).

For sure there is a need to somehow simulate a 10+Km constant ascent. Cycling on flats, no matter how hard its not the same. Best advice that stuck with me was - ..." hold your brakes lightly on a flat and ride. That's the closest you will get to ascend a mountain on a flat." - got it from some other forum and found it true while riding up Mt Revard.

And the weather this year might be a big factor again. I will try and go out on a ride later this year when its pouring down. Get all my rain-kit out and just experience what would it be like to ride up Tourmalet in rain, wind and cold. Need to find out how my body will react and if there is anything I would need to buy/adjust, I would rather find it out before the race and if worst happens in France, will be more prepared.


Good luck to you all.

nigelhic

gr3g0ree - That's great going, limiting your longest ride to 115km before an Etape is normally a recipe for pain! You obviously did a lot of hill work. The real obstacles are the hills and the weather. The heat if sunny 30C+ and if raining the descents, you can get cold very quickly on a long wet descent. I would have no problem riding up the Tourmalet in the wet, it's the cold and slippery roads on the descent you need to look out for. A lot of people will never have experienced a long 10-15km descent in the wet. Like you I will be doing it on the cheap, PS don't leave your bioke hire too late, you may struggle. Best of luck with the training, still trying to work off the excesses of the Xmas myself.

Koobcam

I think how you find the Etape depends on how you approach the event-if you're going for a good time, then it will be painful, maybe less so if you just want to finish. I think last year's Etape was more or less designed so everyone finished-I think the vast majority of those starting finished. Once you got over Mt Revard, there was pretty much no way not to finish unless you crashed or something. I think this is a good approach as it caters to people with different goals, and I expect that this year's will be somewhat similar. The weather will be key though. Personally, if it looks like rain, I will not be doing the Etape.

Curnode

Hello all ,
For those looking after their own accomodation , how are you faring out.? Is there any accomodation left in Pau? Is it practical to stay the night before in Lourdes and cycle the 40km to Pau for the start? What are the start times typically?
Any thoughts, hints etc would be greatly appreciated. Obviousy staying in Lourdes will mean a short spin after the finish, but the iea of 40km at 5am to get to the start is not appealing. Is it possible to get a shuttle from Hautacam back to Pau (assuming I can get accomodation there!!)

Thanks

gooch134

Thanks for all your responses and advice. In the end we dicided to go the easy route. Trail Seekers are taking care of everything for us. Considering none of our group have taken this on before and the hassle of arranging accomodation at a very busy time of the year its best we concentrate on cycling and leave the rest take care of itself. None of my group have started training for it yet but we are led to believe that plenty time for that from easter on. See you at the start line. Should be fun

gr3g0ree

nigelhic wrote: »

gr3g0ree - That's great going, limiting your longest ride to 115km before an Etape is normally a recipe for pain! You obviously did a lot of hill work. The real obstacles are the hills and the weather. The heat if sunny 30C+ and if raining the descents, you can get cold very quickly on a long wet descent. I would have no problem riding up the Tourmalet in the wet, it's the cold and slippery roads on the descent you need to look out for. A lot of people will never have experienced a long 10-15km descent in the wet. Like you I will be doing it on the cheap, PS don't leave your bioke hire too late, you may struggle. Best of luck with the training, still trying to work off the excesses of the Xmas myself.

Thx nigelhic, it was so hot last year, I just had to go slow
Up Semnoz I saw a guy stopping and barely falling over while 2x others grabbed him, still on his bike, unable to unclip. Another lady!!! panting and hissing and moaning on her bike, stopping at the side while a man pouring water straight at her head. You have to prepare for all kind of weather. being fit means nothing if you get dehydrated.
Re descent: I'm not afraid of wet. Snow and ice is slippery, wet is just wet. Disk brakes do miracles I had a situation at the very bottom of Mt Revard.
Bike sorted btw, managed to reserve a Scott Speedster 30.

Koobcam wrote: »

I think how you find the Etape depends on how you approach the event-if you're going for a good time, then it will be painful, maybe less so if you just want to finish. I think last year's Etape was more or less designed so everyone finished-I think the vast majority of those starting finished. Once you got over Mt Revard, there was pretty much no way not to finish unless you crashed or something. I think this is a good approach as it caters to people with different goals, and I expect that this year's will be somewhat similar. The weather will be key though. Personally, if it looks like rain, I will not be doing the Etape.

I read that the Annecy stage was the most spectacular that year, and indeed the scenery was amazing. I was looking around a lot, and could not understand those burying their heads down. On my way home spoke to a lad in the bus who did not finish. It was a short conversation
Once I'm there, at least want to give it a go. I would rather prefer extreme hot then rain.

Curnode wrote: »

Hello all ,
For those looking after their own accomodation , how are you faring out.? Is there any accomodation left in Pau? Is it practical to stay the night before in Lourdes and cycle the 40km to Pau for the start? What are the start times typically?
Any thoughts, hints etc would be greatly appreciated. Obviousy staying in Lourdes will mean a short spin after the finish, but the iea of 40km at 5am to get to the start is not appealing. Is it possible to get a shuttle from Hautacam back to Pau (assuming I can get accomodation there!!)

Thanks

I'm trying to sort out anything in Pau, at least for the start, and then maybe stay in Lourdes. No luck yet. Your start time will depend on your race number - you will be allocated in a pen and the smaller the number the earlier you start. Of course front of the pen starts before the back end The best ones - 1000/2000 start from 6.30am.
Really don't want to ride the worst case scenario - 40Km rain in the morning to the start (or any 40km in the morning at all).

gooch134 wrote: »

... its best we concentrate on cycling and leave the rest take care of itself. None of my group have started training for it yet but we are led to believe that plenty time for that from easter on...

<- dude. You have to start training right now. You don't know what you are up against, and think you can get ready for it in under 3 months? Even if you hire couches to help you, don't wait till Easter. That's a recipe for disaster.



I am about to get the flights sorted, The 'best' combo will probably be to fly to Bordeaux or Biarritz and get to Pau by train/bus. There is an excellent site:
http://www.rome2rio.com/s/Nearby-Airports/Pau
Now only to know where to sleep ...

peachyb

Hi,

can entries be sold on does anyone know. A friend of mine is interested in joining us

Curnode

I beleive it can be difficult to transfer entries to another person as the organizers look to formal identification (passport etc)- though I am not an expert on this.
Personall I bought an "entry only" from Ronaen Pensec Travel in the past month. However it cost me €220 !!

Pinch Flat

Curnode wrote: »

I beleive it can be difficult to transfer entries to another person as the organizers look to formal identification (passport etc)- though I am not an expert on this.
Personall I bought an "entry only" from Ronaen Pensec Travel in the past month. However it cost me €220 !!

They do check a passport against an entry on the day before.

peachyb

Thanks guys - set up like Glastonbury so - he's looking into buying from Ronaen Pensec too

Hardy Backs

Im looking for an entry as well,but its proving to be very costly going through travel agents .If anyone hears of someone not going will they put them in touch with me please.Thanks

velopeloton

Route map

gr3g0ree

Hardy Backs wrote: »

Im looking for an entry as well,but its proving to be very costly going through travel agents .If anyone hears of someone not going will they put them in touch with me please.Thanks

Try to get a charity place. I did get one early March with 'Get Kids Going' last year.

Hardy Backs

Thanks ,but i have got a place using "Ronaen Pensec Travel" at a cost of €220 The charities were looking for me to collect min of €1000 and i have already been involved in a few big charity collections over the past few years and i feel they are some that might feel i am only collecting to get a free place and a trip away.

gr3g0ree

Hardy Backs wrote: »

Thanks ,but i have got a place using "Ronaen Pensec Travel" at a cost of €220 The charities were looking for me to collect min of €1000 and i have already been involved in a few big charity collections over the past few years and i feel they are some that might feel i am only collecting to get a free place and a trip away.

I did pay £115 (or EUR, can't remember) for my place and set my charity target low enough - £100 but didn't reach even that lol
And you are right about the trip away.

Got my flights booked, bike rented, accommodation half-sorted, most is done I think.

Curnode

Has anyone any ideas as to how I could get to Pau from Lourdes on the morning of the Etape? All the accomodation was gone in Pau so I could only get accomodation in Lourdes which is 40km from the starting line. If needs be I will cycle it, but I'd prefer to save this time and energy for the Tournmalet and Hautacam !!!!! (148km with 3300 metres climbing is enough without having a 40km warmup at 5.30am)

velopeloton

Curnode wrote: »

Has anyone any ideas as to how I could get to Pau from Lourdes on the morning of the Etape? All the accomodation was gone in Pau so I could only get accomodation in Lourdes which is 40km from the starting line. If needs be I will cycle it, but I'd prefer to save this time and energy for the Tournmalet and Hautacam !!!!! (148km with 3300 metres climbing is enough without having a 40km warmup at 5.30am)

Taxi. It will still be dark at 05:30.

Heisenberg.

This post has been deleted.

gr3g0ree

velopeloton wrote: »

Taxi. It will still be dark at 05:30.

Wait for June to find out which pen will u start in, in worst case request to change your pen to the 2nd last one and you will have more time to get there in the morning.

Plan B is to find any English speaking anybody and simply ask them in you could leave to bike at his/hers place(make sure its not too far from start) locked up overnight for a small fee, and get a taxi next morning, or just use the forum to organize/ask for transport, there will be a few tackling the same problem, look for a larger group who might rent a minivan to transport bikes and ask to join them.

Heisenberg. wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

http://www.getkidsgoing.com/letape_du_tour.htm

Only £99 and you don't have a set amount to raise. I did Etape last year with them, even got a T-shirt, and 'I' *sponsored the paralympic flagbearer in Sochi

* ok, ok, terms&conditions apply

crkaeds

Hi Folks,

I will be holidaying with the family in France that week so will be driving to Pau for the etape on my own.

I am also looking for accommodation and transport.

Its looking like i will stay in Lourdes somewhere and need to find transport on the morning of the event and after the event.

I have asked the organisers if they will open the hippodrome in Pau for parking but they are pushing to use the shuttle from Lourdes to Pau on the Saturday which is not ideal for me.

Lets keep sharing the info so that we are all looked after here.

Rgs

Curnode

crkaeds wrote: »

Hi Folks,

I will be holidaying with the family in France that week so will be driving to Pau for the etape on my own.

I am also looking for accommodation and transport.

Its looking like i will stay in Lourdes somewhere and need to find transport on the morning of the event and after the event.

I have asked the organisers if they will open the hippodrome in Pau for parking but they are pushing to use the shuttle from Lourdes to Pau on the Saturday which is not ideal for me.

Lets keep sharing the info so that we are all looked after here.

Hello crkaeds ,

Agreed - it sounds like there may well be a few in the same boat - staying in Lourdes and needing to get to Pau early on the Sunday morning.
Personally I am not too worried about getting back to Lourdes after the event, as it only 28km and 14km is downhill from the top of the Hautacam.

Koobcam

I have my entry but nothing else booked so far. My plan was to stay in Pau, do the Etape and cycle back to Pau from the top of the Hautacam. It's about 65km and mostly downhill so not as daunting as it seems. There's also a train service from Lourdes to Pau so you could also maybe hop on that, though maybe there are thousands of other people with the same idea.