Estimated reading time: 3 minutes, 27 seconds
It’s no secret that some of us find swinging the leg over and riding up endless bloody hills for training really hard! At some point, chasing Strava KOMs can lose their appeal.
But, for those heading overseas to the hills for a holiday, to watch the Tour, or do Etape du Tour, it pays to push through the disinterest and find something that helps you train. Because if it’s one thing I’ve learnt, the biggest impact you can have on your hill climbing, is training and eating right (thus losing weight).
I find that watching cycling always gets me pumped.
So for those looking for a bit of extra encouragement, or some specific training that can be watched on TV whilst you train on your rollers or training device, let’s take a look at Cyclefilm’s Etape 2012 – Roads to Glory recce and training DVDs.
Markus Neuert, the owner of Cyclefilm has teamed up with Cannondale UKs Michael “Cottydale” Cotty who provides the expert advice on the Etape recce as well as training advice and encouragement.
Etape 2012 – Roads to Glory Pyrenees Edition Review
I got my hands on the Etape 2012 – Roads to Glory Pyrenees edition (there’s an Etape 12 Alps edition too) and immediately began watching it, sans bike.
Etape 2012 - Roads to Glory Pyrenees
After a brief intro, the DVD immediately dives into the 2012 Etape Pyrenees route, providing key insights and on-the-ground information about potential pain points.
Set against a backdrop of interval training (and workout music) with Mike traversing the course, the video takes us across the major climbs and points of interest of the 2012 Etape Pyrenees.
Michael’s instructions and insights are clear and obviously well informed by a wealth of experience and a load of hard Col bashing (he finished 22nd in the 2006 Etape – yowsers!). Mike is a man who knows his stuff, having suffered through these very climbs multiple times.
Although many people do not treat Etape as a race, instead treating it as something to finish, the race-ready tips that Mike provides will help maximise your results.
His experienced eye and commentary provide lots of really useful information on feeding and hydration as well as pacing yourself. These tips will help ensure you don’t just survive Etape and finish in a broken mess, but finish it comfortably.
For those who want to smash Etape, his insider information will let you know exactly where to pace yourself and use the bunch, or, open the pipes and drop the hammer to pick up useful positions against the 10,000 other souls battling the ride.
The videos itself is super high quality – Markus is an absolute pro at this stuff.
There is no fluff, just a tremendous amount of useful insights, and a very handy training video.
Although Etape 2012 – Roads to Glory obviously focuses on providing recon advice for Etape, as well as specific training, the training aspect of the video is good enough to use anytime you’re indoors on the trainer, either as encouragement or as a tempo marker to help you really build your climbing skills.
For those stuck indoors, or, who don’t mind training along with a TV-based training program, and for those heading to Etape, definitely check these DVDs out.
Summary
This is a great Etape 2012 recon and Etape training workout, that doubles as a general hill training video.
This video got me so pumped to go out for a spot of Col bashing that I wanted to be there racing Mike up the hills.
The DVD package itself is really quite beautiful and of very high quality. Matte gloss cover, great typography and an awesome insert booklet with some nice words about riding by Cannondale UK’s Michael Cotty, all of which provides a quality feel to the package.
The DVDs are available in PAL and NTSC format.
Etape 2012 – Roads to Glory Pyrenees gets a 10/10 for me.
You can get Etape 2012 – Roads to Glory Pyrenees and Alps editions from the Cyclefilm online store.
Don’t Forget VeloNomad’s Etape Training Guide
Don’t forget VeloNomad’s Guide to Training for Etape, a training program specifically developed for Etape.
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Especially if you can’t ride the course prior, the idea of watching with tips and hints sounds like a great option!
Anything that motivates you to train for this event is worth investing in. Going in underprepared for Etapu hurts! The amount of people I saw walking up Alpe D’Huez last year obviously didn’t put the work in. I spent a lot of time riding hills on the bike last year and on bad weather days used DVD’s and Tour recording to get the miles in on the trainer. I followed the training plan from Etapu tips and it worked a treat. Still hurt on the day though!
Just the ticket. A training tool, an education of Etape, and motivation to get myself together and focus. To be offered a plan of training and facts and suggestions for the challenge is a gift. Now it is up to me.
I really enjoy your website, it keeps my motivation in place, and realisation that the only limiting factor is me.
Great review.
It gets me so interested and motivated to learn more particularly given I’m heading for the Pyrenees this July.
I guess it’s a case of, ” you don’t know what you don’t know.”
We have a winner. A name came out of a hat and Norman Barns has won – Norman, your DVD is on the way.
To the other entrants – sorry guys!