2015 Etape du Tour information: the low-down

The 2015 Etape du Tour route has been announced; and boy, what a doozy.

Whilst reader Paul conveyed his disappointment that the Etape won’t be the Modane-Alpe D’Huez TdF stage (Stage 20)—saying “How much of a crush to morale is a long downhill stretch with Telegraphe/Glandon next up”—this route will still be a moral crusher.

(And, by the way, L'Etape followed the exact same Modane-Alpe d’Huez stage just recently in 2011. For my recounting of that event, visit my 2011 Etape report. Riding downhill at 70km/h before a brutal ascent up the Telegraphe-Galibier was a heart-breaker.)

In the heat of the day (assuming a hot, summer Alps day), I reckon there will be a precipitous number of abandons.

So, what will riders face in Etape 2015?

2015 Etape du Tour information

The key 2015 Etape info:

• When: Sunday 19th July 2015
• Where: St Jean de Maurienne -> Sybelles-La Toussuire
• Distance: 142km
• Ascent: Approximately 3800m4400m (!)

2015 Etape Profile

Here's the Strava route, nicely done by French weapon David Polveroni (website, Strava) who was kind enough to send me this.

Pay particular attention to the first climb of the day and David's KOM up it.

My thoughts

Preceding the cleats of the pros who undertake this Stage 19 of the TdF on July 24th, Etappers will undertake a stage which only has about 25km of relative flat. The rest of the day is climbing or ascending.

Riders will head uphill with about 1000m of ascending from the start line. This will prove to be the beginning of the finish for many people who no doubt will turn up on cold legs, underprepared, with lashing of derring-do.

And unfortunately for those riders who will undoubtably, and incredibly, turn up underprepared, the next ascent is a lonnnnnng yet picturesque one up the Col du Glandon then across 2.5km to the summit of the Col de la Croix de Fer.

I would much rather be facing the Glandon from the Maurienne Valley side as it’s very pretty, with lots of hairpins: find your tempo, turn some music on, and go. The Bourg d'Oisans side is brutal: incessant, steep, hot, hard ride.

Col du Glandon – Maurienne side

Those last few kilometres from the pub at the Col du Glandon to the Croix de Fer look flat, but are most assuredly not.

And afterwards? It's not all plain sailing.

Well do I remember riding off the Croix de Fer in 2011, thinking I had an easy downhill to St Jean de Maurienne, only to discover—quelle horreure—I had a nasty little ascent up the Col du Mollard. (fortunately it’s only 400-odd meters) before a long descent into St jean de Maurienne.

Col de la Croix de Fer (after Etape 2011) with Jan (r) the German Terminator

And lastly, we climb a mere 1100m up to the ski resort La Toussuire to finish.

“How hard will this really be?”

Some previous Etapes du Tour have really set benchmarks in terms of what is “hard”. For me, Etape 2010 really stands out: 180-odd km, 35 degree temperatures, and the Cols du Marie Blanque, Aubisque and Tourmalet. It was a shocking day in the saddle with some truly bastard climbs. (By the way, the 2010 Etape was one of the hardest rides I've ever done: here's my 2010 Etape report.)

And so, when I see an Etape of only 142km, albeit with climbing of 4500m, I’m inclined to be underwhelmed. And I’ll bet others will be similarly underwhelmed.

However, this is a foolish position, because Etape 2015 is going to be HARD.

When Etape 2013 (Annecy-Semnoz) was announced, plenty of people on forums pooh-poohed the route as being too easy. After all, there was only one major climb.

I'll hazard a guess plenty of people eyeballed that profile and wrote it off as easy.

Pity, that.

Because by one VeloNomad reader’s estimation, he noted that 4/5 people walked up significant sections of the final climb in 2013.

And reader Paul N also said:

Just been reading your bits you sent – Spot on –  all because the route didn`t have a behemoth or two en-route…many thought it was same as riding in the UK (for example), also forgetting 35C sun all day. Actuality was a day of mostly climbing anyway – even Froome looked knackered when the big boys did it.

So, how hard will Etape 2015 be? If you’re an Aussie or American (or someone who lives in a hot climate) and are used to 150km+ rides in the mountains on hot days, and have a lot of base hours in your legs, you might be ok. I say might, because, despite the fact some people do a weekend ride up their local 1/20, a ride in the Alps is on a TOTALLY DIFFERENT LEVEL.

And, if you’re not used to long days in hot temperatures riding for hours on end up big mountains…well, this is going to be incredibly hard.

But, the good news is, to mitigate the difficulty, all you need to do is prepare properly (more on this below).

Etape 2015 Registrations

2015 Etape du Tour registrations will again be available from the ASO website on Nov 6th 9AM CET.

For the Aussies, that’s 7PM same day (GMT +11 AEDT), for the Americans on PST 12AM and East Coast US 3AM (EST).

You can check your time here: everytimezone.com

Bear in mind you need to subscribe to the ASO events before being able to sign up, so MAKE SURE you register on their site well before the registration date to ensure you can quickly login and snap a place up.

Register to be able to register for the 2015 Etape.

Etape 2015 Training Plan

For most people (me included), a block of at least 4 months training will be needed.

And no, not weekend rides to the coffee shop sucking their buddies’ wheels for a few lazy kays. Or a few rides in the local hills.

Reader Warwick, who's on the Velonomad Etape training email list, commented:

I’m talking months of specific training with one sole purpose in mind.

And, so you know, I have a special training program written specifically for Etape du Tour.

There’s a saying in sales and marketing that companies who eat their own dog food tend to make good products. For example if you’re selling a SaaS accounting service (Freshbooks), then you’d actually use your own product internally.

So, with this training, you can be assured I eat my own dog food. This is the exact training I use for Etape (and big races, actually).

And at only $19, it’s utterly cheap insurance against the possibility of spending a wad of cash, turning up to Etape, then blowing up and having to walk. Trust me, it happens.

Etape du Tour Accommodation

Three recommendations here:

1. AirBNB
2. Google
3. Portals like Hotels Combined or Booking.com
4. Tour package

Etape du Tour Bike Hire

Although taking your bike overseas is easy (especially with this guide), on this trip, with the fact I'll be taking trains and a goal of minimising worry and fuss, I’ll hire a bike.

For Etape, here are two recommended Velonomad bike hire partners:

• Cyclomundo
• France Bike Rentals

Insurance

For Etape, you need insurance for:

• Domestic bike cover that covers you when overseas (e.g. Velosure bicycle insurance)
• Travel insurance that covers you and others (personal liability) for the trip, including when participating in events

For a list of insurance providers and what else you need to consider, read the in-depth guide to Insurance for Cyclists.

Prepaid Mobile Internet SIM

Easy. Velonomad prepaid France SIM cards.

2015 Etape Logistics

As to where to fly in to, where to stay, and the ins and outs on the day, all that will be covered in my annual Etape guide. The Etape 2015 guide should be ready shortly, so make sure you sign up to my special Etape mailing list to ensure you get your copy as soon as it’s ready.

The Etape 2015 guide will cover everything you need to know to plan a trip to Etape 2015 such as:

• How to get there
• Where to fly into (if flying)
• Airlines and baggage
• Taking your bike
• Packing List
• Gearing for Etape
• Preparing for Etape
• Car hire vs Campervan
• Where to stay before and after
• On the day
• Recovering from Etape
• Watching the Tour

Sign up for the Velonomad 2015 Etape notifications

2015 Etape registration information, training and more. All free.