Merci Eric pour votre gentil commentaire. C'est très aimable. N'hésitez pas à en parler à vos amis! Bonne chance pour votre entraînement et peut-être à l'année prochaine.

Thank you Cedric, I very much appreciate your feedback! Good luck for your training and for next year's ride.

Thank you very much Matt, I really appreciate your feedback. Congratulations on your ride: YOU DID IT!

Thank you Tim. Really appreciate the feedback. Glad to be of help. Good luck for the ride!

Thank you Matthew! Good luck on Saturday 🚴🚴🚴

Thanks for the feedback! Hope you had a good race.

Hi David! That’s great to hear. Thanks for posting. Well done for all your preparation and good luck for tomorrow! Maybe see you on the road 😉 Marvin

@@alpinecols I did finish! The Galibier descent in the hail and thunder storm was an adventure! I was thankful to be able to lean on your advice at certain spots to get through a few difficult periods. I wasn't the fastest out there by a long way but my goal was to finish. Crossing the line at the top of the Alpe was a win for me. My longest ever ride and most climbing. I will highly recommend you to anyone I hear who wants to take on the Marmotte and needs training plan, coaching and advice. Thank you. Hope you had a great ride too. Cheers.

@@davidholmes8839 Well done David! That's really great to hear. Very pleased you finished, in spite of the challenging weather. Thank you for your kind words! Best wishes - Marvin

Hi Mark, Thanks for the feedback, much appreciated. I personally use mostly a couple of apps on my mobile phone: WeatherPro and Yr (which is Norwegian). Both are pretty accurate, even in the mountains. Good luck for the event! Marvin

Hi Kevin, Your estimate of an extra 10' is probably not too far out but depends on your ability to maintain 75% of your FTP i.e. 173W up all the climbs. It would be best to look back through your previous rides and try to find some hard evidence. I would expect less than 10' on the col de Braus, but perhaps a bit more on the Turini and the Couillole. Good luck - hope you have a good ride Marvin

Cheers Marvin, thanks for the reply. 🙂

Thank you Christian!

Thank you Ian, I really appreciate the feedback. Good luck on the big day! Marvin

Bonjour Simon Je n'ai pas assez d'informations pour vous donner un conseil précis. Le problème de la FC est qu'elle est affectée par beaucoup d'autres facteurs que le simple intensité du travail, donc il faut toujours tenir compte de ses sensations et interpreter les données avec précaution. Vous avez raison que la stratégie d'augmenter progressivement l'intensité est généralement payante. A priori, 75% de la FCMax jusqu'au pied du Turini me paraît prudent. Par la suite, montez peut-être le Turini plutôt à 80% qu'à 84%. Faites très attention à vos sensations par la suite et, si vous vous sentez dans un grand jour, jouez avec vos limites. Mais, sachez que vous risquez de les dépasser et subir des crampes voire même lafringale sue la Couillole, perdant ainsi 10 à 15 minutes par rapport à une stratégie plus prudente... Bonne chance! Marvin

@@alpinecols merci pour votre retour!

Hi Malcolm, Thanks for the feedback. Sadly I won't be there due to a diary clash. Good luck! Marvin

Thanks Leigh - glad to hear that you found it useful. Good luck on July 6! Marvin

Thank you Tristan. Really appreciate the feedback. Good luck on July 6! Marvin

Merci Carabin! Je pense qu'il faut viser à peu près 10h sur le Glandon et 13:30 sur le Télégraphe. Bonne chance! Marvin

Merci Renan! Bonne chance pour la course...

That's great to hear. Thanks for the feedback, and good luck!

Thanks for the feedback @ultimuneuron! Always good to hear. Good luck for the final month of training!

@@alpinecols Any idea why the organizers of the event don’t put up on the website the route map, elevation profile and where we can expect the feeding/ water stations to be? Especially since the route this year is different than last year it would be so nice to have this info. Not to complain too much, but I find it a bit disappointing from them…

@@ultimuneuron All this information is available on the official Marmotte Alps website: marmottegranfondoalpes.com/marmotte-granfondo-alpes/

@@alpinecols there’s no info on the feeding stations or cut off times on Galibier and the foot of the Alpe…

@@ultimuneuron Effectively I thought the feeding stations were marked on the route profile but it seems to be points of interest instead. In the past, the feeding stations have always been at the least on the col du Glandon, the col du Télégraphe, the Galibier after Valloire, the col du Galibier, and the foot of the Alpe. I will be surprised if it is any different. The cut-off is given as 18:15 at the foot of the Alpe. There's no mention of a cut-off on the Galibier this year, and historically I don't recall there being one (apart from last year).

Thank you Leigh, really appreciate the feedback! Marvin

Hi Jelle - it depends how strong a rider you are. For a young, strong rider this would be fine. Most people, however, prefer a compact 50-34 with a 32 or 34 tooth sprocket. Best wishes, Marvin

Thank you Hans! Good luck on May 19. Marvin

Thanks Anthony! Glad to hear you found it useful

Hi Ed, in 2023 there were 71 riders in your category (M65), of whom 50 finished. There were also 20 riders in the M70 category, of whom 11 finished. hope this helps, Marvin

Thank you Scott, that’s great feedback! 😊

Thanks Esmée, I appreciate the feedback! Good luck on May 19.

Thanks for the comment Leigh. It’s always a balance of course: starting too hard plays out differently but is no better in terms of finishing place than starting too early. The optimum is somewhere in the middle; it founds like your buddies have it figured out! For the strategy to work, you must be able to ride well in a group for maximum energy conservation. The best suggestion I can make is to try it out, at a B or C priority event. You could also consider starting the occasional training ride with an hour’s worth of very hard, unstructured intervals to simulate the first hour of your target event.

Hi Jay, Thanks for the feedback. Glad you found the presentation helpful. There are no shortcuts to heat acclimatation: you have to ride in the heat. If you are unable to travel to a place that is hot enough it is possible to train indoors in a heated room, or if the weather is warm (but not hot) you can train outdoors wearning your winter kit. Neither are much fun. Make sure you stay hydrated.

Dear Émilienne You can find it here: alpinecols.com/training-guidelines-for-the-etape-du-tour/ Best wishes, Marvin

Thank you so much Marvin 😘😘😘

I like it a lot 🤗🤗🤗

Thank you Émilienne. Good luck!

Thanks Mark. Good luck!

Thanks Tristan. Good luck!

Hi Claire Great question, which I didn’t address. There’s no easy way to get heat acclimated other than riding for at least a week in the heat. Full acclimation takes two weeks of more. If it’s impossible to travel to achieve this, it’s feasible (but no fun) either to ride outside in full winter kit (if the temp is enough to make you sweat heavily), or to set up a turbo indoors in sauna-like conditions. If you do any of these make sure you stay hydrated and don’t overheat dangerously. Good luck! Marvin

Hi Tristan: yes, I'll try to get this out soon. It will have some similarities but the Etape is less than half the distance and climbing and is a genuine race (at least for those who want to make it so), so the training prescription is not the same.

@@alpinecols perfect thank you. Am finding your content really helpful in preparing for 7th July!!!

Merci de votre gentil commentaire. Pour la Partie 2, suive le Tour du Mont Blanc sur les médias sociaux pour l'annonce de notre prochaine conférence Zoom, prévue le jeudi 28.03. Bon courage à l'entraînement et bonne chance!

Hi Philip, Thanks, good to hear it was useful. You definitely need to prepare for the long climbs... and the long descents! Those in Mallorca are a lot shorter. Good luck! Marvin

Good advice Doug. Thanks for commenting.

Thank you - much appreciated. Glad you found it useful!

Thank you Leigh, I really appreciate your feedback! We all keep making mistakes: cycling is a much more technical and complicated sport than many people realise. The key is of course to learn each time! Good luck for the coming season. Marvin

Thank you Viaceslav! I appreciate your kind feedback.

Thank you Pepekeshe! Great to hear it was useful for you.

Hi Steven, You could find me on Strava (Marvin Faure Alpine Cols Coach). Then check my rides on the dates of our trip (10-16 Sept 2023)

Great thank you so much. I look forward to riding in Corsica this June!

Good luck Jose!