HARDEST BIKE RIDE EVER: I did the L'Étape du Tour (2022)
Vložit
- čas přidán 20. 07. 2024
- Etape du Tour 2022, by far the hardest cycling event and event in general I have ever done. But absolutely incredible at the same time. Here's how it went for me...
About the Race and Route -
The 30th edition of the "Étape du Tour de France" took place on 10 July 2022 on the same route as stage 12 of the Tour de France, between Briançon and Alpe d'Huez, i.e. 167 km with more than 4,700 metres of accumulated positive elevation gain, including the climbs of the Cols du Galibier and de la Croix de Fer.
For the fourth arrival of the "Étape du Tour de France" in Alpe d'Huez, it is an expedition full of historical symbols, as the route is based on that of 1986 Briançon-Alpe d'Huez stage, when Bernard Hinault won the last stage of his career in the Tour de France.
www.letapedutourdefrance.com/en
Subscribe for more videos!
Got a question? ⏬
Socials -
Instagram - @alexreaderfitness - / alexreaderf. .
Strava - / strava
Email - alex@alexreadrfitness.com
#etapedutour #tourdefrance #L'ÉtapeduTour
Congratulations Alex you have completed this stage very well👍👍!! You are one of those who made me signed for l'etape du tour 2024" I hope to see you in Nice😉!
Love this! Have an amazing time mate, super exciting, such a great experience to be had
Your story sounds very similar to mine. Galibier cruised up. Apart from you seemed to make it up d'Huez without walking. fair play!!. I was flying until Alpe. Got cramp on croix de Fer also. Got up the first two hairpins and then had to push and walk rest of d'Huez. Done etape before but this was so hard with heat etc. Well done mate
Ah nice work! Good to know it was a particularly hard one 🤣 it definitely felt it. Did you manage to walk all the way up the alp then?
Kept trying to cycle up but the pain of cramp kept locking my legs. It's such a long way up walking. No way after Galibier and croix that I wasn't getting to the end!
@@paulplatt3897 Yeah that's the problem with cramp as soon as it's locking up the legs there's not much you can do. Impressive to walk it even, I saw a lot of people doing that. I was close ha!
Awesome and completing that Etape, Paul. It was definitely a brutal one.
GREAT VIDEO and commentary. Congratulations on your achievement! Thanks for bringing back the memories. I have a tendency to cramp late on long rides and that was my biggest fear. I ate real food (small ham and cheese sandwiches, and fruits) and drank and drank and drank all day long using Nuun tablets for electrolytes. I also managed my efforts in the first two climbs making sure I was never in the red. The posted 5.2% average of the Croix de Fer was totally deceptive and the toughest part overall for me; it felt like the climb was never going to end. Fortunately, my fears of cramping never realized and I was able to finish before the Broom Wagon. Congratulations to all who finished regardless of time or after the Broom Wagon.
Amazing work! Sticking to a plan like the must have paid off 👏 it's great to watch some of it back, such an experience. Thanks for watching!
great video. I finished but didnt make the time cut. CDF was a killer in that heat. Kudos to the French people who came out from their homes to give us water and spray us with garden hoses.
Well done, getting it done is impressive no matter the time it was tough. Yeah without those locals I would have been even more screwed than I was! I did think there was a long gap around the CDF between stations. Which pen did you start in?
@@alexreader 9
@@leezehngebot3980 I was in 12 but I felt for those guys in the last pen! Would you do it again? Good work though and thanks for watching!
@@alexreader Not sure if I would do it again. I'm 71 yo and the heat really takes it out of me. Its such a great and unique experience.
@@leezehngebot3980 71! If I could be half as fit as you being able to do that at 71 one I'd be very happy ha. Yeah it does feel like a once in a lifetime type thing, such amazing experience with the views and the entire professional type set up. Unless your really competitive in the world of cycling.
Thanks for the video, and for making the effort to film some of it! I was there too, and my experience was very similar: I’ve rechristened the second climb the Col de la Croix d’Enfer…it was horrific! Rubbish views (comparatively), the steepest bits at the hottest places, and so far to go! I had a massive cassette on which allowed me to spin (slowly) but without that I don’t think I could have kept my heart rate down. The real Alpe d’Huez reality in that heat took me about double the length of time it takes me on Zwift. Good work on going up it again.
I was determined not to stop on any of the climbs…looking at the bodies scattered in the shade I knew I wouldn’t get started again. Next time, I would stop for less time at the feed zones, and go a bit faster in the cool morning, and trust that I can recover. I think I was a bit conservative there…sounds like you paced it similarly.
Back for more next year, though.
Love this, completely agree with the Croix d'Enfer and how that was! Well done for getting it done, sounds like a similar experience all round, what pen did you start in? Good plan for next time, i'm warming up to the idea of doing it again.
Wow what a journey Alex. Congratulations. Hope you will achieve more in future .
Thanks mate, one crazy journey for sure
Well done Alex! This looks bloody incredible! Definitely one to remember. Also… amazing whether. Not a cloud in the sky
Yeah it really was amazing! Definitely won't be forgetting it anytime soon 🙌
Great video and thanks for posting it. Yours was very similar to my experience. Cramp was a big problem. Finished it, but like you, lots of lessons for next time!
Thanks John, awesome well done. What were you doing in the way of electrolytes?
High 5 zero tabs. Full sugar coca cola was a godsend!
@@johnpcoleman I've got plenty of hydro tabs but never tried those, might have to give them a bash! Yeah it was amazing, only managed to get one though :( ahah.
Well done, John. I had hamstring and hip flexor cramps going up the Alpe. Pain on top of pain.
A great day out and a good summary of event. It caught my attention as video captured me in the same start pen. Not sure on your completion time though as you only finished 10 minutes ahead of me and it took me 11 hrs and 43 minutes. I got in 3 minutes before cut off having pegged it up the last couple of km. My 7th etape and probably one of the best and certainly the 2nd hardest. Onto next year !!
Thanks Ralph. Awesome you were in the same pen! Unfortunately I didn't get a official finish time because I had my number wrapped round the head tube and apparently that meant the sensor didn't work. Super annoying, so only have the strava data. I did get to towards the front of the pen to and did went relativity quickly to the first feed station. That must have been one sprint finish! Did you see the car? Did think it must've been tough to make it if you were started in a pen behind us. Glad to know it's one of the harder ones you've done aha! Nice work.
What a great video Alex. Thanks for sharing your experience. This was my first L'etape as well and was by far the toughest thing I have ever done. Like you I found the Croix de Fer to be mentally and physically excruciating. There didn't seem to be enough water stops to offset the heat x effort. At one point I jumped off the bike and into the river running alongside one of the flatter sections just to get my body temperature down. I opted to drink electrolytes and eat carbs which managed to stave off cramp and I spent as little time in the feedzones as possible. I recollect 16 bidons through the day so 12 litres. That produced only 1 wee. Very odd. My only goal was to finish the route regardless of time. At some point on the Alpe the timing car must have passed me, but I was utterly oblivious, just head down trying to not make eye contact with any of the hundreds of souls lying by the side of the road. It was carnage up there wasn't it? Ambulances and paramedic bikes flying past. Anyway, starting from group 14 I managed to eventually get to the line, but i had to grind it out for over 11 hours. Didn't walk a yard of it though and whilst at the time I was committed to "never again", I am melting a little. Especially as to beat the cut off is potentially a realistic goal. Thanks again, and congrats to everyone who entered, no matter where you ended up. It was brutal!!
Thanks Nick and thanks for your comment!! I can relate to all of it 🤣 looking back is great, such a big achievement. I agree, I massively struggled with lack of water/sodium. Nice work for getting it done, that was the main thing for me to. Not an easy task by any standards! 🤣 Yep there wasn't more than a 10m gap between bodies on the side of the road, so many people stopping and I know why ha!Might see you at one in the future then.
I did this event and you reflect my thoughts exactly. Very well explained
Thanks Matt, I'm glad ha. Well done for doing It 👏
You started in pen 12 like me! Crazy day in the saddle, congrats for completing before the broom wagon. The Croix de Fer is the most horrible climb I've ever had the misfortune of riding. So deceptive, both the climb and the decent, I couldn't get into a rhythm at all unlike the Galibier which I flew up. Having a 34 cassette really helped on Alpe D'Huez with such tired legs, I ended up in the top 30% for the day which I'm very proud of. See you next year 🙂
Thank you! Awesome you were in the same pen. Amazing result 👏 how long did I take you to be in the top 30% 😵 glad you bad a similar experience ahah
Well done. Your description is pretty accurate. I was really good down to StJean. Croix brutal especially 2&4th sections. I didn't drink enough - 3 bidons only. Too hot on Alpe, heat off rock. I'm not disc brake fan. Used zero tabs in each bidon. Amazing how people just stop in middle of the road!!!
Thanks! Good work. Wow you did well on only 3 bidons 👏 yeah I did see an accident when someone just stopped in the middle :s
@@alexreader isn't that the lacets at the beginning?
@@gesp5151 no I didn't see that, maybe I was to far behind ha. It was on the alp, think she cramped up and just stopped
@@alexreader sorry I meant your film had lacets on it and I didn't understand why as not part of course!?
@@gesp5151 aha sorry I wasn’t sure what you meant. Lacets?
As a finisher, I have so much respect for you, cheers mate
Thanks Yanick, well done on finishing it 👏
I enjoyed this video very much, and congratulations on completing a very tough ride. I have ridden the Galibier and Alpe d'Huez, albeit not on the same day, but the Croix de Fer looks really hard. Another climb in the area, which turned out to be decisive in this year's TdF, was the Col du Granon, which is a dead end climb and was only used in the Tour once before. That one hurts too! If you are looking to beat yourself up again, try the Oztaler in Austria. Even crazier. Keep those videos coming!
Thanks so much Leslie. Looking back now I don't think the video does it justice, but an amazing ride! 🤣 il have to put those on the list. Have you done etape before?
@@alexreader I have done a number of gran fondo/sportive rides but now that I am no longer in Europe the logistics are too much. Some of the rides have become huge, such as the Tour of Flanders sportive, so I prefer smaller events. L'Etape must be fantastic however! Another ride that friends have done is La Marmotte, which is brutal. I am too big (and too old, honestly) to be a good climber but do enjoy the challenge and particularly enjoyed riding in the Dolomites (Sella Ronda) and the Stelvio.
@@Sprocketboy1956 awesome! Even I at about 84kg felt too big on the start line of etape, definitely a good challenge 🤣 where abouts are you based now? One of my clients did the mormotte and I have to say it looked a fair bit harder than the etape. Crazy tough
@@alexreader I am in Ottawa, Ontario, which has no mountains! I did live in Germany for 8 years so had access to a lot of great riding. To ride climbs well you have to ride climbs a lot, I found. Flatlanders always suffer.😊Snowed here yesterday, so I am now focused on indoor riding on SYSTM and Rouvy.
Well done Alex, I’ve done quite a few similar events but did find this one VERY tough and only finished an hour before the cut off time at the end which I believe was just after 08.20pm… CDF was very tough and Alpe DHuez I had to stop 5 or 6 times up it in the shade to rest, Iit took me forever!
One thing people don’tseem to mention is how much the logistics and travel impacts your readiness, with my tour operator I had to get up at 02.30am to leave on a coach at 3am and then hang around at start for 2 hours (in the cold) before entering my pen for a 07.50, start, I was in pen 7… this early start messed with my eating and meant I virtually did it on no sleep… I’d def organise very differently next time…anyway, a great event and massive kudos to all who completed or attempted it… everyone on the start line had done serious training…
Nice work and well done on completing it. Thats mad how your arrangements were in the morning. We stayed at briancon so we could just wake up have breakfast and head to the start line. That worked really well to be honest, although we had other difficulties getting back at the end 🤣 you did really well to complete it with messed up sleep and fuelling, must have been a long day! Will you do it again?
@@alexreader I saw one of two companies offered two nights in Briancon and one night in Alpe D’huez at finish, and transferred your Luggage for you, that’s the perfect solution… I’d also have liked more time in event village as we had to get coach from Alpe D’huez to Briancon and back.. I’ll see why the route is for next year.. I might do it but not if it’s long double digit climbs and over 4K climbing.. I mean I loved it but I would t say it was really enjoyable! 🤣 if I do it again I’ll use a different tour operator or organise it all myself…
@@markedington7171 yeah that sounds good. We missed out on spending some time at the finish too, missed the pasta party:( 🤣 sensible, maybe they will have a flatter one next year.
@@markedington7171 My sons and I are thinking of heading over from Canada to do it next year. I thought that using a tour operator would make our lives easier, but your experience has me questioning that. Anyway you or @Alex Reader can recommend ones to avoid or ones to use? Great video BTW Alex.
@@LeisureKings I wouldn't want to name and shame anyone on here, all I would say, and it depends on the route, is if it starts somewhere far from the finish - find one who accommodates you at the start and then transfers your bike box / luggage to the finish and you stay at the finish after the event - one of the larger operators was offering that this year - or make your own arrangements - ASO also lay on buses. I really wished I had stayed in the start town and had extra sleep and a more relaxed breakfast... The operator I used also did not have mechanic at the hotel, didnt have a feed stop en route and charged a lot for the hotel that they delivered...which was fine, but very basic.. An amazing event though and well worth doing!
Well done, I was their and yes it really was tough, bodies everywhere. I only just made it home before the broom wagon but just finishing was my only goal. I too forgot to take on fuel and skipped the last feed station through fear of missing the cut. Rode AdH on Thursday morning and without 150K in the legs it wasn't too bad.
Glad it wasn't just me having that experience aha. What pen did you start in? I would love to try it on fresh legs, like you say I think it would be totally different!
Congratulations, John! That was definitely a brutal route. I also stayed and did the Alpe that Thursday morning and, yes, it was so nice to have only one climb.
Hey Alex, nice summary of the event, was also there, Alpe D'Huez was brutal, but you can't really compare it to the Zwift ride. I rode it in 2017 with my bro, and we both did it in an hour. On Zwift I can do it in 53 min. I think after 150 odd kms though and 2 HC climbs it is a totally different beast. Anyway good job on completing it, was a hard day on the bike whoever you are. Must have been tough with the mechanical and the broom wagon breathing down your neck.
Thanks Sorely, awesome! Yeah totally different beast to a single ride up the alp on zwift ahah. Tough day, great experience 😁
We were staying in Le Bourg-d'Oisans that weekend and cycled La Bérarde away from the Etape closed roads, it was so hot.
So to accomplish the Etape on that route in that heat my hat goes off to you, Chapaeu!👋
Thanks so much Paul! I bet that was a nice trip for you :D such a great place to ride. Have you done the Etape before?
No, it was my first time in the Alps. Signed up for the Etape next year!!
@@paullake4406 you have already signed up for it? 👏👏
Yeah, deposit paid. Just waiting for route confirmation, I like to have a challenge for the summer to focus my training. Did chase the sun this year before going to the Alp’s
@@paullake4406 awesome. Yeah it goes a long way for motivation and accountability!! Il have to take a look at that
I did it in 2019 (Albertville-Val Thorens) and the heat was brutal. I admit to cheating a bit to get in an earlier pen because I knew the heat would be an issue, and also, did not want to wait around for hours in the cool morning. If I were doing the ride by myself I would have started at dawn and it would have been much easier, rather than starting the final climb during the hottest part of the day...definitely type 3 fun....luckily I was able to do 2 "practice" rides in the Alps of the same length and similar total altitude so I knew what I was getting into, more or less.
Congrats on completing. It was a pretty brutal day. I also then had to make my way back to the Saint chaffey. Luckily 2 French people stopped in the car and asked if I was ok. I went no. So they gave us a lift up to the col du lautarent. Then had 20k cycle back to the accomadation
Awesome work 👏 oh man that is savage :( I wanted to sell my bike at the end not ride anymore 🤣🤣 we had a transfer back to briancon which took hours!! Got back at 2.30am or something
@@alexreaderI was back at 7:30. There was a few cyclist cycling back. My problem was a lack of sleep and food before the event.
Yeah, took us 4 hours to get home. 38 miles to next place after Briancon. Just made it into McDonalds for some shockingly bad food at 22:58. Some behind us were turned away. Our big plans for a nice meal and beers was up in smoke. Lesson learned, stay at the finish.
@@martywild8200 I feel the pain, so jealous you got a Mcdonald 🤣 a far way to travel though. Everything was shut by the time we got back 😭 luckily I had a pack of jelly snakes left ha. We to were massively looking forward to getting some good food and drink at the end. Sadly we spent the evening in the taxi ha. Didn't get back until about 1.30/2am. Definitely lesson learnt
Bloody hell, and we thought getting back at midnight was bad. Felt so bad for the other riders getting told they couldn’t get any thing to eat at McDonalds. I’d hesitate to call it food haha
We did have a few beers and a bit of food in the fridge.
9hrs! Well done. Stay right :)
Cheers, you to!:D
well done, did this too and can relate to your suffering and the heat......
🤣🥵 Good work! Enjoy it? In some form 🤣
Congratulations on getting that route done, Global. Definitely cooked me well.
Terrific Video Alex. This was THE Hardest (of 7) etape's I have done. I am Curious to know what brakes you are using. I have Sram Red AXS and experienced the same front brake issue. My front rotor is discoloured from the heat. We clocked 80+kph on the descents ... yes i was pedalling at times.
Thanks Chris, really appreciate it! :D 7 that's a load, impressive stuff. Glad this one was considered one of the harder ones because I definitely felt it ha. That's interesting, that does sound similar. I'm using shimano ultregra disc brakes
So I did sign up for Etape for 2023. Looks hard but easier than 2022.
Ah man excited for you!! Looks amazing. You never know the conditions might change things 🤣 Good amount of time to train though 💪
Some serious salt at 8:20 yikes! great effort....the mountains are so much harder than on a virtual trainer especially with heat thrown in.
Ha thanks Mark!! If I think about it I can still feel the salt depletion and cramping now 🤣🤣 I was thinking about it today actually, since doing it I haven't compared my time up the alp in real life to the one on zwift, but i do have both segments now ha
I was there as well and sadly decided to dip out at the bottom of Croix de Fer as the broom wagon was only 10 minutes behind me! I felt ok about dropping out there as I have not been able to do the training that I would normally have done due to medical issues over the past six months. Like you, I didn't want to kill myself on a bike! I would also echo the thoughts of Mark Edington in that the logistics for the event were awful, especially if you were staying at Alpe du Huez ie up at 2.30am with a start time of 8.30am. I also thought that instead of going down to Briancon to collect registration documents the day before you could have elected to have them available at Alpe Du Heuz which would have saved 5 hours in the coach between the two resorts. At the good old age of 69 I will not be riding this event again!
You probably dropped out at exactly the right time, the croix de fer was brutal with the heat. Sorry to hear that, at least you gave it a go but made a sensible decision. We aren't pros so you want to enjoy it somewhat! Yeah I felt for those staying in alp d'Huez, logistics were a nightmare.
Great video, do you know what pace the broom waggon is?
Thanks Joe! I did look this up before the ride but I can't actually remember now. I did find some useful info on Google about it prior to the event. I remember it not sounding to fast but you can get caught out in the uphill because it just goes a consistent pace. It might be around 15mph
Congratulations on getting that monstrous and iconic ride done. Was the dinosaur/T-Rex still there after Turn 18?
Thanks Neal, did you do it? I don't remember seeing one but I was definitely in my own world around there 🤣
@@alexreader Yep. Took me 2 hours longer than I had planned. Something about a 17.5 mile long hill (Croix de Fer) slowed me down a lot. I made sure to video the dinosaur dude. He must have been out there for 3 hours cheering us on by the time I came past. The spectator support of the Alpe d'Huez was amazing and a blessing.
@@CoachNealF yeah I felt the exact same after the croix du fer. Loved all of the supports, really motivating and helpful at points for sure. I did see a couple of mankinis 🤣
@@CoachNealF good work 👏
@@alexreader Thanks. Hardest bike ride ever. Regarding mankinis, that's a nope for me. LOL!
Apparently my previous post ended up in the twilight zone somewhere..🤷♂️😆. But anyway. WOW!! What an awesome experience! How does one even register for such an event? I was totally clueless about the event and actually thought it was an internet experience lol..I was also curious if in your Zwift training, do you set the trainer difficulty to 100% or leave it at the default of 50%.? I just recently increased mine to 75% and it was an eye opener when I went up the Alpe. I’m guessing that using it at 100% is more realistic to the incline percentages in real life. Any thoughts?
Thanks James, I hate it when that happens ha. It was amazing! You just register through the website but I think you have to be pretty on it with when the tickets are released, it sold out super quickly. Luckily I knew someone that managed to get us early registration. I've been thinking about trainer difficulty a lot now since I've done it. Were you much slower at 75% compared to 50%? I guess in theory it's the same you just have to shift less. Although I think there is a point on the alp where it's such high gradients you have to put out a high level of power just to keep going. Making it harder to pace things and keep it steady. It's gotta be more realistic on 100% and you get to feel the proper gradients but maybe the outcome is a similar time, just more lumpy experience ha.
@@alexreader thanks for the info. I’ll keep a closer eye on it for next year👍 I find the difference at 75% was just needing to shift differently and now I’m tempted to just go to 100% to get the real pain effect 😆
@@hammmer55 Yeah do it!! Have you cycled in France before? aha exactly you might as well, and I should probably do the same. Sub 60 mins up the alp at 100% would be good
@@alexreader make it a challenge at 100%..😆😩 . Never cycled outside of the US. But I’m hoping to change that next year….👍
@@hammmer55 🤣 let's do it. You first! Awesome 👀
Had the best day of my life out there, nothing can prepare you for the carnage. I too fell foul of just how much harder CDF was than on paper. What does the Broom Wagon look like? Before going out I read a stat that 33% don’t finish and couldn’t imagine them all going into the Broom Wagon. Now realise they have the stops along the way where you can get picked up from and that the BW doesn’t have to transport thousands of people. I’d definitely do it again, I know what I did right, I know where I went wrong.
It was an amazing day right!! Yea I had a similar picture in mind but there was just a car with a massive timer on top driving really slow. I'm pretty sure that was it because come the end everyone was sprinting past it at the finish line trying to beat it.
That’s interesting, in my mind I had pictured a convoy of buses.
Was incredible out there, could have done with lopping 10-15c off the temperature though :)
@@martywild8200 yeah so did I ha. That might have been behind but didn't see it! Definitely it would have made such a difference
Having thought about it, most stop at the points for pick up along the route I guess.
@@martywild8200 yeah I guess that's the easiest place to drop out if you need to
Well done. Marmotte next year then to do it the other way round ?
Cheers Simon! haha, one of my clients did the marmotte this year and I have to say it looked harder than the etape. Could be on the to do list! Have you done the marmotte?
@@alexreader yes I’ve done Marmotte 11 times. Very poor finish time of 10 hours 40 minutes this year, super hot like the Etape seemed to be. I’ll keep trying for a gold time. You should definitely do it once
@@simonworsley8631 11 times!! That's super impressive ha. 👏💪Whats a gold time!?
@@alexreader thanks ! for my 40s age group it’s 8 hours 39. I got within 13 minutes on a hot day in 2019 but faffed at feed stops late on and over heated. 30s age group is 8 hours 13 and 20s is around 7 hours 52 (I think). I’ll keep on trying ! I need everything to be perfect but we don’t get many days like that 😬
@@simonworsley8631👏 wow thats tough! Yeah if you have any mechanical issues or anything it's game over unless you are super strong 💪great goal to have. Might be able to get fit enough, whilst I wait for a slower bracket 🤣
ᵖʳᵒᵐᵒˢᵐ
Disk breaks are pure garbage.
The big debate ha! I like both personally. Rim breaks are definitely easier to fix ha