LA MARMOTTE

Don't let that Rutt'y take your last bar this time Dan ;-) Good luck to you all, fly the flag for VC Melyd...

Thanks Just,Not a bad plan there mate, I am ashamed to say I do like the odd Pot Noodle :) Chicken and Mushroom being the flavour of choice !Needless to say the approach to nutrition and hydration this year is somewhat less cavalier than last year. 

Tomorrow morning, bright and early !

"if he does his usual and sprints past with 250m to go we'll have words with him!".................250 Metres out, nah I wont go that early !  Probably wait till the last 50 Metres......Trust me though, if I see that finish line 250 metres ahead of me, I will be too relieved to sprint !!...... 

Glad my Lurvvve life keeps you amused LOLOh and while Im sunning me self in Mallorca I ponder the massive all Marm' folk are doing Well Done in Advance Im sure youll all get to the top!!!!!

Just read the update, well done guys, we were thinking of you! Enjoy the post ride fun!!

Wished i could of gone with you, but i was only on my 2nd ride with the club and mike was on his 1st when we heard talking about La Marmotte- had no idea what you were on about! Le Marmitte? I thought it was some secret cycling power food! Well done!

Firstly, well done to Al for his well deserved gold medal which he would have won last year but for illness. Dan has laid his demons and performed brilliantly under the pressure of having to succeed this time. Paul was outstanding and his dedication to training certainly paid off big style, well done mate. No amount of praise will dispel Mark's disappointment at not getting a time however the will he demonstrated to start (and finish) the final climb up to l'Alpe d'huez knowing that he was not going to get any reward for his efforts should act as an example to us all and is the first lesson to be learned from this trip. We all need mates like Mark.As for moi, well the day started with high expectations my heart was set on a gold and even though i kept it quiet, based on my efforts last year, I really thought I could do it. However, from the start things seemed to fall apart the Glandon was supposed to be a straight forward climb from which I intended to give myself a good time cushion by the summit. The congestion from the summit was such that you had to walk up the final straight and then fight your way thro to get water and food. Second lesson - if you are considering doing La Marmotte get your entry in early and avoid getting in the last starting group.My plan had to be reset, a silver was more likely now and I was happy to accept that as no mean achievement it also allowed me to indulge in Mark's company and assist him to a good time. Off we went, Mark's superlative descending skills separated us for a while until I caught up on the long valley straight up to the foot of the Telegraphe. I recorded 41C going up the Telegraphe, the tarmac was like syrup sticking to your tyres, amazing. That done I descended towards the feed station at Valloire where I would wait for Mark. By this stage the early starters Dan and Paul were topping the Galibier with Al not far behind having started with us. The skies up towards the Galibier went black, spectacular fork lightning and thunderbolts were accompanied by torrential rain. I took shelter and did some basic mountaineering calcs. The temp was now only 13C which meant thet at the col the air temp would be around 0C but with the glacial wind this would feel like -10C or less. Others persisted up the mountain. I explained my thoughts to Mark and suggested we sat out the storm in a cafe. We 'phoned Paul who was by now over the other side in glorious sunshine with Dan and Al. The storm continued and we lost the best part of 1.5 hours. Sag wagons with trailers passed us as we sat, riders were now coming back down the mountain, probably hypothermic. Third lesson - rwpect the mountain environment. We decided to give it a go. After a bit of a soaking the sun returned and we ascended the Galibier as the steam rose from the tarmac. The weather was now glorious and we started to enjoy ourselves. The views were magnificent, Mark took photographs and we passed remaining riders up to the col (over 2600m alt). We were unaware of the cut off time at the foot of alpe d'huez so Mark left me on the descent. we met up again at the foot of the Alpe, We were still oblivious to the time cut off of 6pm and by the time we had stopped eating it was just passed that time. Fourth Lesson - read the rules.They took off our transponders and that was that. Mark was understandably distraught, the thought of doing it all again ..well. Off he went, the thought of not finishing was a no brainer for him. I sat and pondered my situation. I've done this ,,do I need to do it again all for nothing? I phoned Al, and then Paul. Two things occurred to me, one I had the keys to my car which was at the top of the Alpe!! and two I felt as fresh as a daisy due to the rest we had during the storm. I decided to go and use Mark as a target, the challenge to catch him before the top became a very attractive one and would give me some reward for the day. We finished together both happier for different reasons. Fifth lesson - this event is not just about winning medals. I think Mark will be back and maybe me too. That's all!!

Great report John, I think you have beat my word count on that one !!  I agree with everything you said.  Obviously I know all too well the suffering that the Marmotte brings with it......It truly is without compare in anything that you can do on a bike in one day..... The thought of being at the bottom of the Alpe D'Huez, having been officially excluded from the results must have been absolutely gutting.  The instinct to save yourself further meaningless suffering on the last, speepest and arguably most painful mountain of the day must have been overwhelming, particularly as us others had gotten lucky with the weather were finished, dry, fed and resting in the competetitors area at the top and were preparing to go back to the hotel for showers and beer, collecting you two on the way and saving you any more torture.   To refuse the offer of a "get out of jail free card", look up that vertical cliff face at the village nearly a mile straight up in the sky, and think "Bo***ks to it, lets get this f****r climbed" then get back on your bikes and ride that bloody mountain just for pride and a refusal to be beaten and quit was a display of guts that I havent seen in very many people in my lifetime.  As thay say in the tour "Chapeau".  The Marmotte does not exist because of certificates, finish classifications or souveneir t-shirts.  It exists because of 4 massive 10 billion year old mountains that loom over the region that some french nutcase said he could ride his bike over in one day, and challenged others to have a try and see if they could.  Which is exactly what you two did...............And if anyone says different or takes the piss, just give them the link to the 2010 entry form :)