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Alpe D' Huez Tri and racing at altitude
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I'm registered for the long course this coming summer, and started to do a little reading on racing at altitude...after registering. My current plan has me arriving late Monday with the race taking place Thursday, and staying in the village on the Alpe. However, I've read a few articles stating that within this window you might experience more fatigue, less acclimation, etc., vs someone who shows up within 24hrs of the race. That said, I'll be going up and down the mountain before the race to be a tourist and get in some rides - so a lot of my time won't be spent at altitude.

Just looking for some thoughts on whether I would be better off staying in Bourg D'Oisans, or if because I'm coming and going + the race is not all at altitude since we go up and down the cols, if this is something I don't need to be concerned about.

Appreciate any insights.
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Re: Alpe D' Huez Tri and racing at altitude [MustGoFaster] [ In reply to ]
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I went to the Alps this year for a few days and I'll be doing the Medium distance tri there next year. I had no issues on the Alpe d'Huez climb but the long climb of the Télégraphe and Galibier I did notice that from 18-1900m my heart rate was getting quite a bit higher for the same power (Z2 power but tempo heart rate). Once we descended via the Lautaret, things were back to normal.

We're staying in Bourg d'Oisans as well since it's close to the start of the race and driving took quite a while with all the mountain passes and smaller roads. During my trip this year I was staying in Vaujany which is also still close.
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Re: Alpe D' Huez Tri and racing at altitude [Tri_Joeri] [ In reply to ]
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Thanks for the feedback.

I wonder as well what does spending limited time at altitude do to help someone acclimate? There is an altitude training Center in Toronto that sets the elevation at varying levels and you can workout at those elevations. I’m just not sure the value of say an hour per week and how that might help acclimation.
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Re: Alpe D' Huez Tri and racing at altitude [MustGoFaster] [ In reply to ]
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As you say, much of the race is at lower elevations. The course tops out at 1970 metres on the run. By any measure, that's not exactly extreme altitude when it comes to either racing or training.

Personally, I wouldn't worry at all. Just race hard and soak up the experience of racing on some iconic roads among some majestic scenery.

It's bound to be an event to remember.
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Re: Alpe D' Huez Tri and racing at altitude [satanellus] [ In reply to ]
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satanellus wrote:
As you say, much of the race is at lower elevations. The course tops out at 1970 metres on the run. By any measure, that's not exactly extreme altitude when it comes to either racing or training.

Personally, I wouldn't worry at all. Just race hard and soak up the experience of racing on some iconic roads among some majestic scenery.

It's bound to be an event to remember.

Fully agreed on this - still trying to understand if there is any potential impact to performance by staying/sleeping at elevation for a few nights or remaining in the valley apart from rides up to elevation.
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Re: Alpe D' Huez Tri and racing at altitude [MustGoFaster] [ In reply to ]
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Every time I have raced at Lake Tahoe, I have showed up inside 24 hrs of the race start, raced and come back down.

The entire run at Alpe d'Huez is lower than Tahoe and other than the final 25% of the bike and the run the rest of the race is at much lower altitude (I believe Bourg d'Oisans is about 700m, so a bit lower than St. George Utah if that provides any context).

When I have gone over to bike in the Hautes Alpes, the altitude does not bother me until I get above 1500m.

I say show up shortly before or show up 14 days before. The in between is not really ideal. For reference I live at sea level
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Re: Alpe D' Huez Tri and racing at altitude [MustGoFaster] [ In reply to ]
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I don't think working out at altitude 1x per week for an hour has as much impact as sleeping at altitude daily (altitude tent but that's a bit of overkill for a race like this). In theory you want to sleep high, train low to get max benefits
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Re: Alpe D' Huez Tri and racing at altitude [devashish_paul] [ In reply to ]
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devashish_paul wrote:
Every time I have raced at Lake Tahoe, I have showed up inside 24 hrs of the race start, raced and come back down.

The entire run at Alpe d'Huez is lower than Tahoe and other than the final 25% of the bike and the run the rest of the race is at much lower altitude (I believe Bourg d'Oisans is about 700m, so a bit lower than St. George Utah if that provides any context).

When I have gone over to bike in the Hautes Alpes, the altitude does not bother me until I get above 1500m.

I say show up shortly before or show up 14 days before. The in between is not really ideal. For reference I live at sea level

Arrival is planned for the Monday, race is the Thursday...so I feel this really falls in the in between as you mentioned. I think staying at the top would be nice, but I wouldn't want to go all that way and damage my race based on where I slept. I'm at sea level as well.
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Re: Alpe D' Huez Tri and racing at altitude [MustGoFaster] [ In reply to ]
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I’m in the Midwest and raced IM Boulder 3x. The few pieces of advice about altitude racing is that you will likely dehydrate more easily (certainly in the arid climate of Colorado, not sure about the Alpes), and you should think about sunscreen more if you’re prone to burning since there is less atmosphere shielding you.
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Re: Alpe D' Huez Tri and racing at altitude [MustGoFaster] [ In reply to ]
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I've done the race.
The altitude is not high enough to be an issue.
Driving up and down the alpe road is a pain in the ass.
Stay up in the village on AdH. You can ride your bike to the start without pedaling, although I think they have shuttles now, and walk back to your room after.
The atmosphere in the village is really cool.

As race experiences go, it is probably at the top of the list. Better than Roth? Maybe.

Oh, and bring a big granny gear. 3200m in 120km is no joke.
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Re: Alpe D' Huez Tri and racing at altitude [MustGoFaster] [ In reply to ]
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Pure optimality for race performance considering only altitude: stay at lower altitude if arriving 3 days before. Ride course as you like.

Real-world optimality: whatever is easiest and the most enjoyable matters. If no difference, stay low, and meander and be a tourist up high for fun, but sleep/live low for those 3 days. If there's a logistical difference or QoL difference as a few folks have suggested, it might just make sense to stay higher for ease/QoL improvement.

Add salt to your diet for those 3 days regardless. Don't stop adding salt until you're done racing. Drink to thirst leading up to race. Stick to whatever your plan is for race fuel & hydration. Drinking to thirst while adding salt pre-race will stave off any altitude related water loss because thirst will modestly increase due to increased salt. Altitude-induced water loss is a primary factor contributing to the performance drop in that dreaded 2-10 day window of arriving at altitude for a race.

Dr. Alex Harrison | Founder & CEO | Sport Physiology & Performance PhD
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Re: Alpe D' Huez Tri and racing at altitude [NordicSkier] [ In reply to ]
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NordicSkier wrote:
I've done the race.
The altitude is not high enough to be an issue.
Driving up and down the alpe road is a pain in the ass.
Stay up in the village on AdH. You can ride your bike to the start without pedaling, although I think they have shuttles now, and walk back to your room after.
The atmosphere in the village is really cool.

As race experiences go, it is probably at the top of the list. Better than Roth? Maybe.

Oh, and bring a big granny gear. 3200m in 120km is no joke.

Thanks for the insights - in terms of the granny gear I will need to rent a bike since I'm travelling after the race and can't bring mine. I believe at one of the shops they offer a 50-34 option.

Question on power. How did you manage it for this course in terms of AP/NP with the climbing vs descending. I have no clue how to target riding the course, and just how much power is needed on the downhills - is it coasting, soft pedaling, in between. Any thoughts on this would be great.
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Re: Alpe D' Huez Tri and racing at altitude [DrAlexHarrison] [ In reply to ]
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DrAlexHarrison wrote:
Pure optimality for race performance considering only altitude: stay at lower altitude if arriving 3 days before. Ride course as you like.

Real-world optimality: whatever is easiest and the most enjoyable matters. If no difference, stay low, and meander and be a tourist up high for fun, but sleep/live low for those 3 days. If there's a logistical difference or QoL difference as a few folks have suggested, it might just make sense to stay higher for ease/QoL improvement.

Add salt to your diet for those 3 days regardless. Don't stop adding salt until you're done racing. Drink to thirst leading up to race. Stick to whatever your plan is for race fuel & hydration. Drinking to thirst while adding salt pre-race will stave off any altitude related water loss because thirst will modestly increase due to increased salt. Altitude-induced water loss is a primary factor contributing to the performance drop in that dreaded 2-10 day window of arriving at altitude for a race.

Thanks for the additional real world vs optimal considerations - and the salt. As another poster mentioned I'd seen some things about hydration, but not the salt portion. Any further information in terms of how much salt is recommended, total increase, etc?
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Re: Alpe D' Huez Tri and racing at altitude [MustGoFaster] [ In reply to ]
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MustGoFaster wrote:
Thanks for the insights - in terms of the granny gear I will need to rent a bike since I'm travelling after the race and can't bring mine. I believe at one of the shops they offer a 50-34 option.

Question on power. How did you manage it for this course in terms of AP/NP with the climbing vs descending. I have no clue how to target riding the course, and just how much power is needed on the downhills - is it coasting, soft pedaling, in between. Any thoughts on this would be great.

The year I did it I asked the men's winner what his gearing was and he did 39-25 as his granny.
I had 36-28 and it cracked me.

From my memory
The first 30km is mostly flat and fast along the valley. This is the only part of the day where I wished I had aero bars.
Alpe du Grande Serre is long but not super steep
The descent after is mostly just steady riding with the one small bump with the Malissol.
Then you start the long steady ascent through the valley to the base of Cold d'Ornon, and the day I did it really got warm.
It's not a particularly hard climb but I started to crack a bit in there because you've been gaining altitude throughout the entire valley.
The descent to Bourg d'oisans is SUPER FAST and sometimes technical. Try not go over a cliff edge.
AdH cracked me BAD. It was 30C, no wind, I went a bit too hard early, and I didn't have the gears.
There is very little shade on that climb.
Oh, and I had no idea how insanely hard the first 2km was, it just kicks immediately.

Anyways, maybe not that helpful, as my day was a bit of shit show. I came around on the run I guess.
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Re: Alpe D' Huez Tri and racing at altitude [NordicSkier] [ In reply to ]
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NordicSkier wrote:
MustGoFaster wrote:

Thanks for the insights - in terms of the granny gear I will need to rent a bike since I'm travelling after the race and can't bring mine. I believe at one of the shops they offer a 50-34 option.

Question on power. How did you manage it for this course in terms of AP/NP with the climbing vs descending. I have no clue how to target riding the course, and just how much power is needed on the downhills - is it coasting, soft pedaling, in between. Any thoughts on this would be great.


The year I did it I asked the men's winner what his gearing was and he did 39-25 as his granny.
I had 36-28 and it cracked me.

From my memory
The first 30km is mostly flat and fast along the valley. This is the only part of the day where I wished I had aero bars.
Alpe du Grande Serre is long but not super steep
The descent after is mostly just steady riding with the one small bump with the Malissol.
Then you start the long steady ascent through the valley to the base of Cold d'Ornon, and the day I did it really got warm.
It's not a particularly hard climb but I started to crack a bit in there because you've been gaining altitude throughout the entire valley.
The descent to Bourg d'oisans is SUPER FAST and sometimes technical. Try not go over a cliff edge.
AdH cracked me BAD. It was 30C, no wind, I went a bit too hard early, and I didn't have the gears.
There is very little shade on that climb.
Oh, and I had no idea how insanely hard the first 2km was, it just kicks immediately.

Anyways, maybe not that helpful, as my day was a bit of shit show. I came around on the run I guess.

Noted on the gearing - the one bike shop offers an 11-34, if that doesn't save me nothing will. It's good for me to understand that the downhill sections mostly still need to be ridden, apart from maybe that final descent. If you did it again would you consider clip on aero bars for the flat/steady sections?
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Re: Alpe D' Huez Tri and racing at altitude [MustGoFaster] [ In reply to ]
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Yes, clip-ons would be really helpful the first 30km and through the middle section from Malissol to the base of Ornon.
I would say almost half the race you could be in the bars depending on your confidence in some of the faster sections.
You see all types of bike setups at this race from full on TT rigs with discs to bare bones road rigs.
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Re: Alpe D' Huez Tri and racing at altitude [NordicSkier] [ In reply to ]
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NordicSkier wrote:
Yes, clip-ons would be really helpful the first 30km and through the middle section from Malissol to the base of Ornon.
I would say almost half the race you could be in the bars depending on your confidence in some of the faster sections.
You see all types of bike setups at this race from full on TT rigs with discs to bare bones road rigs.

Thanks again
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Re: Alpe D' Huez Tri and racing at altitude [MustGoFaster] [ In reply to ]
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A couple thousand mg per day on top of normal consumption. FYI: Sodium Citrate has about 1000mg sodium per tsp. Table salt is about 2000mg sodium per tsp. Either can be added to beverages. Salting food heavily might not get you there.

Dr. Alex Harrison | Founder & CEO | Sport Physiology & Performance PhD
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
📱 Check out our app → Saturday: Pro Fuel & Hydration, a performance nutrition coach in your pocket.
Join us on YouTube → Saturday Morning | Ride & Run Faster and our growing Saturday User Hub
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