Finally got the opportunity to knock off a bucket list item of climbing Alpe d’Huez. Added on the climb up to Col du Serenne on the back end. Man, that downhill from Sarenne was no joke. It was epic!
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Hey is the last picture on the exit of the Sarennes decent near the base of the Les Deux Alpes climb (Lac du Chambon) ? Its an awesome spot! I may go next summer during the last week of the TdF(hopefully the tour is actually not running thru there at the time as it makes the riding insane) and end up in Paris for the final stage (and just watch…no personal cycling)
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Yes, that’s the spot. Didn’t spend much time there other than to snap a pic or two but it was quite scenic.
Were you staying down in Bourg D’Oisins? I love the ride back down from Barrage du Chambon back down to the village through the ravine and tunnels. Your post got me looking at flights for next summer!!! I was there 1984, 2004, 2007, 2015, 2016. I went to Paris for last weekend of Olympics this year but wishing I had gone for some cycling too
Yes, riding through that tunnel was pretty trippy.
Did you rent a bike or ship yours out? This is a bucket list item for me as well.
I did the Alp D’Huez Triathlon last year and rented a bike.
I then did a 2 week cycling tour through the alps, again I rented a bike.
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Can you post a race report from Alpe d’Huez tri. I likely will go to Paris for final stage of TdF and I just pulled out of IM Canada Ottawa (home race) so this frees up potentially trying ADH long course if my body can handle the trail run at altitude!!! But its gotta be easier than an Ironman
No race report, but here are some tips.
Stay at the top of D’Huez so you dont have to get down the mountain after the race before collapsing into bed.
The water is very, very cold. As soon as I entered the water both calves cramped and my breathing/heart rate went sky high. I had sit on a rock for about 10 minutes to stop the cramp and get my breathing down. There was probably 25 people doing the same. Try to do some cold water acclimatisation before the race.
I rented a road bike with a 34 on the back. I would not recommend a TT bike. Clip on aero bars might have a small benefit on the flatter sections.
Pace yourself getting to Alp D’Huez. There is ~2000m of elevation gain getting to Alp D’Huez. You need to conserve some energy to get up Alp D’Huez. On every hair pin turn there was people trying to stretch out cramps, laying on the ground exhausted, pushing their bike, vomiting, …
The run, because of the elevation, is tough. There is a very steep section near the airport that you run down which is hard on the quads.
The day I did the race it was hot. I drank both bidens and had to go about 30 minutes without water to the next aid station. Consider taking 3 bidens.
After the race take the opportunity to ride some of the TDF epic climbs like Col Du Gladon, Col du Lautaret, Col du Galibier which are all close to Alp D’Huez. I did a 10 day cycling tour after the race.
My race time was about 1.5 hours shorter than my IM time. So it isn’t much easier than an IM.