Marmotte 2010

Can you ride La Marmotte having had only one hour of sleep due to a dodgy stomach? The short answer, for me, is “No”, but you can have a good go!

The last thing I remembered was looking at my phone display and thinking “Hmm, 04:40, that’s going to make getting up at 05:50 a bit tricky”. I managed it though, and slowly began to feel vaguely human whilst sharing breakfast and the usual pre-ride bike chat with Paul, Mark and John.

The screaming descent of the Alpe is easily the best part of the ride (well, pre-ride really) and in 20 minutes we were down in Bourg d’Oisans and queuing with thousands of other riders for our 07:30 departure slot. There was a palpable nervous tension in the air, along with the smell of a thousand early morning bowels and the sound of several hundred throats being cleared. I’d forgotten what a disgusting sound and smell a large group of cyclists makes! Normally I’d have felt more repelled but in my near-comotose state I felt strangely relaxed. My plan was to ride to the top of the Glandon and stop for a while, prior to descending (back the way I had come) to Bourg and climbing the Alpe with the aim of being in bed by early lunchtime.

Funnily enough I enjoyed the Glandon so much that I descended the ‘neutralised’ section without a second thought and found myself in a large group speeding along the valley floor to the base of the Telegraphe. Right, I thought, that’s it, I’ve committed now!

The Telegraphe seemed much easier this time and I started to enjoy myself. The gradient was consistent and there was plenty of shade to reduce the effect of the (by now) 30 degree heat. No stopping at the top, straight down onto the base of the Galibier.

Hmmm, Galibier, you were as tough as I remember. Not stopping at the top for a breather may have been a mistake, for on the descent I started to feel really sick and lightheaded. As we all descended into the warm valley air on the run back to Bourg I felt close to nodding off, then started shaking and realised that there was no way I was going to attempt the Alpe in this state. Food wasn’t helping, for this wasn’t carb-depleted bonking but sleep deprivation pulling cotton wool down over my head. With a heavy heart I abandoned at Bourg and sat in the shade of a tree for an hour (by now it was 38 degrees) waiting for Mark to come and pick me up. My one consolation was that this year I had cycled the whole of the Alpe climb the day before (only spinning, but still a good climb) so I was, in a way, a two day Marmotte randonneur!

Looking back I’m not that unhappy with my ride bearing in mind that I wasn’t in good shape on the day. I crested the Glandon on the 2hr mark, reached the peak of the Telegraphe around 4hrs 30mins and went over the top of the Galibier at 6hrs 30 mins. I think I was on target to get in well under 10hrs until it all went pear-shaped on the Galibier descent. But finishing’s what matters, and I didn’t. Ho hum…