Michael Novo

Anyone heading to Nice for this ride? I registered a couple months ago when pre-regs opened up. The entire ride seemed to sell out in just one day. Going to be tough and a long way to go in training and weight loss but should be enough time to get ready...hopefully

SpinClassSara

Oooooo I'm sure it will be awesome!!! Take lots of picture, ok?

ridelikeaturtle

I'm doing it. I understood it sold out within an hour, and I think it's 15K + cyclists. Being a start/finish in Nice, and not a point-to-point and having to ferry back and forth, made it very attractive.

The biggest concern I have will be the heat. It could be very hot and oppressive. But it should be an outstanding atmosphere.

Michael Novo

Well I need to cut about 40lbs so before I can worry about the heat, I'll focus on that Do you stay nearby and rent or simply do the RV / camping style?

ridelikeaturtle

Found a place not far from Nice and may cycle in to the start.

KenBrown

I am also registered for L'Etape du Tour 2020, I was able to hook up with a French charity, I raised money for them and they secured a bib number for me.
I'm most concerned about climbing up the mountains. I live in the southeast usa and we don't really have any mountains like that to train on.

Does anyone have an idea of how tough the time limits will be to stay ahead of? I've heard that in past years they had to pull a ton of folks off the course because they didn't make the time cutoffs.

Michael Novo

Same here. Working on cutting weight for this which should be doable. I put myself in the slowest group and I think the max time is 11 hours if I recall correctly.

one4smoke

How about he Appalachian Mountains?

KenBrown

I plan on some weekend trips to the Appalachians for some climbing.

Can someone post a link to the time limits? I haven't seen anything.

thanks

-Ken

dipaolom

I also signed up. I'm thinking that the key will be a conservative pace and FUELLING. I bought a power meter just to understand what I can sustain over time (Assioma Uno, by the way...an awesome product. Highly recommended). It's humbling because according to what my power meter is telling me, I have a tiny engine (about a 208 FTP). I hate to think I need to maintain 140 watts the whole time (if that's even possible).

But anyway, as I'm preparing I'm researching fuelling strategies and I'm eating more in my training rides....it has made a HUGE difference. One gel per hour just doesn't cut it, boys and girls.

ridelikeaturtle

I hate to pour water on this event, but keep your eyes peeled for a cancellation notification due to COVID19.

Currently, everyone in France is required to have paperwork to *go outside their house*. They're getting stopped at checkpoints to validate their purpose for violating the lockdown.

I expect it to get worse before it gets worse, and I expect it to last well into the summer. I cannot envision a scenario where >15,000 cyclists descend upon Nice for a one-day event, as there are going to be significant knock-on effects all summer.

dipaolom

Surely we will be past this by July. Surely.

KenBrown

This year the 7th stage of Paris Nice, (which ended up being the last stage after they shortened it), finished on top of Col De La Colmiane which is the first big climb for E'Tape this year. It was really cool and a bit scary to watch the pros climb up this 16k road on my TV in my comfortable den. The views were spectacular although it will be hard to enjoy the views while actually climbing, it was a little visual taste of the route and it was really fun to watch. The pro peloton made the climb look easy but the elevation profile makes me question my ability to get to the top and this is only the first of 3 big climbs!

I've been on a training plan preparing for E'Tape but 2 of the races I was registered for leading up to E'Tape have been canceled. The Croatan Buck Fifty was supposed to be last Saturday but was canceled, and The Looking Glass Tour which was scheduled for April 25th was canceled. It's not that easy to stay motivated right now with all that is going on (or more accurately - whats not going on). and the threat of E'Tape being canceled a very real possibility and maybe even a probability.

I'm hoping against hope that we can all get closer to the top of Col De La Colmiane then watching it on TV.

Stay safe and keep training for July 5th, just in case we get a miracle!

merlinextraligh

I’ve done L’etape. In my experience the time
limits are tight enough that not getting swept is an accomplishment. The year I did it, a guy my group who was a solid Cat 3 got swept.

As for preparing living in the flatlands, my take is still available at the blog
everest challangex2

merlinextraligh

not so sanguine. I’m signed up for Haute Route Alps in August. I’m betting thats no better than a 50-50 chance.

The Giro is already postponed. The TDF is flux. L’Etape is out on by the TDF guys. If the real tour is cancelled or postponed, no way L’Etape goes as
scheduled

ridelikeaturtle

Update on L'Etape du Tour 2020 in Nice...

https://tracking.news.aso.fr/mrx/7Gm...779467174.html