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Alpe D’Huez Long course Triathlon
By CoachKev | Published | No Comments
The Race:
Alpe D’Huez Long course Triathlon, 28th July 2016, l’Oisan, Rhone Alpes, France
Background:
A plan was hatched around December 2015 for a holiday in France to take in the Tour de France. It just so happened that there was an epic triathlon race on a couple of hours further south while we were out there – the Alpe d’Huez long course. Mr previous race experience was limited to some adventure racing type events, and the City to Summit iron distance (completed over 2 days with the swim and cycle on day 1 and run on day 2). So maybe the Alpe D’huez was a questionable choice for my first tri, but I like a challenge. I decided to get my act together in early 2016, entered the race and joined E#3 shortly after.
This was the eleventh running of the event and has definitely become a destination race for many. The long course part was part of a 4 day programme of races including a duathlon, children’s races, and a short course. The long course and short course both attract a large international entry of 1000+. For anyone that hasn’t been, the area is a bit of Mecca for cyclists, with famous Tour de France climbs around every corner. The race bike route takes in the Cat 1 Alpe du Grand Serre, Cat 2 Col du Ornon, and the infamous Haute Category Alpe d’Huez.
Logistics/ Registration/ Pre -start:
We travelled to France by car, so that made the logistics pretty easy (aside from the long drive). The race was on the Thursday. The expo and registration opened on the Monday, and it was possible to register on Tuesday or Wednesday for the race on Thursday. We were staying in the valley near Bourg d’Oisan, but the main event village was in the main Alpe d’Huez resort up at ~2000m. We took a drive up to the registration on the Wednesday in the Alpe’ dHuez resort. The registration process was well organised, and very accommodating for the very international field of entrants.
Fortunately for me, I got a lift to the start on the Thursday morning and the organisers provided a kit transfer to T2 for running kit and wetsuit etc after the swim. The alternative was to leave a car at T2 in Alpe d’Huez and to cycle 40 mins down to the start at the Lac du Verney (almost all downhill).
The officials were out in force checking all brakes, helmets and bib numbers etc before letting competitors into the T1 area. We arrived at around 8.30. Race briefing was 9.00 and race start 9.30. All very efficient. The race briefing was provided in English, French, Spanish and Dutch, so pretty much covered all the bases. Key points I took from the briefing were that the water temp was to be very cold (16 degrees C – not really that cold!), and they emphasised the penalties for drafting on the bike etc. The only pre-start issue I could see was that they had put on plenty urinals for the blokes but only 6 toilets for more than 1000 competitors – and apparently limited loo roll…
The Swim – 2.2 km:
I had planned to do a 10-15 min warm up; however by the time everyone had filed into the water down the prepared carpeted entry it was less than 5 mins until the start. I only just about had time to swim 
to the back of the field before the gun went! This was my second mass swim start. I now really understand what ‘the washing machine’ effect is. It took me most of the first lap to calm down and get into something of a rhythm. I got very tight on the first turn and regretted it as everyone piled over me. The second lap was much more relaxed, with more space, and I enjoyed the fact I was swimming in a stunning location in clear fresh water with the sun shining. The swim exit was fine with a marshal there to steady me and give me a shove up the steep exit. Swim complete in about 44 mins, not fast, but I survived. My garmin suggests it was more like 2.5 km. Placed 408 overall – so middle (ish) of the pack. Said hello to my friend in transition, just slightly ahead of me in getting out on to the bike.
The Cycle – 120 km:
I had mentally broken the post-swim part of the race down into three parts. Part 1 cycle to Alpe d’Huez. Part 2 cycle up Alpe d’Huez saving enough for the run. Part 3. 22km run at the top of Alpe Dd’Huez. In reality, it was quite a hard day out even to get to the bottom of the Alpe d’Huez.
The first 26 km was a fast, false flat downhill and felt really easy. It was tricky to avoid getting too close to other competitors but I did my best to avoid drafting. I quickly caught up with my friend who said he had already seen the officials handing out a 5 min penalty for drafting. Noted. The climb up the Alpe du Grand Serre was from 26 km to 40 km. I was very conscious not to expend too much energy on the first climb and tried to keep my heart rate under control. A quick stop at the summit to top off my water and I was on my way. I really enjoyed the next section and picked up a lot of places on the decent which took us to just beyond Valbonnais at around 70 km (time check 3hrs 42). It was starting to heat up now, but the fast pace and stunning views on the decent were a good distraction. I was careful to take on plenty food, taking a gel every 30 mins, supplemented by some savoury stuff at the feed stop in Valbonnais. From Valbonnais we eased into the Cat 2 Col du Ornon. The climb was long at 22 km, but didn’t really register as a proper climb in terms of gradient until the last 3 or 4 km. The whole climb was south facing and very hot. The decent down to the foot of Alpe d’huez was another corker – 15 km screaming down alpine roads at 70+ kph – brilliant fun! I do have a vague recollection of the organisers saying that it was a pretty technical decent. I ignored that and around 5 km into the decent I overcooked it on a corner, locking up my back wheel and sliding across the road. Thankfully I slowed down enough not to go beyond the barrier. Lesson learned – I took it a bit easier from that point on and started to think about Alpe d’Huez.
The climb up to Alpe d’Huez (101 km – 120 km) was everything I expected and some more. The heat was stifling at the bottom at around 36 degrees C. The first six or seven switchbacks (21 – 16) were really tough. The climbing was relentless. By the time I got to bend 7 everything wanted to cramp. My cadence was far too low (in the 60s) and I was in the 34/28 ratio with nowhere to go. My mate hired a bike locally which had a triple and lowest ratio of 30/30, which I laughed at. The guy in the bike shop pointed that everyone laughs when they pick the bike up but said I would be wishing for a triple come race day. He was right! Luckily our supporters were stopping every few corners to cheer us on, which lifted spirits and kept me going. The gradients got tougher again towards the end, and to make matters worse the summit of the tour de france climb came 2.5 km before the end of the triathlon climb! Anyway, it felt realty nice to cross over the famous summit. Bike complete in 5hrs 52 – I took 1hr 30 for the final climb, placed 389 overall. Pre-race I was hoping for 5 hrs 30 for the bike, so not too bad if I could hold it together for the run.
The run – 21km:
Pre-race I was hoping/planning to do the run in under 2 hrs. I was cramping in T2 though, so I knew I was in for a tough time. The course was 
made up of 3 laps of 7 km ish on a mixture of trail and roads – about 50:50. Surprisingly hilly. On the first lap I walked through each aid station, drinking coke and eating a bit of watermelon. By lap 2 I was walking through the aid stations and all of the hills. I felt broken. My heart rate was well within the aerobic zone, but I couldn’t catch my breath properly. I think the altitude (between 1800 and 2000 m) had something to do with it. Lap 2 was hard mentally – I was still looking at my watch getting annoyed at my slow pace. On lap 3 I relaxed little, knowing that I could crawl the last 7 km if I had to and still make it home before the cut off. I tried to push on a little and my hamstring cramped. So I continued with the walk up/run down strategy, coming down the finishing shoot in 2 hrs 19. 9 hours 6 mins overall, placed 427.
Post race: enjoyed a nice ice bath and some pasta from the organisers, followed by a nice celebratory meal, huge pizza and several beers. Happy days! With hindsight I would definitely do more bike work in preparation. I would probably have been happier with a 12-30 or 11-32T cassette on the bike too, but the main thing was my fitness and conditioning could have been better. It was difficult to train for the heat, the climbs and the altitude on a time poor training plan; but I got around in one piece and my first triathlon will be always be a memorable one!
