There are four key features in the Etape du Tour. To maximize your chances, it is worth training in all four aspects. They are:

(1) Distance.
Could you do 150 miles in a day? Perhaps you have already. If not, you may need to build up your distance before attempting a ride of this length. You will be amazed at what you can achieve! In my monthly training notes I will describe how to build up your miles in a well paced way month by month.

I would suggest doing at least two well planned 150 mile rides before the Etape. To make it more interesting, you could cycle to visit a friend or relative who lives about 75 miles away, and do a return trip. Or you could plan an interesting route – preferably with a climb, and preferably down hill on the way home! Stow on the Wold via the Vale of the White Horse was my choice for my first 100 mile ride.

Start early in the morning, at first light, and plan to be back before dark. Plan a café stop in the morning and afternoon, with a good lunch stop. Rests are in order at about hourly intervals, of about five minutes if you need them. Ride a bit below your normal short distance speed – for example if you normally ride at 15mph, 12 – 13mph might be about right.

Extremely long distances are obviously best not attempted in mid winter when the daylight hours are short. As the evenings become lighter, you will be able to build up your distance in a planned way. If you happen to live in the Southern Hemisphere, this won't work!

If possible it is useful to have someone available as a rescue service if you are doing a long ride alone. Choose a time when a close friend with a car and a phone is home all day anyway!

(2) Speed.
You don’t need to go terribly fast to do the Etape du Tour. However this year a minimum average speed of nearly 12mph is required to complete the course within the time limit.

There is also a minimum speed of 30Kph set for the first 30Km. The course also includes 9 climbs with a total of over 2300 meters of climbing. Correct pacing is very important. If you attempt to go too fast, you risk not getting there at all.

As well as achieving 150 miles, you will therefore need to build your speed and power up.

I would suggest building your speed up gradually through the spring to achieve a series personal goals – 5 miles at an average of 20 mph would be a suitable goal to aim for by, say, April, reaching 20 miles at 18.75mph (30kph) before July. Your intermediate goals are your own choice. It is worth recording your times and see the improvement, then to attempt to beat your own record. It is not wise to attempt this in very cold weather, as excessive heavy breathing in low temperatures may cause your core body temperature to drop excessively, making you vulnerable to flu etc. High speed riding in winter needs a few miles at an intermediate speed to warm up first at the very least. A floodlit cycle track is very useful in winter if there is one near you.

(3) Mountains.
Climbing.
You need to practice long ascents and descents with hairpin bends. If you live in the Alps, you are in luck. If you live where I do in Oxfordshire there aren’t many. You may be able to find some reasonably long climbs locally though. The Chilterns and Cotswolds are local to me, and Wales is not far away. Reasonable hills can be found in most areas.

Choose climbs with a similar gradient to those on the stage you intend to do, and mix short steep climbs with long gradual ones. Arrange your practice to represent the event as closely as possible. Remember you will not be able to apply the same power for several km as you can on a local 100 meter hill, so practice applying moderate power for long periods instead.

Of course, if you have the time and money, a training camp in Mallorca, Spain or Italy fills the bill nicely! Useful mountain training is still possible on the flat though.

If you have no hills to hand at all, it is possible to calculate the power required to climb a mountain at a reasonable speed, then to train at the same power level on the flat. I did this for the infamous ’98 Galibier Etape, with its 12000 feet of climb, and it worked well. As a rough guide, you will need to be able to produce around 150 watts for a long period to tackle the climbs. This is equivalent to 19mph on a fast bike on a flat road. This is only a rough guide, and is for a combined bike + rider weight of 200lb. More detailed information will be given elsewhere on the website. Do not despair if you fall short of this, but this is the sort of fitness level you will need to set as a target. If you have an old touring bike, you will have trouble achieving these speeds, so it is probably worth splashing out for a decent bike with a good range of gears. You will probably be amazed at the difference.

Descending
Safe, fast descending is a difficult technique to learn for most of us. It requires careful observation of real hazards rather than irrational fear, keeping your eyes open for loose gravel, potholes, other riders and even animals. Last year a rider was knocked off his bike by a cow during a descent! One of the most important aspects of safe descending is consideration for other riders. This is worth practicing whenever riding with a group!

Every rider has his own descending style. You may need to practice yours on modest hills initially, learning to descend in a relaxed fashion, at your own speed, always riding within your capabilities.

(4) Pelotons.
Have you seen these amazing groups of racers cruising along in a great bunch at around 20mph all day? It’s not as difficult as it looks. Once you start slipstreaming a fast rider, or better still a bunch of riders, your effort level drops dramatically. In a team, you can take it in turns to lead, saving energy, and cruise along at relatively high speeds.

In the Etape du Tour, you can often hook on to the back of a bunch, or you may even look round to find a bunch of 20 or even 100 riders slipstreaming behind you! This needs practice to do it safely, as you will have seen in the Tour de France crashes! Done with care it is fairly safe. Basically you need to keep at a reasonable distance, have a handy escape route if the person in front stops suddenly, and you need to anticipate the movements of the rider in front. For example, a rider starting to stand on his pedals will effectively lurch backwards. Also, you may not even know when there is someone on your back wheel. I didn’t on one occasion in the ’98 Etape as one unfortunate Italian found out. I think he was Italian judging by his choice of swear words as he picked himself up! So take care to check before stopping suddenly, and try to maintain a constant speed when you are riding in a bunch. A good peloton rider will give a warning to those behind him if he encounters an unexpected hazard, such as a pothole, dropped bidon or, in the Etape, even a central reservation!

Peloton techniques need to be learned, for example by joining a local cycle club, going on a couple of audaxes, or by riding with friends. A cycle track is ideal if there is one near you, as you will encounter a variety of riders and riding techniques. I once acquired a black eye as proof of this!

Risks. Doing the Etape du Tour is a genuine challenge. Out of the 7000 entries each year, there are sometimes serious injuries and even fatalities, due to medical incidents, or people leaving the road at altitude. It is a very demanding event. In 2000, 10% of the contestants suffered from hypothermia, and needed treatment. In 2001 many people froze descending Tourmalet in the rain at near zero temperatures. Many peope complained that their hands were numb and almost too cold to operate the brakes - worrying when descending at high speeds! It had not been obvious that gloves would be useful in the South of France in July! It is important to have a water proof layer of clothing in reserve on mountain stages like this year's. A warm layer may also be needed. Not everybody has suitable clothing in reserve! A spare long sleved top and light weight long sleeved windproof layer should fit in the back pocket of your racing jersey (with a bit of effort!) without weighing you down too much. In 2002 and 2003 on the other hand we pleasantly surprised by the fine weather!

The organizers minimise risks as much as possible – the police are out in force, the roads are closed, there are ambulances in attendance and there are strategically placed first aid posts.

Because of the health risks, you are required to obtain a signature from your GP on your entry form to indicate that you are fit before you are allowed to enter the event.

The risks obviously vary according to the severity of the event. The 1998 event was high risk, with over 12000 feet of climb in 120 miles. Only 50% of those entering finished at all. There were even rumours of fatalities, and I met others who had retired with health problems. In 1998 entrants had a 50% chance of completing the event, and a 99.9% chance of surviving! The broom waggons were busy that year! In 2003 around 6000 of the 7000 entrants completed the course.

You can minimize the risk if you train to the right fitness level, then pace yourself according to your fitness level you have achieved. It is better to get to the top a bit more slowly than to collapse half way up! It also helps to have granny gears to fall back on if you need them, as even some of the macho contestants found out on the worst climbs last year! High gears may feel macho when you are training, but tend not to when you grind to a halt half way up a mountain when the gradient hits 20% and you start pushing your bike! Learning good descending technique and a safe riding style reduces the risk of accidents.

Despite the risks, I have personally found the Etape du Tour to be one of the most rewarding things I have ever done, with it’s excitement and challenge. I have enjoyed having something to train for, participating in a world class event, and visiting some very dramatic places. Equally enjoyable is sharing a common aim with fellow cyclists of all nationalities.

Above all – have fun!

Ron