Anyone climbed Alpe d'Huez?

ricardo7 said:

thinking of going to france next year.
hiring a bike, and tackling the beast....
anyone done it, any tips???

On its own it is not that hard. I road it in 1996 on a MTB. I stopped lots and took it easy and it was ok. I went back in 2003 and road is as part of La Marmotte "fun ride".

After doing croix de fur, telegraphe and Galibier the ride then goes up Alpe d'Huez. About 170km ride all up and it was hell (but worth doing). This fun ride is in July.

Personally i found its hard to get a decent rhythm on coz of some flat then very steep spots. I didnt stop at all but sure as hell felt like it.

ricardo7 said:

thinking of going to france next year.
hiring a bike, and tackling the beast....
anyone done it, any tips???

the alpes actually not that bad. I think the myth has more to do with the 2-3 hors catagorie climbs the riders do before they get to the alpe.....

that said, the climb to the first turn is an absolute burster and after a couple of turns you think you are going to die, but it eases up quite a bit and the hairpin turns always flatten out so you get a bit of letup every few hundred metres.
Go for it, there is nothing like saying you have done it.

byron27 said:

the alpes actually not that bad. I think the myth has more to do with the 2-3 hors catagorie climbs the riders do before they get to the alpe.....

that said, the climb to the first turn is an absolute burster and after a couple of turns you think you are going to die, but it eases up quite a bit and the hairpin turns always flatten out so you get a bit of letup every few hundred metres.
Go for it, there is nothing like saying you have done it.

Yeah its well worth it, just grit your teeth and go. Like alot of famous climbs its not as terrible as the reputation would have you Believe. unless like Byron said, you have already spent 4 or 5 hours on other hors climbs. I found the long route up Ventoux a fair bit tougher.

It's hard (for the pros) coz it's always a summit finish, so it's game on for GC. There'll be no regrouping on the descent like other climbs during the day.