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Sportive route design: what do you think of this profile?

by Eintzel
Sun, Apr 05, 2015 20:21
8

Hi guys,

Let me start by saying many thanks to anyone who takes the time to provide an opinion here.

We're at the planning stages of organising a sportive overseas. We're trying out different course routes and are currently thinking of the one through the link below (also image attached):

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1n9IsHjZyWjWVFpTzF3LXhNaDg/view?usp=sh...

The course is an out-and-back loop that starts with a mountain range to its left, turns around the mountain and then crosses the mountain through a winding pass (guess which bit that is!)

We'd really appreciate some comments. Is the climb manageable by your enthusiastic recreational sportive cyclist? What do you think of a course building up to that big climb at the end? Given the course can be turned around, is it better to have the massive climb at the end or maybe at the beginning?

Many thanks again

If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.

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8 comments

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Eintzel | 9 years ago
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Many thanks, Martyn. All points noted. I think a start in waves makes sense in a lot of ways.

May I also ask the parents amongst you for thoughts on the following: assuming we go for the May summer-break week and participants fly out with their families to combine the race with a family vacation, would it be better to schedule the race on the front Sunday or the back Sunday?

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Martyn_K | 9 years ago
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Looks like a tough start with a 300m climb starting after about 5km. Personally i would like to see at least 20km easier terrain to warm the legs and filter out riders a bit.
If you have a mass start or a start with riders not sorted in to abilities then that climb could cause issues with people being held up behind slower climbers.

Also consider your feed station locations. Either at the top of climbs, or at the start of flat sections in order for the riders to digest before the next challenge.

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dotdash | 9 years ago
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I would question my ability to do it but I'm on the comeback road. Up until that last one I would be fine but with that hill towards the end that would be a killer and put me off, but it would attract other people.

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Eintzel | 9 years ago
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Thanks a lot, guys.

the_jm - maybe by next May you find yourself ready for a bit of a summer-break challenge!

crikey - you're right, the "winning" is in finishing. I think technically we may need to impose a time limit (maybe 10hrs?) to turn the roads back to public use.

andyp - thanks for the link. Indeed quite similar to the 2009 Etape, particularly on the final long climb.

Flying Scot - I'm going to inspect the route by end of month and I'll keep that in mind. For what it's worth, the profile suggests the climb is very close to perfectly uniform with no steep ramps, so should be pretty constant effort.

Any further comments about the profile or anything else, much appreciated. This is very helpful to us and we hope we'll be able to deliver a great day of cycling next year that some of you may choose to enjoy.

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Flying Scot | 9 years ago
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The Fred Whitton is pretty much the hardest of the big Sportives and needs a compact, compare it to that in detail?

I don't mind a lot of climbing, but steep ramps within the upper reaches of them kill the heavy riders like myself.

110 miles /4000ft requires a lot of training for me, though I don't use a compact, relying in massive torque on low revs

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andyp | 9 years ago
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Looks good to me. Fairly similar idea to the 2009 Etape. It's a tough one but certainly doable. Leave the climb where it is!

http://www.mapmyride.com/fr/montelimar-rhone-alpes/etape-du-tour-mt-vent...

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crikey | 9 years ago
0 likes

Meh.

It's a sportive; no time limit, no getting pulled out if you get dropped and so on. If you make it a hard route it will improve its status among those who do them.

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the_jm | 9 years ago
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At 190km with 4km of climbing BC would rate that as a Grade 5:

Grade 5 – Very Hard: Grade 5 routes are not for the faint hearted. They will include very hard climbs, usally over a longer distance. It is recommended to train for events such as these to ensure you are fully prepared. Only a handful of events will have a Grade 5.

Is that the event you're aiming for? I wouldn't attempt it, but I'm just an enthusiastic newcomer - maybe in time.

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