Mini Marmotte and a Real One

Today was the day to try for La Marmotte. This involves the Glandon, Télégraphe, Galibier and Alpe d'Huez. Given where we are staying, the option is to drop Alpe d'Huez, which leads to the 'mini' Marmotte. That's what I ended up doing.

After an early breakfast, I got going around 7:45 with the usual blast along the valley road to Bourg. This time I headed through the town, since the official Marmotte course starts there. After a confusing attempt to use the cycle paths on the way out, I eventually left the town and headed down the flat roads to Rochetaillée and Allemont. And then it was onto the unrelenting, and by now familiar climb up to Rivier d'Allemont and the first stop for food and water. It was very quiet, and even after the hairpins and steep drop down to cross the valley, I still hadn't seen any other cyclists at all. It was not until another short stop for sustenance  just before the final climb to the barrage du Grand Maison, that I was past by a rider. Once at dam level, the gradients are pleasingly modest, and spirits lifted in the sunshine. The swoop down after the lake is always a joy, and then there was just time to zip up and to try and look fresh for the photographer, before making the final ascent to the col itself.

And that's the Glandon twice in a week too!

The temperature was up, and there was no wind at all at the Glandon. It was stunning. There was just time to put on a jacket, and have something to eat before heading off down the steep descent into the Maurienne valley.

Stunning on the Glandon today

I started to pass riders coming up as I descended. At one point I shouted Bravo, to one, as you do, and he replied with an expletive that sounded like 'Crash'. Odd, I thought. Maybe there has been an accident. A couple of bends later I figured out that he probably shouted 'Vache'. There was a nervous and confused calf standing in the road! Thanks to the warning, I managed to avoid it. 

I really enjoyed the descent again, and made pretty quick time down to Sainte-Marie-de-Cuines

and along the valley, past the base of the Lacets de Montvernier, through Pontamafrey and on to the D1006 just outside Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne. This is the main road through the valley, avoiding the A43 autoroute. It is busy, and has no cycle lane for this first part. It's occasionally quite exciting! It runs through the industrial outskirts of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne, and past a large marshalling yard. There are also a couple of level crossings, which are anything but! The ride down to Saint-Michel-de-Maurienne is over 15km, but thankfully, cycle lanes finally appear. Worryingly, the road appeared to be closed for maintenance, on Google maps. It transpired that it was actually subject to a couple of sets of traffic lights controlling the flow past some long term works. The road rises gently the whole way, so it was a relief finally to arrive at the familiar car park at the base of the climb up the Télégraphe.

That's handy, given that dinner is on the other
side of it!

This was my lunch stop, and the chance to replenish bottles again from the hand cranked archimedes screw pump in the car park. I also met and chatted with a couple of English guys, just about to go up for the first time.

The Télégraphe was its usual slog. There were quite a few big trucks going up with building materials for Valloire. With summer effectively over, and resorts closing, now is the time that the French press on with building and maintenance work.

There is a massive straw bike and rider sculpture on
the Télégraphe

Progress up the Télégraphe had been quite slow, and after the blast down to Valloire, it turned out that the climb up the Galibier was not going to be particularly pacey either. The Glandon had taken its toll! I stopped in various places, including at the top of the long straightish section away from Valloire, just before the first set of major hairpins. I heard a rustling noise, which turned out to be a Marmotte, the first one I've ever seen. It is a large rodent, a bit like a hairy, overgrown guinea pig. It moved behind a clump of grass, which turned out to be very effective camouflage. It was hard to distinguish from the rocks behind.

As I carried on up, stops became more frequent. My back and knees eventually started complaining. It did give me the opportunity to take a few more pictures than I had originally anticipated. The Galibier never fails to provide the opportunity.

Towards the top I ended up riding at about the same speed as a Dutch couple. We exchanged greetings each time we stopped or passed one another.

Just before the top I finally reconciled myself to the fact that I was probably not going to be able to complete the full Marmotte ride, and would need to settle for a Mini Marmotte. The Galibier would be the last climb of the day.

Third time this holiday. That's probably enough!

Just after I'd photographed the bike at the top, a rider arrived and started an earnest conversation in French. Once I'd established that I was English, we were able to converse more slowly. It turned out that he'd broken his chain right as he arrived at the top. I was about to offer a chain breaker and a repair link, when it turned out he had a 9 speed chain set. All my stuff is for 11 speed. He was lucky though. There was a support car at the top, and they had the requisite tools and parts.

Still stunning up here

The refuge on the Saint-Michel-de-Maurienne side

On went my jacket again, and I headed down. The descent to the Lautaret was fairly uneventful, apart from the obligatory herd of cows on the road. The electric fence seemed to have no effect at all. They were brushing against it while grazing the verge. A couple of bends above the Lautaret, though, an entire flock of sheep were crossing the road down a vertical bank. They were kicking rocks off the mountain side as they did, and leaving quite a mess on the road. Careful negotiation, with one foot out of the cleat, was required!

The descent down from the Lautaret was a joy, as usual. I even had a tractor move over to give me room to pass. At one point I was passed by a rider who seemed to have some connection with the team car that had helped the rider with the broken chain at the top. I passed him while he was removing his jacket. He caught me again, and for most of the refuge road and the top part of the gorge, we were passing and re-passing each other. He was quicker on descents but slower on the climbs and false flats. Eventually I left him behind, and stayed ahead right down to Le Clapier.

That was a truly epic day.

The Activity for this ride is available on Strava.