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

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  • April 5, 2015 at 7:21 pm #23664
    Eintzel

    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=sharing

    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

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Viewing 8 replies - 1 through 8 (of 8 total)
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  • April 8, 2015 at 4:40 pm #840223
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    Eintzel

    Many thanks, Martyn. All
    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?

    April 7, 2015 at 10:00 am #840221
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    Martyn_K

    Looks like a tough start with
    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.

    April 6, 2015 at 8:02 pm #840219
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    dotdash

    I would question my ability
    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.

    April 6, 2015 at 4:52 pm #840217
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    Eintzel

    Thanks a lot, guys.
    the_jm –
    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.

    April 6, 2015 at 9:50 am #840215
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    Flying Scot

    The Fred Whitton is pretty
    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

    April 6, 2015 at 7:54 am #840213
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    andyp

    Looks good to me. Fairly
    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-ventoux-route-48448664

    April 6, 2015 at 7:50 am #840211
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    crikey

    Meh.
    It’s a sportive; no time
    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.

    April 6, 2015 at 7:06 am #840209
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    the_jm

    At 190km with 4km of climbing
    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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