← All eventsLa Marmotte Granfondo Alpes
177km Alpine cyclosportif. 5,000m climbing across 5 mythical cols: Glandon, Telegraphe, Galibier (2,642m), Lautaret, finish on Alpe d'Huez. Bourg d'Oisans -> Alpe d'Huez. One of the most iconic mass-participation climbs in cycling.
Five mythical cols in a single day, 177km and 5,000m of climbing from Bourg d'Oisans, finishing up the 21 hairpins of Alpe d'Huez. This is the cyclosportif every climber wants on their palmares.
Glandon opens it. Then the Telegraphe feeds straight into the Galibier, the roof of the day at 2,642m, where the thin air alone quietly costs you power.
A long valley descent buys one breather before the sting in the tail: Alpe d'Huez, started with 160km already in the legs. Iconic for a reason, and honest about what it asks.
Is La Marmotte Granfondo Alpes for you?
- Climbers who love long sustained efforts over punchy sprints. Every col here is 30 to 90 minutes at threshold or just below, not a series of short digs.
- Riders with the time to build real volume. 5,000m in a day is earned on 6 to 8 hour weekend rides, not on hour-long turbo sessions.
- Anyone chasing bucket-list cols. Galibier and Alpe d'Huez in one ride is the reason most people sign up.
- Patient pacers. Go hard on Glandon and you pay for it twice over, first on the Galibier, then on the Alpe.
Training plan for La Marmotte Granfondo Alpes
A training plan for La Marmotte Granfondo Alpes isn't a generic base build. Beina reads the event's exact demands, looks at your specific profile and the time you actually have, and maps a highly adapted plan to the start line.
- Five major cols back to back, topped by the Galibier at 2,642m, where altitude alone costs 5 to 8% of your power.
- Alpe d'Huez begins after 160km, so its 21 hairpins climb 20 to 40% slower than a fresh ascent would.
- Valley heat can top 30°C while the Galibier sits near 5 to 10°C, both inside the same ride.
- Cutoffs at the Telegraphe, the Galibier and the base of Alpe d'Huez stop any rider who drifts off the pace.
- 3x20 threshold at 95 to 100% FTP, building the sustained climbing pace each col demands.
- 40 to 60 minute sustained efforts on a single climb, rehearsing a Galibier-length effort.
- Big climbing days: 5 to 8 hour rides stacking 3,000 to 4,500m of ascent, teaching your legs to climb under fatigue.
- Heat acclimatisation in the final two to three weeks: warm turbo sessions and post-ride sauna to arrive ready for the valley.
- Built from your current fitness and the time you actually have
- Adapts every week as Beina learns how you respond
- Syncs your sessions straight to Garmin and Wahoo
- One clear next session, never a wall of spreadsheet
