it is a beautiful little village with great hospitality
it is expensive as hell
it has great climbs that might not be that famous, but don’t need to hide from any French or Italian climbs.
→ all 3 points apply to pretty much the entire Swiss alps
It will definitely be a great event. I did Crans Montana in Valais last year and it was one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to.
With you having done AdH already, you don’t need to care about the bragging rights of having climbed such an iconic climb, so I guess Davos will be perfect.
Only thing to note is that - at least on paper - it is not quite as challenging as the other 3 day events (of 2021 also). If that’s a good thing or not, you have to judge.
Still plenty challenging…
I would echo @Aeroiseverything’s description above. Davos is a nice place but you go there for the scenery, not the village. As a native of Los Angeles, I would say Davos is to Zurich like Big Bear is to LA: a two-hour drive to go skiing. An advantage of Davos is its proximity to Zurich for additional tourism. See you there.
Signed up for Alp d’Huez. First HR since Dolomittes in 2018. Could not go to C-R last year due to C-19 restrictions…
I turn 40 on the ITT stage. Should consider strapping a birthday hat of some sorts to the helmet that day
Of all the advice I got before eventually doing HR Ventoux, this is the bit I should have paid the most attention to.
From where I started, I did pretty well, in the top third on day one, but fell back a bit on day two and three, but still inside the top half.
However, my back hurt a lot.
I get a bit of lower back and neck pain when I ride, but a bit of stretching was usually enough to keep it under control so that I could ride.
Racing HR is another matter entirely. It took about 30 mins before my back/neck were screaming at me, which definitely stole some of the enjoyment from the event.
I think the route cause is lazy glutes and I’m now doing a 15/20 min strength/stretching routine after every ride, plus have incorporated three strength session per week whilst in base.
Still early days with weights/resistance low, but I’m hoping over time this will help.
Fixing my back issues and dropping a bit of weight are my priorities at least during the early base/build/base phases plan builder has given me.
It’s not as much fun as seeing improvements in your FTP/PL’s, but I wanted to back up the advice AlphaDogCycling gave me and pass it forward.
“Don’t overlook doing strength / core / mobility work starting now, as the total climbing can be murder on your back if you aren’t careful”
Now is the perfect time to start including this into your routine
A few quick screen shots.
Col d‘Izoard and commet de Roseland are definitely on the bucket list.
And Col de la Loze via Meribel is also nice. Rated hardest climb in France. Did it already this year but if that’s in, in means that either Col de l‘Iseran or Col de La Madeleine, either one from the south, should be in there as well, and both are bucketlist climbs for me, too.
Edit: and the 1924m climb is likely Col du Glandon… which is nice but I‘d prefer the Iron Cross
Edit Edit: 900m for the TT elevation.
Imma guess it‘s Méribel to Col de la Loze
That would be absolutely amazing!
I‘m missing at least one loop, but something like that might be it:
Pretty lovely Route!
I absolutely love that it passes through Italy, and with Lombarde and Agnel, it covers two dream passes there!
Although I have not ridden any of the 3/4 Marmotte Cols, I can‘t say I am disappointed to not cover any of them. There will probably be several opportunities for that, and as I am also taking part in HR AdH, at least that one will be covered anyway.
So far, I have only been to 3 of those Cols (with Méribel not being a Col), and have only done the la Loze from this exact direction. So I am very very pleased with their choices.
I am most hyped about the Agnel (Agnello), this being the highest European border pass (paved), the third highest paved pass (Iseran and Stelvio), and one huge crazy climb. 30km long, similar elevation gain to Stelvio, with the last 8km averaging 10%. Pretty massive!
Edit: really hope they know their stuff. The official numbers are 806km and 22‘000 elevation gain. Planning the same route on Komoot gives me 920km and 24‘450 elevations gain…
Yes. Col de La Loze is 1/1 gearing or bust. Did it this year with 35/36 and needed every last gear. Also considering the altitude.
That’s the whole Bicycle path:
I was signed up for a couple Gravel Epic events in 2020 (Marrakech, Sicily, and then Slovakia when Marrakech was punted due to Covid… of course none of these happened) and for Marrakech this year, which was also canceled (I was offered the opportunity to switch my entry to Switzerland, but I declined).
I’m I signed up for Marrakech next year! Hopefully this third go will be it.
!