“My preparation for the 2023 Tour Stage”

Nicolas S. is a cyclosportive rider in his forties like so many others. He took part in the Étape du Tour for the second time in a row, this time between Annemasse and Morzine. He tells us how he prepared for the event. Before returning to the race in a second part.

By Nicolas S. – Photos: DR

Monday July 11, 2022 – I leave Briançon for the Paris region after having participated the day before in the Etape du Tour which ended at the summit of Alpe d'Huez. I am physically destroyed, I am mentally exhausted, I have been through the steamroller of a big cyclo of mytagwhich I arrived on while already on the downward slope in terms of fitness and especially in a state of stress much too important to approach the event serenely. It is late morning, the sun is shining beautifully and I take the time to stop at the top of Lautaret to take one or two photos and especially to take a last look towards the route which leads to the summit of Galibier. The spectators who were cheering us on the day before have either disappeared or are in their camper vans waiting for the Tour to pass by, the real one.

La route It's a long way to get home and I have time to think about it all. I don't think I'll ever want to put myself through this kind of suffering again, at least I don't see the point. I don't see the point in spending hours riding in the cold and rain in winter, in spending hours doing home trainer sessions in the cellar, only to end up having a miserable day. I don't see the point in stressing out in the days leading up to it and not sleeping for a bike ride that should generally be a pleasure.

On route On the way back I tell myself that I will still be able to count on a rebound in my fitness at the end of the Stage to improve my PRs on my Massif des Maures courses and at the same time, why not, on the Ventoux. It will not be the case. I am so wiped out that I will ride all summer without any pleasure, without any strength, I will not even risk going to face the Giant of Provence. For the first time in my life, I don't want to see my bike anymore.

Friday October 28, 2022 – Time has done its work and I have had time to digest, in my head and legs, the 4700m of positive elevation gain that separates Alpe d'Huez from Briançon. Above all, I had time to take stock and accept that not everything was so negative about this day. First of all, the ranking is far from ridiculous for a first experience in this type of challenge, it lets me predict a place in SAS 1 if ever the idea of ​​diving back in occurs to me, which will of course be the case. Then, my preparation, although conscientious, was very far from perfect. Started too early, too intense, without serious planning, without rest period, without measuring the possible progressions or regressions, I did pretty much everything and did everything pretty much anyhow. I burned myself out little by little without seeing it, or rather by seeing it but not wanting to face the facts. I see there a significant margin of progression if ever the idea of ​​diving back in occurs to me, which will of course be the case.

Time has passed and I must admit that this first stage of the Tour was an experience that left a lasting impression on me because I ultimately liked pretty much everything about it. and after having gone through the pure and simple disgust of cycling I only remember the positive of this day which pushed me beyond what I thought I could give. I think I have watched all the debriefs, read all the reports, watched all the Youtube videos on the subject, I believe that in my head I am ready to dive back in, which will of course be the case. The big presentation mass of the Tour de France 2023 takes place as usual at the Palais des Congrès in Paris and at the same time the route of the most coveted cyclosportive in France is announced. With Rémi, we already have all the information since the day before and have already taken care to pre-book an AirBnb so as not to find ourselves on the street.

So it will be from Annemasse that we will set off to cover 157 km and climb around 4100 m of positive elevation gain., the passes are less famous than the giants of the previous year but we should not take lightly the Ramaz and especially Joux Plane which are two sacred pieces that have made more than one suffer. The reservation slots are open via the presale and of course, there is no question that we are not there. We are getting rid of the registration fees that many find exorbitant. The freedom of a full journey on routes closed is, in my opinion, priceless. We receive our registration confirmations, it is now official, we are leaving for a Tour.

A long methodical preparation

Sunday March 19, 2023 – It is around 7:15 a.m. The weather is very gray and rather threatening as usual in the Paris region.. The weather is not bad enough for me to go and do some home training and especially Sunday is really dedicated to the long outing of the week. As such, the weather conditions have to be really awful for me to decide not to go outside. I walk the hundred meters that separate me from my partner's house. route, Fabien. I have never spoken to you about Fabien, a quick flashback to situate the character is necessary.

Around mid-July 2017, Fabien celebrates his 40th birthday with his friends. We expect to receive a lot of things for his 40th birthday and yet Fabien will receive the most unusual gift to celebrate this passage of ten: a bib for the EmbrunMan which takes place no more and no less than 30 days later from this famous evening that we imagine will be very drunk. Fabien is not the type to back down and especially not in the face of physical effort. Fabien is not like you and me, well especially not me, if we're going to go for it, we might as well go all out. So a somewhat truncated preparation begins which aims to get him in top shape to face the 3,8 km of swimming, the 188 km of cycling which passes through the Izoard and finally the marathon. On August 15, 2017, Fabien took the start of the EmbrunMan in the middle of a thousand participants. After 11 hours, 18 minutes and 33 seconds of effort, he ranked 27th in the event, only an hour and a half behind the winner of the day with only a month of preparation in his legs. I told you, Fabien is not like you and me, well, especially not like me.

So we return to Sunday March 19, 2023 and I go to pick up Fabien, who since his Embrunman has become a friend, with whom I ride regularly, especially in winter. That morning, the weather is threatening and I find that the colleague is not very covered. No matter, we leave. After 10 km, what was expected happened, the deluge took us and did not let go for the 4h38 and the 133 km of the outing. Fabien who does not back down from anything and especially not from physical effort almost put the arrow very quickly in the direction of the house. He cursed and yelled for a long time, I had never seen him like that, but he stayed. Fabien does not have a bib for the Stage of the Tour, much against his will, but no matter, he rides: you never know.

It's mid-March and training has been back in full swing for many weeks.. To give some meaning and content to all these efforts made on the bike, I listen to and read almost everything that is serious about training and I feel that two underlying trends have been emerging furiously since the end of 2022: the time spent in Z2 should represent 80% of the overall training volume and the amount of carbohydrates absorbed during training and events should be carefully measured. So I encourage Fabien to ride all winter at Z2 regardless of the terrain, regardless of the wind direction and even on descents. We realize that maintaining this type of pace, which may seem slow at first, turns out to be a real physical exercise far from trivial that will make us gain weight. Concerning carbohydrates, I read here and there that you have to get your body and your guts used to absorbing between 80 and 100 g of carbohydrates per hour in solid, liquid or both forms to ensure you last over time. So we start to dissect the labels of all the products to find the drinks, bars, gels and even gums that will give us the most carbohydrates possible while taking up the least space in our pockets. I gradually start to respect a protocol that leads me to drink almost every 10 minutes and eat every 20 minutes in order to respect the target quantity. I had never really thought about it that far, but hey, how far are we willing to go to achieve our goals?

April 1, 2023 – I’m about to make the most important cycling decision of the year. I feel like I'm making the same mistakes as last year in terms of preparation. I'm doing everything against common sense and I'm heading straight for a wall called Col de Joux Plane. We're three months away from the event, which doesn't leave much time but still enough to get things back on track a bit. I decide to call on outside help to coach me and guide me as best I can to get through the summer passes. I contact a few people and end up calling the only one who knows the region where I'm riding perfectly and, above all, who knows my professional and personal constraints: Guillaume Judas of www.3bikes.fr. After a telephone conversation aimed at getting our violins in agreement, he agrees to coach me and shake me up in my well-established Sunday cycling habits. A large part of the sessions will take place on Zwift and its maps, well known to everyone since the lockdown., I never really put my virtual wheels into it, preferring the soulless Trainer Road app. From that day on, I trust it blindly and try to follow to the letter all the sessions and weekly programs that are communicated to me every Sunday evening.

May 14, 2023 – My “Safe Guy” Rémi has been talking to me for several days or even weeks about a hike that is taking place near his home and that will allow him to accumulate even more elevation than usual. Rémi is lucky to live in the Bouches du Rhône where the weather is very mild and where each outing takes him to elevation changes of 1500 to 2000 m without even thinking about it. This Sunday Rémi is setting off on the great Six Saintes – Massif de la Sainte Baume route, starting from his home, which will allow him to cover 200 km and just over 3500 m of elevation gain for a riding time of around 7h30. In other words, perfect preparation. From the top of my Chevreuse valley I am jealous of this kind of route that I cannot tackle or include in my program. As soon as this release was uploaded to Strava, I rushed to analyze his climbing times and watts in each of the climbs. He was solid and super consistent. He will be ready for July 09th, that's for sure, but I had no doubts about it.

May 21, 2023 – The weather is dry and mild in the Vosges. Arnaud has been in the area for a few days and is climbing the passes, also in preparation for the Tour stage. This will be his first participation. This Sunday he is putting in route from Plancher-les-Mines and first goes to the Ballon de Servance via the Col de Croix. It will then go back down towards the Planche des Belles Filles. That day Arnaud will develop 300 W for 23'30, which for him is almost 5 W/kg. Everyone prepares seriously and needs points of reference to face a test as brutal as a stage of the Tour. The day when Arnaud achieves this performance, which few cyclists are capable of achieving, I do not know yet. Our routes will cross paths in a few days. In the meantime, Fabien manages to register for the Etape du Tour through his contacts and acquaintances, it's rather miraculous.

June 4, 2023 – My program is pretty simple that morning. I have to do 4 hours easy in the Valley and put everything I have into the last two bumps of the course. I'm leaving with Xavier (the one who gave the EmbrunMan bib to Fabien) who will accompany me for tester a sore knee, the pace I plan to impose during the outing suits him very well. It has been very mild for a few weeks even here, the legs are turning rather well and the last bumps of the course are finally arriving quite quickly. I warn Xavier of my upcoming exercises. No problem Nico, do what you have to do, we'll see you up there. "I decided to focus my efforts on the Côtes de Saint Rémy les Chevreuse and Châteaufort, long but not too much, steep but just right, it should go well. At the foot of Saint Rémy, I put in route seriously and I aim to maintain the effort until the summit. This is typically the kind of effort that I never imposed on myself and which really loosens up the engine. This bump at the pace I'm able to swallow it is about 4' of effort, which is more than enough, believe me. I'm a little bothered by the traffic but I manage to get back in route without too much difficulty, I try not to look at the watts but I feel that the effort is constant and above all does not weaken too much, or not at all. During the climb I spot two guys dressed for one in Rapha for the other in MAAP, this kind of thing even in full effort, it is noticeable. Inevitably, I overtake them and I try to let them have a little " Hello " despite my shortness of breath. Xavier joins me, asks me how this first test. No time to sleep, it's starting to smell like a stable but we still have a few km left. Châteaufort, the last hill on the Sunday courses of a very large number of cyclists from Yvelines stands before us. Here we go again, I put in route at the foot, I'm a bit bothered by the traffic, I overtake the two super-dressed guys, I get to the top without collapsing too much and I wait for Xavier who asks me how my climb went. I feel like Bill Murray in Groundhog Day. We return to Versailles. Xavier decides to go straight back, he's asked enough of his knee that he's left it alone. I want to prolong the pleasure and decide to go back via the Côte de l'Homme Mort. I attack the foot of the tempo bump and get caught by one of the two super-dressed guys who sticks right next to me " Mental "," Mental ", then quickly passes me. The pace accelerates seriously then really seriously. I look at the watts and I see that I am in the 350/360w in the wheel just to keep up. At this rate my life expectancy is far from eternal but my guy with his MAAP jersey seems quite comfortable. He drops me without even realizing it, decency obliges me not to use the excuse of the two hills climbed at PMA a little earlier in the outing. Barely back, barely the outing downloaded on Strava, I start looking for who this guy could be who dropped me off so easily when I was feeling pretty good. I just rode for the first time with Arnaud, the man with 5w/kg in La Planche des Belles Filles. Arnaud was riding that day with Stan, his brother.

Volcanic as a springboard

June 17, 2023 – We leave Saint Victor with Fabien. It is very early and the weather is very nice in Ardèche. One evening in November 2022, as we were leavingtaghad a few drinks and had obtained the agreement of our respective wives with difficulty, we decided to go and set our wheels on the Volcanique, the 180 km and 3000 m D+ course of the Ardéchoise. Personally, I am really happy to go there because it is also a must for Rémi who performs there every year. We managed to get priority bibs which allow us to start in the first positions. Rémi briefed me on all the important points and the passages not to be missed, Fabien made me repeat the length of the bumps and their percentage about ten times.tagand means. True to form, I have been building up the pressure slowly but surely since the previous evening, almost as if I was going to risk my life on this event.. Fabien, as a good competitor, is as relaxed as possible. He will slip into the pen up to the first row, I will stay a little further back to wait for Rémi who will join us later. The start is launched and as expected it goes full speed in the first descent. I make the necessary efforts to catch up with the first group but I find the pace too high. Too wise, too cautious, not sure of myself enough, I ease off at the Col du Buisson to wait for a group coming up behind. This one suits me perfectly and will take me quite far at a pace that I would not have even dared to dream of, everything is going well or almost. Since the first turns of the wheel, a creaking has become more and more present with each pedal stroke and the insistent looks of the guys who pass next to me make me feel that it is not allowed to have a noise like that on a bike like mine. I try to detach myself from it. We arrive at a long climb and a sentence exchanged with a guy from the group will have rather unexpected repercussions on my progress. We chat quietly, I start to gently feel the efforts of the first hours of stool and he tells me " wait there it's okay, but in two km it's going to become difficult and that's where the selection is made ". The two km in question were enough to make me doubt my ability to keep up with the group and I saw my watts plummet by almost 30 units in less time than it takes to say it. The group left and I was left standing with my bike creaking. Many guys passed me, without me being able to catch the wheels. I had been warned that it was better not to find yourself alone in the wind on the Mont Gerbier de Jonc plateau, but for my sense of challenge, I preferred to live this experience solo. I was aiming for a Top 50 and I found myself stranded in the wilderness completely losing my mind because of my legs and a noise on my bike.. All the ideas go through my head and the most serious of them is to reach the finish as best I can and announce to my friends that I am giving up on the Etape du Tour. I break down like shit after 1500 m of D+ in passes at 6/7%, so there is no question of me going to face Joux Plane. I don't give a damn about my race anymore that I stop for a quarter of an hour at the Mavic stand to grease and tighten everything that screws on my spade. I set off again as best I can, with no idea of ​​my position in the race at this point, but I feel that the rest of the day is going to be long, I am barely halfway through. I set off again and as they say in the jargon " I'm redoing my cherry ". There are three more passes to climb and I find some legs in Clavière, then I go on to Rochepaule then Lalouvesc, still at the same pace. It's not very high but I've found some bite, I'm overtaking people and I see guys hanging on to the wheel. So why not. I come across François and Emmanuel who I follow on Strava, we exchange a few words, each one climbs at his own pace and the last descent arrives. The kind where you have to push on the pedals to move forward. I put myself in front, I push, I don't ask anything of anyone, I'll go all the way to the line like that. Once I get there, several guys will thank me for the work done, my morale has returned.

Rémi is waiting for me behind the line, he beat his best time by 10' and yet he doesn't improve his ranking. Fabien, he is shirtless on the lawn where the pasta party is taking place, he finished 10th. I told you Fabien is not like you and me, well especially not like me. We debrief with Rémi, he makes me understand that I was really stupid to stop at Mavic, he's right. He's right because I finish 64th in the race and the quarter-hour stop costs me the top 50. I was on target without realizing it. The ideas and thoughts, although sincere, of not going to the stage are now far away. The Ardéchoise has put me at the bottom of the hole but also put me on track in anticipation of the beginning of July. A final exchange with Rémi will finish freeing me up completely for the stage, during the debrief he will tell me in the most sincere way in the world " Nico, stop comparing yourself all the time ". When you only ride with guys who all have 30 to 50W more than you, you can only be below. I think he is not aware of the impact that these few words have had. We return to Paris. Fabien tells me with the frank nature that characterizes him " Nico, do you think I can ask for a priority bib for the Stage? " I burst out laughing, I recommend that he immediately send an email to his contact to formulate his request regarding his place at the Ardéchoise.

July 2, 2023. I have to do 5 hours of endurance and I suggested to Arnaud and Stan to come ride in order to get to know each other better. Arnaud is coming back from the Pyrenees where he sent himself outings at more than 4100 m of D+ while maintaining rather impressive watts in the last passes, considering his weight. During the outing he tells me about his few reference performances on steep climbs and it often turns around 300w over about 45'. I tell him without trembling that with such performances he can and must aim for a top 100. The more we talk, the more I feel that he doubts himself, that he asks himself lots of questions about the pace of the start, about the watts to put in the passes, about the behavior to follow or not during the race. He is strong, very strong and he doubts. The Stage of the Tour never leaves anyone indifferent. I don't have much perspective on the event and cyclos in general, nor do I have total legitimacy to tell him what he should do or not. I decide to include him in our small group that will meet in Annemasse in a week. Rémi and Fabien will find the words, I am sure, to free him a little from all these questions.

July 7 – It is around 12:00. Rémi, Fabien and Arnaud who do not know each other are going to meet for the first time and ride together. We have planned to go reconto start the first two passes of the Stage. Unexpectedly, this 70km outing will disturb Fabien who is not used to making "so much" effort two days before a competition. It breaks his habits and I feel that he is doing the outing against his will. But that's how he is, he knows how to get over this kind of thing. The first few kilometers are much more demanding than we had imagined. so much so that I think I've finished the Col de Saxel even though we haven't even started it yet. The descent to the Col de Cou is magnificent and the climb that follows is just as much. This pass is quite representative of what awaits us, we climb it very quietly but I'm going to take advantage of this reconbirth to take valuable benchmarks for Sunday. Everyone is impressed by Arnaud's pedal stroke and everyone gives their valuable advice to put him in a good frame of mind for Sunday.

=> TO FOLLOW : My Stage of the Tour 2023

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