L’Etape du Tour Coaching: Ride the Tour de France

We develop aerobic endurance with progressive climbing volume. Early weeks focus on moderate rides building towards longer efforts with significant elevation. Threshold work develops sustainable climbing power. By Week 10, you're comfortable with substantial climbing rides and ready for Alpine-specific demands.

This phase introduces L'Etape-specific demands: back-to-back long climbing days, multi-pass efforts simulating consecutive climbs, altitude adaptation protocols, and nutrition testing for extended efforts. We practice conservative pacing on early climbs, saving capacity for later efforts. By Week 20, you've completed multiple long rides with major climbing and developed confidence in multi-pass pacing strategies.

We run comprehensive L'Etape simulations: long rides with substantial climbing, testing race-day nutrition and pacing strategies. If possible, include a multi-day Alpine training camp practicing consecutive big days. The final 2 weeks taper volume by 40-50% while maintaining intensity sharpness. You arrive fresh, confident, with tested systems and absolute belief in your pacing strategy.

L'Etape pacing demands discipline learned from ultra-distance racing. From my experience at Trans Atlantic Way and London-Edinburgh-London, I understand how to pace long Alpine efforts sustainably.

Our L'Etape pacing strategy involves conservative early climbs (typically 65-75% of functional threshold power). This feels easy when you're fresh but ensures you reach later passes with power reserves. We establish your sustainable power zones, practice multi-climb pacing, and develop absolute confidence in conservative early strategy. By race day, you trust your approach when others are going too hard.

For the Alpe d'Huez finale, we use different mental tools: breaking it into segments, staying present (not thinking about the distance ahead), and trusting you have capacity to finish. These mental strategies develop through months of similar training efforts.

Alpine events like L'Etape reward high power-to-weight ratios. We work on progressive climbing volume, threshold development for sustained efforts, optimal race weight, and climbing efficiency.

Power-to-weight optimisation isn't just about losing weight, it's about maximising sustainable climbing power whilst maintaining the endurance to use that power for consecutive Alpine passes spanning the full event duration.

High-altitude mountain passes present reduced oxygen that UK training doesn't replicate. We develop altitude-specific protocols: understanding how your power output changes at altitude, pacing strategies accounting for reduced performance, and recognising when altitude is affecting decision-making.

If possible, an Alpine training camp 4-6 weeks before L'Etape provides valuable adaptation. If not possible, we use alternative strategies: indoor heat training (which provides partial adaptation benefits), understanding effort perception changes, and conservative pacing accounting for altitude effects you haven't directly experienced.

L'Etape nutrition requires tested systems developed during training. We establish calorie targets appropriate for your body weight and effort level, timing protocols, aid station efficiency (knowing what's available, quick stops), and what works for YOUR stomach during sustained climbing.

Nutrition on consecutive climbs differs from single-pass efforts. Proper fuelling from the start determines whether you finish strong or struggle with energy depletion.

L'Etape creates psychological challenges: late-race doubts when facing Alpe d'Huez after the preceding cols, pain management on sustained grades, staying focused when exhausted, maintaining pacing discipline when everything hurts.

We practice mental strategies during training: visualisation techniques (pre-riding the cols mentally), staying present (focusing on the current effort not the passes ahead), breaking the event into manageable segments (each col is a separate effort), and having tools for inevitable low points.

Race strategy includes: conservative early-climb pacing (trusting the strategy when others go harder), managing fatigue across multiple passes, and Alpe d'Huez approach (staying present, trusting you'll finish).

L'Etape success requires more than fitness. We address: mechanical preparation (bike service, spares), clothing strategy for variable mountain weather (layers for descents), pre-race fuelling, start corral positioning (based on your realistic finish time), and contingency planning (mechanical issues, bonking, missing time cuts).

These details determine whether you achieve your goal or struggle with preventable problems. L'Etape logistics differ from UK sportives, understanding French aid stations, Alpine weather patterns, and closed-road descents requires specific preparation.

L'Etape du Tour completion times vary significantly based on climbing ability, pacing strategy, and weather conditions. The 2026 edition (170km, 5,400m climbing over legendary Alpine passes) will challenge riders with one of the toughest courses in recent years. Riders must complete the course within official time limits. Proper preparation and conservative pacing on early climbs are essential for finishing strong on Alpe d'Huez after the preceding cols. Most successful riders focus on sustainable power over the full distance rather than racing individual climbs.

Yes, proper training is essential for L'Etape du Tour success. The event presents unique challenges: 5,400m of Alpine climbing over multiple legendary cols, high-altitude mountain passes, consecutive major climbs with minimal recovery, and the mental demands of finishing on Alpe d'Huez when already fatigued. Attempting L'Etape without specific preparation typically leads to struggles, suffering, or missing time cuts. L'Etape preparation typically takes 20 to 24 weeks depending on your current climbing fitness and Alpine experience. Training must address sustained climbing power, high-altitude adaptation, multi-pass pacing strategy, and tested nutrition for extended mountain efforts.

L'Etape nutrition requires substantial calorie intake from aid stations, pockets, and on-the-go fuelling throughout the event. What works in training rides often fails when climbing consecutive Alpine passes at altitude. Successful L'Etape nutrition requires tested systems developed during long mountain training rides: what works for YOUR stomach at altitude (not generic recommendations), timing protocols (eating before you are hungry), aid station efficiency (quick stops), backup plans when preferred foods are not available, and how to keep consuming calories when appetite disappears on sustained climbs. By race day, fuelling should be automatic, not something you are figuring out whilst climbing the Galibier.

Alpine passes at high altitude present reduced oxygen availability that UK training does not replicate. UK riders training at sea level struggle with altitude effects unless specifically prepared. Altitude adaptation requires progressive protocols: understanding how power output changes at altitude, conservative pacing strategies accounting for reduced performance, recognising when altitude affects decision-making, and if possible, Alpine training camps 4 to 6 weeks before the event. Alternative strategies include indoor heat training (which provides partial adaptation benefits), understanding effort perception changes, and conservative pacing accounting for altitude effects. Without altitude preparation, riders who dominate UK climbs often struggle unexpectedly on Alpine passes. The difference is not fitness, it is adaptation to conditions UK training does not create.

The 2026 L'Etape du Tour (170km, 5,400m elevation gain) has been described by organisers as one of the toughest editions in recent years. The route from Le Bourg-d'Oisans to Alpe d'Huez via the Croix de Fer, Télégraphe, Galibier, and Sarenne replicates Stage 20 of the 2026 Tour de France. Riders experience the unique opportunity to ride where professionals will race days later. The finish on Alpe d'Huez's 21 switchbacks after the preceding Alpine passes creates demands that differ fundamentally from single-climb sportives. This edition requires specific preparation for consecutive major climbs, high-altitude performance, and the mental challenge of finishing a legendary climb when already fatigued.