Training guide · Gran fondo · Bourg d'Oisans, France
How to train for Marmotte Gran Fondo Alps
27 June 2027. Four of the great Tour cols in one day, finishing up Alpe d'Huez. Here is what the day asks of you, and when your plan has to start.
- Date
- Sun 27 Jun 2027
- Weeks to go
- —
- Start
- Bourg d'Oisans
- Routes
- 76 · 98 · 177 km
- Climbing
- 5,000 m
- Format
- Timed, wave start, Glandon descent neutralised
What this event asks of you
The Marmotte is four climbs and almost no flat. The Glandon comes first and is longer than most riders expect, and its descent is neutralised, so the clock stops at the top and starts again in the valley. That changes the day: there is no reward for a fast descent, and there is a real cost to racing the climb before it. The Télégraphe and Galibier then run back to back, with the Galibier taking you to the highest point of the day on thin air and often a cold wind. From there it is a long descent into Bourg d'Oisans and straight onto Alpe d'Huez with everything you have left.
The riders who suffer here are not the ones who lack a climbing threshold. They are the ones who ride the Glandon at the intensity they could hold fresh, eat too little through the Maurienne valley because it feels easy in a group, and reach the Alpe with nothing. The training problem is durability: being able to produce a steady climbing effort in the fifth and sixth hour, with heat in the valley and altitude on the Galibier. Build the long aerobic base first, then teach the body to climb at tempo late in a ride, and practise eating on the climbs, not only between them.
The day by rider level
| Route | Typical finish | What it needs |
|---|---|---|
| 177 km | 8 to 12 h | Durability for four long climbs, altitude on the Galibier, a steady effort up Alpe d'Huez on tired legs |
| 98 km | — | Sustained climbing at tempo with fuelling practised on the climb itself |
| 76 km | — | One long climb ridden with discipline rather than in a surge |
When your plan has to start
Counted back from the event date. If the organiser moves the date, these move with it.
Key climbs
- 1Col du Glandon
- 2Col du Télégraphe
- 3Col du Galibier
- 4Alpe d'Huez
Listed for the longest route; the shorter routes use a subset. Gradient, length and where each climb sits in the day will come from the route engine once the organiser's GPX is loaded. Until then this list is hand-written from the route, with no figures attached.
Other guides for the same block of the year
- How to train for La Stelvio Santini6 Jun 2027
- How to train for Dragon Ride13 Jun 2027
- How to train for SBT GRVL25 Jun 2027