Last chance saloon for Etape du Tour training - taper time

We're almost there*. Two weeks to Annecy. Two weeks to Semnoz. It's not a lot.

In theory we're meant to be tapering now. Not slacking off, merely making sure we get the full effect of all our training.

According to my seldom-followed training schedule this involves taking intense sessions and replacing them with more relaxed ones with short bursts of intensity (two or three 20-sec sprints on the flat/hills, a couple of short intervals in a 90 min zone 2 ride and minute-long "how high can my cadence go" efforts downhill in a lowish gear so speed stays safe) mid-week and shorter rides at the weekend of 100-120km.

Of course there are other considerations this close to the event. What to pack, medical certificate, bike service, what food to bring (Matt from Mash the Pedals advises a few of the porridge pots you can buy in supermarkets so all you need to do is pour on hot water and find a spoon on the day), equipment check etc.

There is also the thinking about what to do once you've arrived in Annecy.

The main advice seems to be get the bike built and out on the road asap (for an hour or so). That firstly gets the lungs and legs freed up after the time spent on a plane/car/bus and also lets you find out if your set up/bike has any problems (ride around the lake maybe?).

The day before most people seem to think is a good idea to try the first few kms of the course if possible - just to see the lie of the land and get a feel for the first climb. But, again, not more than an hour or so on the bike.

Oh, and it's probably a good idea to get registered too - remembering to bring your medical certificate/race licence. Which reminds me. I need to get a medical certificate. How do you do that again?

*Water water everywhere
You might notice something different about that course map at the top.

Yup, the nice people at ASO have updated it to include - firstly - all the climb categories (one cat 1 and one HC) and they've also included all the drink and food stops.

Eight of them!

King of the Downs was longer and only had three!

Now I'm bad at drinking, I only got through one and a half bottles of drink on my last ride (a 117km ride along much of the Olympic road race route when being taken out for a ride with blog reader David - and lovely to meet him) so that's an awful lot of places to stop.

I'm thinking ignore the first one (20km in, there's no way I'll need water unless I lose both bidons somehow). Possibly the second one too (34km in). Check water supplies at the fourth (65km in and at the bottom of Revard - it would be good to have enough water for that and eat something that I've brought with me) then grab some more food and re-fill the water at the top 77km in.

There's another food stop at 109km, just before Semnoz starts, and a water stop a third of the way up it. I get the feeling I might need both of those.

The next watering hole will likely be Captain's pub in Annecy after I've got back to the hotel (hopefully un-broomed) changed and grabbed some food - although the "Captain's Burger" is meant to be quite good there - everyone's welcome to join me to tell tales of the road and make bad super-hero related "Captain" puns.