2012 TDF Stage 11 Shakedown on the Alps Created by Robert Baldi Training Type: Race Simulation Working HR Zones: Zone 3 to 5c Total Class Length: 60 minutes Profile Overview This is the Queen stage of the Alps, with two HC climbs to stretch the peloton, a Category 2 as a prelude to the Category 1 summit finish—only one of two summit finishes in the high mountains. The photo is the Col de la Croix de Fer, which means “Iron Cross.” It’s the second HC climb. Copyright © 2009 - 2012 Jennifer Sage and Indoor Cycling Association Page 1 Indoor Cycling Association Master Class 2012 TDF Stage 11 Profile Objective and Intensity: Although this is one of the shortest stages in this year’s Tour, it’s one of toughest. The profile is simple: it’s either up . or down! After a short uphill drag from Albertville, the peloton will hit La Madeleine, La Croix de Fer, and Le Mollard one after the other before the final climb up La Toussuire. With over 100 km of time trials in this edition of the Tour, any mountain climber with aspirations on the GC will have to mount an attack here and again in the Pyrenees on Stage 17, as summit finishes are where the biggest gains can be made by the grimpeurs (climbing specialists) of the peloton. The climbs: Col de la Madeleine 25.3 km climb at 6.2% HC Col de la Croix de Fer 22.4 km climb at 6.9% HC Col du Mollard 5.7 km climb at 6.8% Cat.2 La Toussuire 18 km climb at 6.1% Cat.1 The gradients are fairly steady; what makes these climbs challenging is their sheer length and close proximity to each other. A lot of points for the King of the Mountains are available today and one or more riders with their eye on the polka-dot jersey will form an early breakaway and aim to stay out at least until the final climb. The GC contenders will stay in the safety of the peloton but, through the sheer pace of the “Heads of State,” the peloton will dwindle down to form an elite group before we reach Saint Jean de Maurienne, the last village before the final grueling climb. The beginning of class indicates the start of the race. Riders will be led through the warm-up in the opening minutes with the intensity continuing to increase to Zone 3 as we approach the Col de la Madeleine. When climbing steadily, riders should be working at a consistent Zone 3/4—a slightly uncomfortable tempo but very much in control. It’s what it takes to maintain a good climbing pace and keep the peloton on its toes. Whenever an attack is made mid-climb, it should be only to Zone 4/5a, as there will be no recovery and intensity will return only back to Zone 3/4. When an attack is to the summit of a climb it can go to Zone 5c, as there will be a full recovery on the descents. Riders should be reminded to keep control of their effort when climbing, establish a solid baseline that they can maintain for the 8- to 12-min climbs. When attacking, it’s only a 10% additional effort unless it’s to the summit. Copyright © 2009 - 2012 Robert Baldi and Indoor Cycling Association Page 2 Indoor Cycling Association Master Class 2012 TDF Stage 11 Start the Stage and bring up to race tempo (Warm-Up) Vai Viver a Vida, Rae & Christian feat Tania Maria, 7:12 No time for chatting on this stage. Use the first part of this long track to go through setup and safety and describe the road ahead. Get the riders to gradually bring their HR to Zone 3 by the end of the song as we approach the first climb. We want to make sure that we are in the front part of the peloton when we hit the first climb, making sure that we are able to respond to any unexpected attacks by the GC favourites, although that could be suicidal given the sawtooth profile of this stage. It also means that we can avoid any of the crashes that can occur whenever the peloton bunches up. Our strategy for the stage will be to use strategic attacks to mount more and more pressure on the peloton, stretching it like an elastic band until we can make it snap. We’ll set a pace high enough that we’ll shed riders off the back until we’re reduced to an elite group of the “Heads of State” by the time we reach Saint Jean de Maurienne. Col de la Madeleine (HC, 25.3 km, 6.2% avg gradient) Tour de France Etape 2, Kraftwerk, 6:40, 72 rpm Shiva Moon (Moon Nectar Remix), Prem Joshua, 6:40, 65 rpm The first track has a nice, gradual intro with the beat kicking in just after the “Tour de France” voiceover and this is where the real hard work begins! Use the first 3 minutes to get the riders to their best 10-minute effort on the climb and settle into a steady tempo for the rest of the first track. It’s a long way to the top, so it’d be suicidal to attack so soon—all we need to do is maintain a smooth, steady rhythm that’s high enough to shed the sprinters and big guys off the back. Just before the start of the second track, get the riders to increase their resistance enough to reduce their rpms slightly in anticipation of our first attack. We’ve already gotten rid of the easy targets but we need to make a sustained push to the summit in order to rip the peloton to shreds and leave many of them strewn on the mountainside. At 1:50 into the second track, the music changes and this is the start of our 4-minute highest sustainable effort to the summit—enough of this Sunday stroll, it’s time for the big boys to play! Leaving riders littered on the road behind you, regretting they ever started the stage, you’re gradually reducing the field with each pedal stroke. You’ve raised the bar so high that only good climbers can stay with you. But there are still too many hangers-on that you want to shake off before we begin the long descent down to Saint Etienne de Clunes, so at 5:45 into the track, urge riders to make an all-out, last-ditch effort for 45 seconds to the summit. Copyright © 2009 - 2012 Robert Baldi and Indoor Cycling Association Page 3 Indoor Cycling Association Master Class 2012 TDF Stage 11 Recovery / Descent Passing Storm, Ottmar Liebert, 3:57, 90–100 rpm The descent from the Col de la Madeleine requires minimal effort, even in reality, as gravity will do all the work for you. So, not only can the riders take a well-earned rest, it also means that those riders that have been dropped will not be rejoining the much-smaller peloton any time soon! So, encourage riders to regain their composure while keeping minimal resistance and cadence approx 90–100 rpm, making sure their legs don’t seize up before the next climb. It has even happened to Eddy Merckx; that failure to keep his legs active meant that they gave up on him on the next climb and he lost that year’s Tour. Keep them awake! Optional Intermediate Sprint: Not many contenders for the green jersey will have made it over La Madeleine in your group but, should you feel up for contesting the small purse that goes with the sprint, on the same track as for the recovery, there is a change of tempo at 2:35 for 40 seconds. During the recovery, you can prepare them for this—they may be too tired from the climb to even bother contesting it and, in fact, many riders don’t (especially those who care more about KOM points). Leave it to them as an optional extra (if you want to cue it) but let them also know that they’ll only have about 30 seconds to recover before we hit the Col de la Croix de Fer! Col de la Croix de Fer (HC, 22.4 km, 6.9% avg gradient) Twisted by the Pool, FAC15 feat Cathi Ogden, 6:20, 63 rpm Love on My Mind, Freemasons feat Amanda Wilson, 8:00, 64 rpm (1-min attack at 1:45, 3:30, and 5:52) Same type of long, steady climb as per La Madeleine, but with a much-reduced group, it’s down to business again. As before, ask riders to find their sustainable pace but to find it quickly! This time, the peloton won’t need to be eased into action, so we have to be riding tempo as soon as possible. The track has a heavy rhythm to it that just screams of hard work under a hot, baking sun—perfect for our riders! As soon as the music changes, let them know that, once again, it’s time to sort out the wheat from the chaff and shake up this group to find out who has the legs to stay with you. They should be riding at Zone 3/4 as their baseline but we’re going to make some strategic, 1-minute surges on the climb, either by picking up their cadence to 75–80 rpm or by increasing their resistance and taking it to a higher gear with the same cadence.