Les Troubadours

Race strategy

Run the climb at race pace, build your speed on the downhill, and go all out at the finish.

• Start easy and control your HR up to 7.2km.
• Final 481m descent. Save your legs to go all out on it.
• Ease into the early runnable section, then run your race pace, and start the final descent from 7.2km under control, then go all out near the bottom.
• Start · 0.0km–2.0km · Race-day nerves push your heart rate up: don't follow the crowd, find your own rhythm.
• Settle in · 2.0km–7.2km · Climb of 217m, high point 644m. Ease in: hold back more than feels necessary. The race is still ahead. Climb by heart rate or breathing, not pace. Running pays off here: run wherever you can.
• Home · 7.2km–13.3km · Descent of 481m averaging 8%. Build to the finish: leave whatever you have left out on the course. Very long descent: first half under control, then even, let go only near the end.

Course

The course climbs 572m+. With 43m/km of climbing, this is a rolling, mostly runnable course. By gradient, 38% of the distance is uphill, 28% downhill and 35% flat. The longest climb runs 1.7km at an average 13.2% grade (217m of vertical). The longest descent runs 6.1km at an average 7.9% grade (481m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 22.4% over 0.4km. The steepest descent drops at 27.7% over 0.2km. Surface: 38% smooth, 37% trail, and 26% road.

Poles

Poles bring little benefit here: only about 0.8km of pole-friendly terrain.

Quad damage

Quad damage risk is low (index 9 of 100): a few descents worth noting, none of them decisive.

• Ease into the early runnable section, then run your race pace, and start the final descent from 7.2km under control, then go all out near the bottom.
• 7.2–13.3 km · 481 m D−, -7.9% · 0.0 km ahead → even, first half under control, let go at the end