TOR330 Tor des Géants

Race strategy

Hold a steady pace and save energy for every section.

• 2616m descent. Go easy, save your quads.
• Steep 49% wall. Control your pace and stay focused.
• Final 1935m descent. Save your legs to go all out on it.
• Long race. Control your HR and effort. Early mistakes cost the most.
• Control your HR on the first mountain, save your quads on the descents until 187km, then run your race pace, and start the final descent from 316km under control, then go all out near the bottom.
• Start · 0.0km–1.4km · Race-day nerves push your heart rate up: don't follow the crowd, find your own rhythm.
• Settle in · 1.4km–8.8km · Climb of 1382m. Ease in: hold back more than feels necessary. The race is still ahead. Climb by heart rate or breathing, not pace. At altitude your pace drops, and that's fine. Hike the steepest pitches.
• Work · 8.8km–178km · Descent of 1315m averaging 13%, descent of 1599m averaging 16%, descent of 2616m averaging 11%. Plus 9 more climbs and 6 descents. This is where the race is built: steady, solid effort. Climb by heart rate or breathing, not pace. This descent is hard on the legs: short steps, stay in control, poles if you have them. Running pays off here: run wherever you can. At altitude your pace drops, and that's fine. Hike the steepest pitches.
• Fade · 178km–316km · Descent of 1017m averaging 14%, climb of 1347m, climb of 1415m. Plus 7 more climbs and 9 descents. Your energy fades, and that's normal: hold a steady effort and stop counting the miles. Climb by heart rate or breathing, not pace. This descent is hard on the legs: short steps, stay in control, poles if you have them. Running pays off here: run wherever you can. At altitude your pace drops, and that's fine. Hike the steepest pitches. Your heart rate drifts down on its own: don't chase your early-race numbers, go by feel.
• Home · 316km–333km · Descent of 1935m averaging 11%. No heroics: settle back into your own effort and hold it to the line. Very long descent: first half under control, then even, let go only near the end. At altitude your pace drops, and that's fine. Hike the steepest pitches.

Course

By gradient, 43% of the distance is uphill, 46% downhill and 11% flat. The longest climb runs 13.0km at an average 9.6% grade (1245m of vertical). The longest descent runs 24.3km at an average 10.7% grade (2616m of vertical). The steepest climb averages 53.1% over 0.4km. The steepest descent drops at 49.5% over 0.2km. Surface: 76% trail, 11% road, and 7% technical.