La Marmotte Alpes
Oisans and Maurienne, French Alps · Le Bourg-d’Oisans → Alpe d’Huez
The original Alpine gran fondo: Glandon, Télégraphe, Galibier and a finish on top of Alpe d’Huez.
- Distance
- 173.7 km
- Climbing
- +5,070 m
- Est. time
- 9 h 55 min
- High point
- 2,557 m
Free to ride with a free account. It rides in your browser with any smart trainer or power meter, and your result goes on the leaderboard below.
Ride it in stages
Few riders hold 174 km on a trainer. Ride it a stage at a time: the cuts avoid the middle of the big climbs — a stage ends at a summit, in a valley or on the flat — and this page remembers what you have ridden and what comes next.
15 stages of about 11.6 km — none over 50 minutes at 165 W.
- Stage 1 (next)km 0–11.8Next11.8 km+87 m~24 minRolling · Cat 4
- Stage 2km 11.8–21.810 km+559 m~49 minMountain · Cat 1 · summit finish
- Stage 3km 21.8–30.89 km+557 m~47 minMountain · Cat 1 · summit finish
- Stage 4km 30.8–47.516.8 km+276 m~38 minHilly · Cat 3
- Stage 5km 47.5–60.312.8 km+52 m~20 minDescent
- Stage 6km 60.3–73.313 km+207 m~31 minHilly · Cat 3 · summit finish
- Stage 7km 73.3–84.311 km+453 m~44 minMountain · Cat HC
- Stage 8km 84.3–95.811.5 km+454 m~43 minMountain
- Stage 9km 95.8–1069.8 km+565 m~48 minMountain · Cat HC
- Stage 10km 106–1137.8 km+591 m~48 minMountain · summit finish
- Stage 11km 113–13016.3 km+3 m~20 minDescent
- Stage 12km 130–14313.8 km+26 m~19 minDescent
- Stage 13km 143–15612.3 km+117 m~23 minRolling · Cat 4
- Stage 14km 156–16610.3 km+528 m~49 minMountain
- Stage 15km 166–1748 km+595 m~48 minMountain · Cat HC · summit finish
Times are at a steady 165 W — no stage takes more than 50 minutes. Cross a stage's finish line and it is ticked — feeling good? Keep pedalling and the ride carries on into the next stage. Progress is kept in this browser, and in your account when you are signed in.
Elevation profile
464–2,557 m · 12 categorised climbs · Extreme · RoadThe 8 biggest of 12 categorised climbs, in the order you ride them.
About La Marmotte Alpes
First run in 1982, the Marmotte is the event the modern gran fondo was modelled on, and its course has hardly changed: north over the Col du Glandon, along the Maurienne valley, up the Télégraphe and straight on to the Galibier — one of the highest roads in the Alps — then the enormous descent past the Lautaret back to Bourg-d’Oisans.
And then, with all of that done, the twenty-one hairpins of Alpe d’Huez. The whole ride is an exercise in arriving at the foot of the last climb with something left.
Held in late June or early July.
Why ride this route indoors?
- Télégraphe and Galibier together are well over two hours of climbing with one short break — a block you cannot improvise on local hills.
- Alpe d’Huez as a finale is a test of pacing more than legs, and pacing improves with rehearsal.
- The Glandon, first climb of the day, is a session on its own; all four together are the benchmark of Alpine endurance.
Good to know
+Is this the official course of La Marmotte Alpes?
The track is based on the GPX published by Oisans Tourisme, normalised by Cycloscape for indoor riding. Cycloscape is not affiliated with the event’s organisers.
+What do I need to ride La Marmotte Alpes indoors?
A smart trainer or a power meter, and a browser. Cycloscape connects over Bluetooth or ANT+ from the browser, sets the resistance of a smart trainer to the real gradient, and turns the route’s GPX into a 3D world. There is nothing to install.
+Can I ride La Marmotte Alpes in stages?
Yes. Few riders want more than 50 minutes on a trainer in one go, so Cycloscape offers its 174 km in 15 stages of about 12 km, none longer than 50 minutes at 165 W. The cuts avoid the middle of the big climbs — a stage ends at a summit, in a valley or on the flat. Start from any stage and, if your legs are good at its finish line, keep pedalling: the ride carries on into the next stage and every stage you finish is ticked. The page remembers which stages you have ridden and which one is next.
+Is it free?
Yes. Riding it needs a free account — sign up in seconds with Google or a code by email, no card. Your result is saved and goes on the route’s leaderboard.
Leaderboard
Best effort per rider — a free account puts your ride on it.