*UPDATE* the organisers have announced that as of 9pm Tuesday 4 November, entries for La Marmotte 2015 are now CLOSED. All places sold out within 12 hours. Marmotte package deals including entry are still available from independent companies.
Entries for the 2015 edition of La Marmotte, one of Europe's biggest sportives, have gone on sale this morning.
Places are expected to sell out extremely quickly. To sign up, visit the event website at www.sportcommunication.info.
With three HC climbs over its 174km route and a total of 5,180 metres of climbing it is a massive challenge.
La Marmotte starts with a climb of the Col du Glandon, which weighs in at 27.5km with an average gradient of 4.5% to a height of 1924 metres. From there you drop down (on a route so steep that it is not included in your overall time to try and stop riders from dangerously speeding) to the start of the Col du Telegraph.
That leads to the Col du Galibier, one of the most famous climbs in worldwide cycling. The Telegraph/Galibier combination is 35km of almost continuous climbing at an average gradient of 5.48% to a height of 2642 metres. Towards the top of the Galibier the gradient gets up to 15% and on a windy or cold day it is brutal.
There then follows a rapid 47km descent to Bourg d'Oisans and the start of a final ascent of the 21 hairpin bends of Alpe d'Huez. For all but the elite riders this is usually a major struggle as the sun will be baking in the early afternoon - the 2013 Marmotte saw riders experience 44 degrees centigrade heat on this climb.
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