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Every year, one of the Stages of the Tour de France is opened up to ambitious cyclists from around the world. The stage is known as 'l’Etape du Tour' and offers amateur cyclists the opportunity to pit themselves against the same monstrous climbs and descents, that the best in world race through during the Tour. This is an event which is not for the light hearted, as the climbs are long, steep and torturous. Not to mentioned the descents, which are notoriously severe and dangerous; the sharp bends packing in cyclists - leading to bikes and bodies bumping at high speed.

So what is the attraction?

Mike Bookfield is a man who has just successfully completed this years l’Etape du Tour. Mike was good enough to speak to EnduranceSource about his experience, training and what advice he would offer to those considering this challenge.

Mike L'Etape is a pretty tough event. What was that initially inspired you to sign up?

I decided I would concentrate on the bike in 2008 as I was concerned that I wasn’t reaching my potential at any event with my triathlon training. I‘m not a talented runner and certainly not a fish in the water but with focused training I reckoned I could reach a higher level on the bike.

My goals tend to be personal ones and I constantly draw parallels with my music. I don’t play music to impress people. I do it because I love to study the masters and have a creative outlet. There are few things that compare to the feeling of stringing some great solos together and feeling the audience there with you. The powerful emotions you feel when finishing a marathon or endurance event that you’ve spent months working towards are the same, its not just the event itself but the work leading up to it, be it practicing music or training. I figured that, if I was going to concentrate on the bike, I needed an event big enough to justify the work I was willing to put in. It just so happened I was willing to put in some serious hours, so in my mind this equaled the L’Etape du tour.

What kind of bike were you cycling and did you have any issues getting your equipment over in one piece?

I did a training weekend in Skipton and used this as a trial run for the bike box. It can be quite daunting taking the bike apart at first, but when you have done it once successfully you won’t need to think about it again. I actually watched a video of a guy doing it and wrote notes and follow them now whenever I need to take the bike abroad.

I have 2 bikes a Cervelo R3 for racing and a Lapierre SL cruiser which was a hybrid but I hot-rodded it into racer. It’s great for winter training and sportifs as it has a triple chainset. I used the Lapierre on the Etape because it had the triple even though it’s much heavier as the R3.

It was suggested I got a spare seat post clamp and rear drop out/hanger as these are commonly broken when putting the bike together, I did not need them but I would go to the trouble as you’ll never get replacements at the event.

My notes on Packing the Bike can be viewed on my website, www.mikebrookfield.com on the bike resources link on Etape report page.

For those of our readers who might one day consider signing up for L'Etape. Can you paint us a bit of a picture regarding the training which you did in order to prepare? (Types of sessions, training camps, duration etc etc..)

I was doing over 1400km on a decent month which is a lot of riding. My training was disrupted somewhat when came off the bike in March and I broke my collarbone and hand. To finish the etape you don’t need to do this much training but the main difference with this kind of event and other sportifs is the broom wagon which completes the course in the maximum time possible so if it passes you, you are eliminated. You don’t have the luxury of taking your time to complete this event.

Charity rides can help get miles in the legs. In May I did Mizen Head to Malin Head, 600k full length of Ireland south to north, which raised loads of money for Neurofibromatosis, was great fun and 4 days of 150k+ a day is obviously great for your endurance.

I trained 5 days a week with rest days doing core work and stretching.

The hardest part was having 3 days together (Sunday, Monday, Tuesday) this really tested my dedication because I obviously had to work as well. A typical training week could look like this:

 Sun - Endurance ride 4 hrs+Mon - Endurance ride 3 hrsTuesday - Sprints/Hill workWed - CoreThursday - Club Spin (Endurance 31/2 hrs) Fri - Turbo or Sprints/Hill workSat - Core

Aidan Hammond was my coach and I would highly recommend him.

The Skipton training camp was excellent and very tough going in the Yorkshire Dales, this was through Sports Tours International but not essential as there are so many great local tours around Ireland.

If you’re not a member of a club and your considering an event like this you really should join one. I train with Swords CC and it is an excellent club with inspiring characters who are very willing to share their time and cycling knowledge. My learning curve has been massive since I started riding alongside local legends like Sean and Jimmy Lally who still dominate races every week despite being 65+ in age.

Endurance: The ability or strength to continue or last, despite fatigue, stress, or other adverse conditions; stamina