On the Road
On the road, each group is headed by a Lead Car and a Ride Captain, with the main body of the peloton supported middle and rear by an additional three Ride Captains and a mechanics van. This convey is flanked by Motorbike outriders, who control traffic at the junctions and prevent cars from infringing in our ‘safe zone’. In the UK we obey the usual rules of the road, but in France, the moto’s have authority over the traffic and we flow continually, only stopping at pre-designated points for a comfort break and to top up with water. For this to work well it is therefore essential that we ride together in a tight-knit group, and this is why we ask you to sign up to a specific speed group.
Hotchillee groups are designated Race / Ride / Conquer. In G4, we are at most definitely at the Ride & Conquer end of the scale. Our first aim is to get to the start of the event, fit, healthy, well prepared and uninjured. Sounds easy eh? But believe me, there are a heck of a lot of considerations to reach this level before we even put rubber to tarmac. Our fundamental purpose is to keep pedalling, again and again and again. For most of G4, it will be a mixture of easy miles on the wheels and painful miles when you just can’t seem to find your mojo. When riding in a large group safety and efficiency are key. There is nothing like practice so if you have the opportunity to ride in groups in your build up to the event.
Preparation
Where to start?
Long rides – build the distance & repeat
- Riding 100+ miles every day for 3 days is hard. It will be difficult, and you will need to train. We would expect that by now the majority of our riders would be able to comfortably cover 100 km but you will need to build up to 100 miles AT LEAST once before the event. Try and get some consecutive long rides in as for many, the hardest part is getting back on the bike after a big previous day! Commuters, you may be used to this but for those who only ride once or twice a week, we have 3 days in a row to cover so if you can do 3 back to back rides, brilliant!
Get your equipment right
- If you haven’t had a bike fit, I recommend having one. Sigma Sports offer a bike fitting service and getting as comfortable position as you can on a bike is invaluable. We see many riders with aches and pains by day 3 that can be avoided by just fixing your position on the bike. If you’re uncomfortable, you won’t enjoy yourself and we want this to be an experience to remember for all the right reasons, not because you spent most of it in pain!
Food
- We stop for lunch every day and the hotels have a good, early breakfast spread for us in the morning. The support vehicles also carry some basic nutrition like cereal bars and bananas but if you would like to bring bars or gels with you, you can either pop some in your pocket or in your musette that you can access at lunch. If you haven’t already got a favourite nutrition brand it’s a good idea to experiment beforehand. Our nutrition partner is Rawvelo and you can purchase packs from Sigma Sports!
Train to your weaknesses
- If you’ve not ridden in a group before, try to. Basic peloton etiquette is essential and not something you want to be learning for the first time on an event!
We look forward to seeing you in July, if not before! If you have any questions in the meantime please feel free to contact Ride Captain Andy via the
HotChillee Community Platform.