Strava, the global online community for athletes, has launched an official L’Etape du Tour Segment Challenge in partnership with organisers A.S.O. 

The 142km L’Etape du Tour 2015 takes place on Sunday 19th July, starting in Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne and finishing at La Toussuire incorporating three major climbs along the way - the Col du Chaussy (1,533m), Col du Glandon and Col de la Croix de Fer (2,067m) before the final climb into La Toussuire (1,705m). 

The L’Etape du Tour Segment Challenge takes place on the day on the Col du Glandon. Every rider who takes on the 19.9km climb on the L’Etape du Tour will receive a digital badge and be entered into a leaderboard specifically for the event. 

To date there have been almost 4,000 attempts of the Col du Glandon on Strava. The current Strava KOM holder is Team LottoNL - Jumbo rider Laurens ten Dam in a time of 58:48 with an average speed of 20.4 km/h. The Strava QOM title is held by retired professional and Olympic silver medallist, Emma Pooley in a time of 1:14:53 with an average speed of 16.0km/h.  

From the thousands of attempts, Strava have calculated the average ascent time of the Col du Glandon as 1:49:33 for men and 2:03:09 for women – both have come in around 50 minutes slower than the current Strava KOM and QOM holders. 

FDJ rider, Thibaut Pinot last rode the Col du Glandon in May to recce the climb ahead of this year’s Tour de France where it features in Stage 18. He put down a time of 1:05:18 placing him 4th on the Strava leaderboard.  

“At just under 20km, it's a very long climb that gets more and more difficult as you go on - you certainly need to pace yourself. The first part of the climb is fairly steady and then it kicks up from Saint Colomban des Villards, the last 5km where you can see the summit is particularly tough." 

He continued, “Although the stage itself is fairly short, it’s pretty brutal as there are a lot of climbs one after another. Good nutrition and staying hydrated will be the key to getting through the stage.” 

Strava have also pulled average times for the Col du Chaussy and La Toussuire. Within the 142km stage there is 5,056 metres of climbing - which means the average male cyclist will be climbing for just over 4 hrs 15 mins and the average female around 5 hrs 30 mins. 

Col du Glandon (1,930m)

Strava KOM 58:48 - Laurens ten Dam 
Male average ascent time - 1:49:33 
Strava QOM 1:14:53 - Emma Pooley  
Female average ascent time - 2:03:09

Col du Chaussy (1,533m)

Strava KOM 43:39 - Andrei Krasilnikau and Adam Yates
Male average ascent time - 1:07:29 
Strava QOM 1:18:02 - Lianne Loosveld 
Female average ascent time - 1:36:16 

La Toussuire (1,705m)

Strava KOM 42:18 - Pierre Latour 
Male average ascent time - 1:20:19 
Strava QOM 1:20:18 - Victoria Alpen 
Female average ascent time - 1:52:36  

In addition, all participants are invited to join the online community of L’Etape du Tour by using the official Strava Club. Riders can use the club to see the progress of fellow riders as well as interacting and sharing tips ahead of the ride and special offers. 

The route for L’Etape du Tour 2015 is also available to view and download on Strava: https://www.strava.com/clubs/145034/group_events/59443.   

For more information on Strava, please visit www.strava.com.