Riding a European mountain sportive such as the Etape du Tour or Marmotte is a serious undertaking for even experienced riders and can seem daunting if you’ve never done such an event before.

Completing a mountain sportive is a real achievement though and, with proper preparation, will give you a great sense of satisfaction. This monthly series of articles will focus on not just ‘getting round’ a mountainous sportive but optimising all aspects of your training and preparation to get the most out of your trip – and hopefully enjoy yourself on the way.

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We’ll use the Etape du Tour as an example as it’s a very popular event with Brits, but there are plenty of other European mountain sportive that will require similar preparation. This year’s Etape takes in stage 19 Tour de France and is on the July 19 – so as you’re reading this you have a little more than four months to prepare.

Signing up for the Etape is a major undertaking, so ideally by now you’ll have completed a solid winter of training and are maybe looking to go away to a warm weather training camp to add a quality training block focusing on more miles and some serious climbing. However, for some of you this article may be a bit of a wake-up call and a reminder that it’s time to get some serious time in on the bike! The good news is that even starting now you have time to gain a lot of fitness from a well-structured plan, ensuring you’re ready for July.

For those who aren’t familiar with the concept of the Etape du Tour, since 1993 the organisers of the Tour de France (you’ve heard of that, right?) have organised a mass participation sportive that allows amateurs to ride a stage of the race a few days before the pros take to the very same roads. The stage chosen varies each year but is normally one of the big mountain stages alternating between the Alps and Pyrenees. This year the event is a 142km jaunt across the Alps from Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne and finishing at the top of the climb to the La Toussuire ski station in the Savoie region.

In this first article we’ll take a closer look at the route for the 2015 Etape du Tour and the challenges it poses and give you an overview of the key training and skills you need to get under your belt before July.

First up, let’s dissect the route on the next page.