Same here, rubbish weather since Jan so have been confined to the shed.
I am back using JOIN for the last month since the weather improved and the sensations, Garmin Vo2max / Auto FTP moving in the right direction.
Hoping for big volume over the next 2 months and drop 2kg. Bike has been fitted with semi compact and 11-32 so all good on that front.
Is there an easy way to compare or do i manually have to add it all up?
Its almost exatcly the same as last year at this time. But my ftp is higher, as i didnt have long pause in the winter this year.
Elevate the Strava plugin or intervals.icu tracks that really easily for you.
Well then you are not behind schedule, if you kept TSS up despite the lower hours and higher FTP, you’re in good shape to build on.
Well i didnt do any gran fondo last year, so wouldnt say i am on track 
How should i structure the next couple of blocks - how many long rides do i need before the event and how big should does ride be? anyone has some input?
I think the simple answer is the more the better. Both in length and frequency.
What you should do, you said you’re doing Vo2 now and then gran fondo specialty. Sounds about right. At the end the more you ride the better.
So just keep doing what you planned and maybe focus more on nutrition plans and training your gut.
Do you have a goal time in mind? Try to build up to around 75% of your goal time. Not every week needs a 6 hour ride, but a couple is definitely recommended. Also to test nurtrition etc. Also maybe do a couple of longer tempo (80-85% FTP) intervals in those longer rides to simulate the effort of Marmotte.
Sounds good, but how about some longer efforts too!?
I just did my VO2 Block which was not really successful, wanted to do 2 Weeks with 3 Workouts each, but only managed one good one in the first week, thanks to work and life stress… This week I have 2 under my belt and hope that I can manage a 3rd on Saturday… Pondering if I should extend the Block another week to get 6 VO2 workouts in, on the other hand it would compromise the 2 planned blocks before the Marmotte…
I don’t know how long the longest rides were on the Trainer but I would try to build up from 3h to 6h and do them as often as possible, just make sure they don’t wipe you out. I personally will do a FTP block with mostly longer FTP intervals maybe some over unders or long tempo sessions. and the the last block before the marotte will be more Sweetspot and Tempo work to build out the muscular endurance as much as possible. I would also try to get onto some climbs if possible to get comfortable going uphill.
Im very simlar wkg wise. what was your time and output for the different climbs?
Last year in terms of training i did about 11h a week. Closer to the event i did more, longer threshold and high tempo sessions. Like 3x30min @85% during a 3 hour ride (rest was Z2). In the weekend i usually did a 3h and a 4h ride. I only did one 6h ride. Really don’t think you need to to a 6h+ ride every week to be well prepared. But i would recommend doing at least one, with some intensity in it to also workout your fueling.
what was your finish time?
Net time was 8:25.
So did a big climbing ride yesterday with 3 long climbs in preparation for the Marmotte. The climbs were steeper but shorter then the Marmotte climbs (the open long high altitude climbs were to far away to make it there and back as my wife went out in the evening). The climbs were 60, 75 and 75m long the last one with 10min recovery on a flat/downhill bit. did the first at 83% of FTP and the other two around 80% from a pacing perspective I probably will go with 80% target on the climbs and lower on the Galibier because of the Altitude. used a self-made mix of Malto and Fructose for around 80g of carbs, that worked pretty well, still a bit of gas after 4h on the bike and had to make sure not to take to much in one go but it worked and will use that amount on my intense session until the marmotte. Could have made the mixture a bit thicker for the Gel Flasks then i should be able to get most of the nutrition in them plus maybe 2h worth in a 1 liter bottle that I drink first and then have the rest in gel flasks.
Had my 50/34 and 11-34 on for the ride and I’m sure I will not go back to the 52/36 front, I really want to keep the Cadence as High as feasible since I think dipping below 75rpm really hurts my legs in the long run.
Not much time left before the big race.
How do you prepare the last month?
I have 4-5 sweetspot sessions with longer intervals, together with some threshold/vo2 workourts TR suggest in the plan.
Personally I will do 2 more 14 hour weeks which will be 2 long 5 hour weekend rides (one Z1/Z2 and the other Z2/Z3). Midweek some threshold / vo2max / tempo).
I will reduce the hours down to 10 for second last week and around 4-5 hours the week of the event ( I arrive Friday so will only do short spin to test the bike on sat).
I am following a JOIN marmotte training plan. I think I was in much better shape last year for the Marmotte using TR but lets see.
If I was there for the week I would definitely do some proper spins as will be useful to acclimatize to the altitude / heat and its not every week you get to ride such epic roads.
I done the same for the Maratona years ago and rode 10-12 hours prior to the event. Possibly compromised my result but who cares, not going to sit in an apartment for the week 
Did a 15 hour Week and now is rest week. Not sure how much I’m able to ride next week since work got busy and daughter birthday. But plan is to do 10-12 hours then a 12-14 hour week 3td week will be around that again and then a taper week. Will mostly do Sweet spot and TH as well as some tempo. Want to try to get out and do a a climb that goes to 2000m or higher but not sure I have the time.
Will only arrive on Saturday so will only have a checkup ride down there. Bit worried about potential Heat. Weather here was mostly bad and we didn’t have much warm days and I’m not doing to well when it is really hot…
And yeah if I would have a week before I would def do some proper climbs there. Maybe a big ride on the weekend you arrive and then try to keep it a bit shorter during the week. I think some good climbing will not hurt you mich as long as you don’t go all out all week and don’t do big rides after Wednesday. I would defenetly just enjoy the week unless the goal is to win it 
Does anyone know what they mean with the insurance, is a normal travel insurance enough?
I think it’s insurance in case of an accident or if something like that happens to you, they will not cover any cost, so accident insurance for the event is something you need to have or pay out of pocket (I don’t know how it is in other european countries but here it is covered by my normal health/accident insurance)
Ive done them both in the distant past the otherway around (Marmotte 2013, LBL 2015). The LBL will stand you in good stead but there very different beasts. Principally the climbs in the Marmotte are a lot longer; just looking quickly (and non scientifically) at Strava segments I cant see anything climb’wise in the LBL over 12mins but you’ll be climbing for over an hour at a time. I found the LBL a lot easier retrospectively to the Marmotte but I hadn’t begun structured training in 2013 (started with a coach in September 2015), although I had a good base and cycled 16,000miles in 2013. As an aside, its also worth having a light weight jacket for the descent from the Telegraf in the Marmotte, Good Luck 