Old Routes
We have a wide range of fantastic routes available for you to chose from, varying in length and difficulty.
Here’s an overview of one of our tours, which covered 440km of cycling and 11,000m of climbing:
Monday
During our first day we took quiet, scenic roads passing through the northern Vercors valleys and the villages of Lans en Vercors, Autrans (lunch stop), Meaudre and Les Olivets. We covered 82km today and climbed the cols of Croix Perrin, Moliere, Narces and Cote 2000. We had climbed 1800m by the time we got back to base for apéritif.
Tuesday
We covered 115km today and cycled through the amazing Gorge de la Bourne, climbed cols Romeyere and Mont Noir before descending down the dramatic cliff edge pass from Presles to Pont en Royans. We carried on to St. Jean en Royans and had lunch here before climbing the amazing cliff-edge road up Col de la Machine. Onwards via Col Carri to La Chapelle for a tea break and then back to base via Col Herbouilly. We clocked up 2800m of ascent today!
Wednesday
Today we decided to save our legs a little for the Alps, and cut the route back from an ambitious 135km to a more manageable 110km with a little less climbing. We set off on a gentle climb through Bois Barbus, descended from Herbouilly and took a great ride through the Drome valleys to St. Agnan. Then climbed Col Rousset to reach Vassieux for lunch. From here we climbed Le Chau before continuing a gradual climb up through the forest to the stunning summit of La Bataille, then a beautiful 20km descent via Leoncel to St. Jean where we enjoyed a couple of beers before taking a lift back to base with the support cars. Our total ascent was 1800m today.
Thursday & Friday:
On Thursday the support cars took us to our starting point outside Bourg en Oisans, a short 90 mins drive from base. From here we started our first Alpine climb via Col d’Ornon up Col du Solude, and circled the mountain via a hardpack gravel road to Villard Notre Dame. Then descended the mountain using a spectacular road with several unlit tunnels down to the centre of Bourg for lunch. After lunch we climbed the iconic Alpe d’Huez and descended via Villard Reculas to Allemont. Finally, after a short but steep climb we reached our hotel for the night in Vaujany. The distance was 68km today, with a total ascent of 2500m.
Friday started with a nice descent from Vaujany down to the lake, from where we picked up the long but stunning climb up to Col du Glandon and Croix de Fer. After lunch at the summit of Croix de Fer we descended for approx. 15km before starting the climb up Col de Mollard. From here we took an amazing descent with over 30 (!) hairpins down into St.Jean de Maurienne, where the support cars were waiting to transfer us back to base in Villard de Lans. Today’s distance was 67km, and climbed 2000m.
