Last September, guided by a sudden idea, we put the bikes in the car and went out to the French Alps to climb some good passes. The French part of the Alps had been left out until then, so we were happy to go, even if the five days (in a row) without a rest didn’t seem easy. It turned out to be a very good tour, Bonette, Huez, Galibier (my favorite) and the rest. We loved every meters of it, I wrote about it on my blog. When I ended my article last autumn saying “we will definitely come back next year, because we missed a lot of good places”, then we really meant it.
The comeback
This year, as fate would have it, the summer family vacation converged towards France and the Cote d’Azur, and the little wives were kind enough to allow us a few days in the Alps afterwards, so we could combine the relaxation with a little bike ride. Of course in moderation 🙂
The French Riviera is not known for its iconic cycling places, although we guessed (and knew a little bit) that there would be good places there. A Tour also started from here in 2020 (this is signposted in all better places) and after all this is almost the Alps. Our accommodation was near Nice, and we could 3 bike rides in one week.
Monaco
Of course, we first tour to the best view of the area, we looked at Monaco and the small villages in the area (Éze, Turbie, Peillon). Of course, we went to Mote Carlo, we went almost all the way around the F1 circuit. I’m not a big Formula 1 fan, I don’t even know it all, but even I was know this track, it was a pleasure to drive around the cobbled corners in the city and the harbor, and the tunnel.
By the way, Monaco is a good place, there were few people, a bit fancy, but rather cool. There are hard climbs in that loop anyway, you come out of the city (sorry, the country) and you’re up 4-500 meters, just like the whole area, it’s not easy, not at all!
Col de Turini
On the second day, we visited the local iconic pass, the Col de Turini. We planed a pretty nice circuit, which had even more passes. Col de Turini was the opening stage of the 2020 Tour (together with the Col de Braus which was also in the loop).
The climb is also called by the local “mini Stelvio”, which is obviously an exaggeration, because although it is similar in length, it is very different in elevation and altitude. It only goes up to 1600 m high, 24 km from Sospel, so the average is around 6%. But this is cheating (as usual), because there is also a horizontal part of about 3-4 km (so I saw 7-8 % on the display). So it’s not difficult, but it’s really spectacular.
The first part takes you through a beautiful gorge, there are a lot of turns, U-turns and ramps, which really makes it a Stelvio, there’s more to it than the Stelvion, it’s very photogenic and spectacular. The whole loop is an absolute okay, there are difficult parts and easier parts, it is basically not easy (85 km with an elevation 2500), but the rhythm is very good, you don’t feel this difficulty. The view and the surroundings are magnificent! One of the best non-altitude loop ever. Really highly recommended.
The Cipressa and the Poggio
There was no question that if we were already in Nice, the two iconic climbs of the Milan – San Remo one-day classic had to be cycling. Both Cipressa and Poggio are famous for the fact that the race is usually decided on these two uphills at the end of the 300 km stage, a few km before San Remo. We started from Menton, from the beautiful small French border town, along the coast, little climb and back.
The hike was not difficult, since there were not many levels on the coastal road (but it was really hot), and the two climbs were nothing special. They are not too high (3-400 m), not too long (3-4 km), the view is not bad, but nothing spectacular. Typical Mediterranean atmosphere, the pines smell, the two small towns (the climbs got their name from them) are cute and quiet, the road is 3-5%, perfect asphalt. So, if they weren’t iconic, nobody would care. They would be one of many thousands. History has been made because of the race, which is why climbing collectors come here. There are still a lot of bikers here.
It is interesting that part of the road (after Ospedaliti) went along a very cool bike path, built on the site of an old railway line. The road is wide, almost like a country road, easy to ride, it goes by the sea, and it had two very long tunnels, one of which was 3 km long. It was cool! And the sea road was very enjoyable, a real rollercoaster ride next to the turquoise water.
Relocation to the Alps
After the one-week beach holiday, we moved to the Alps (next to Bourg-Saint-Mauric, La Rosiere). The area is famous for the best ski areas in France, and in the summer it is more of bikers and hiking paradise. Last fall we did our French Alpine tour with Barcelonette and Briançon as the starting point, from there we climbed the most iconic passes, now we came further north (not by chance).
During the four days we biked 3, Iserian was the main goal, then Petit St. Bernard, Madaleine, Glandon, Montvernier. The problem is that, on the one hand, we didn’t have much time, on the other hand, the distances are too big for you to climb everything with a bicycle, and on the third hand, there are many levels with long distances. For example, from Bourg Saint Maurice (the city where we lived) an Iserian there and back is nearly 120 km and 3000m elevation (48km climb!). A loop of Glandon – Madeliene – Montvernier is 120 km and 4000m level… so of course there wasn’t time for everything. So, whoever comes here, take into account that it is not easy to plan and it really doesn’t matter where you stay.
The first day was immediately on the Col de l’Iseran. Iseran is the highest asphalt pass in Europe, 2777 m, but it won’t be my favorite anyway. Tight, there is no rhythm, half the way is uninteresting and the whole way without turns. The road just goes up the side of the mountain, sometimes turns 10-20 degrees, otherwise straight and steep.
The beginning is quite steep, completely featureless until Val d’Isere (1900m). From there, however, it opens and become beautiful (but after about 20 km+). It’s damn long and the average is deceiving. Most of the road is 8-10% (which, together with the straight is quite a motivation-killer). But the upper part is worth climbing. Anyway, the length and the steepness make such a mixture here that we didn’t meet many bikers (and it was a weekend). The majority only climbs it from Val d’Iser (the level is one thousand anyway).
Meeting Valter Ati and Jumbo Visma
During last year’s vacation, we were in Bormio, when Attila was training not far from us. Then we avoided each other countless times, sometimes it was only minutes, but we were not lucky. This year – completely by chance – they also trained here (as if we were following them 🙂 in Tignes, but we never thought we would be so lucky!
As we went down the Col de l’Iseran in the afternoon of the first day, we saw the Jumbo Visma team cars on the side of the road where we had to turn. The staff said they would arrive from training in 5 minutes! There was no question that we were waiting to see the champion and the team! Although they had a rough training session, can take a picture together. We didn’t even expect that it would happen on this beautiful day of Iseran!
Col de Madeleine and the Montvernier hairpins
On the second day, we climbed a well-known and iconic pass and a less iconic but locally popular pass. Madeleine has been a Tour participant several times, is well-known and well-liked. Many riders rode that day.
Fortunately it is not on a main road, so the traffic was minimal. You can see Mont Blanc perfectly from the pass. We went up from the south, it was quite tough. It is not one of the easy passes… The average of 7.5% does not say anything about the difficulty. Throughout and permanently 7-8%, sometimes 8-10%. Hard.
The other pass was Montvernier, we looked it for ourselves a long time ago, the multitude of hairpins there is like an accordion. The Tour also went for it. We rolled off the Madelein and headed to the bottom, which is a small town. You can hardly see the hairpins from below. Unfortunately not much from above, the trees and bushes have overgrown everything. The best pictures are taken with a drone… We climbed it and the road took us on to the Col du Chaussy pass, which we did not know. But what a journey it was! 13.5 km, 1100m level, 7.5% gradient, it climbed pretty rough all the way, it really didn’t want to let go.
Col de Petit Saint Bernard and Roselend Pass
On our last day we looked at the Petit Saint Bernard pass, which is close to the accommodation. We went down to Bourg Saint Maurice and climbed the Roselend Pass. Together, these two covered a 20 and a 30 km climb.
The Roselend climb was surprisingly beautiful, we didn’t expect it, we met a lot of cyclists! Green covered mountains, good switchbacks, beautiful peaks and glaciers. The Tour went down there 3 weeks ago, the ascent is an average of 6 (level 1183m, 20km), but it seems harder than that, because there are lighter parts.
In the first 20 km of Little Szent-Bernárd, there are almost only hairpins, with a great view of the Iseran valley, the last 10 km are not difficult either. The overall average is 4.5%, 1383 m level in 30 km. You only need a bottom, because 30 km can be long! However, this is being cycled a lot!
We run into Jumbo Visma and Roglicc again
And what an amazing maze it was! One day we again ran into the Jumbo Visma team that was training in the area. We went down the mountain to the city with the family and there were the Jumbo Visma cars by the pink road! They arrived just then! If we take that car a minute later, we won’t meet again! Then we managed to get a picture together with Primoz Roglič!
Summary
It was a great tuor and we ran into Valter Ati and the Jumbo Visma training team twice by chance. This is how we got a picture together with Attila and Primoz!
French Alpine passes are generally longer and less steep than Italian ones. In France a “decent” pass starts over 20 km, sometimes 30, while in the Dolomites or Slovenia, for example, it is more like 10-15 km. You have to prepare for this as well, because this is the distance that requires a greater tolerance for monotony.
The “French situation” is much better than we were prepared for, but we also established this last autumn. Many people are a tipically french with foreigners, but the majority are very friendly and normal, they try to speak English (they really can’t) and everything and everyone here is very European.
The environment is orderly, the drivers are very friendly, everyone rides bikes, there are a lot of roadbikers. The roads are generally good and otherwise everything is very calm, the rules are followed. Mentally, everyone is more Swiss than Italian.
However, food and accommodation are expensive, both on the Cote d’Azur and in the Alps. Forget the restaurant! The average shopping is the same as at home, but everything is measured in gold in the smaller shops in the special holiday spots. The situation with mosquito on the Cot d’Azur (tiger mosquitoes) is completely unacceptable, it’s a total mess, they bite 24 hours a day, but everything is fine in the mountains.
Unfortunately, the French Alps are far away, and local transport is also slow, so whoever comes here should be patient.
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