Fast Bikes French Alps Route Guide

THE FRENCH ALPSlooking for the perfect biking break? Why not head to

France’s biggest hills to sample some of the best roads ever

TRUTH, KNOWLEDGE, KNACKERED SLIDERSTRUTH, KNOWLEDGE, KNACKERED SLIDERS

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French alps guide

french alps guide fast bikes mag.com

What, hoW, When? A bike in decent working order V5, insurance and rescue documentsRiding kit – including waterproofsDeodorant, toothbrush, toothpasteCamera, video camera, phoneSat nav and a mapThere’s loads of info on the t’internet

about roads in the Alps. We’ll chuck up our videos on fastbikesmag.com so you get a flavour of the road. If you want to do some more research then head here for a great start: www.alpineroads.com

There’s a good chance that many of the Cols will still be closed at the start of

June. So any time after this point is good until it starts getting chilly during mid-September. August is busy with tourists, and you’ll also have to look out for the Tour de France in July. If it passes through the Alps you can guarantee it’ll be rammed - and much less fun...www.grande-traversee-alpes.com

With scenery like this, sometimes stopping takes

precedent over speed

W o r d s : s i m o n ‘ r o o t s y ’ r o o t s P i c s : r i c h a r d n e W l a n d & s i m o n r o o t s

fast bikes mag.com french alps guide

GarMin zūmo660 -£539.99We had a rough idea of a route, so each morning we checked the map and jotted down which routes we wanted to take. Once you know where you want to go, the Garmin then takes over. The 660 is a neat solution, designed specifi cally for bikes. So that means it fi ts easily and can be used with gloves on. So we set a few ‘destination’ and ‘via’ points in and let the Garmin do the rest. Playing with the settings pays off , as you can be taken around an off ending mountain if you’re not

careful, so a little diligence in RTFM-ing (reading the feffi ng manual) pays off .Another feature is that you have half an idea what is coming up on the road. So if you’re approaching a blind corner, you know if it’s going to get tighter. Then you’ve got the compass to tell you if you’re on a (potentially) cold and icy north facing bend, before watching the altitude fi gure climb and fall.

GarMin zūmo220 - £369.99If you’ve got less cabin space than a hijacked Boeing, you might need a slightly smaller unit than the

zumo660. Well, fear not - that’s exactly what the zumo220 is. It packs most of the 660’s features into a much tighter unit, and just like the 660, it’s fully weather proof, so you never have to worry about torrential rainstorms mid Col. We use both the 220 and 660 on a near daily basis at FB - and have nothing but praise for either. www.garmin.com/uk

Bikes are brilliant in their own right, but it’s riding them that makes them special. Of course,

they have advantages in everyday use, but an epic trip abroad takes their status to a completely new level.

Roads make bikes, so surely it makes sense to hunt down the routes that will linger longest in your memory. Yes, there are a few belting roads in Britain, but what with their location, enforcement and condition, it takes a trip overseas to release a bike’s true potential. But where? Well, thanks to the titanic meeting of the European and African tectonic plates millions of years ago, you’ll struggle to beat the roads of the French Alps.

“But they’re miles away,” I hear you cry. But the truth is that fi ve hours from Calais is a true motorcycling Mecca. The French Alps are as accessible as heaven’s going to get on a bike, so that’s why Moby and I went down to see what all the fuss is about. What we found was paradise. The roads are amazing, the views

spectacular and the region caters for bikes brilliantly. As the crow fl ies, we ended up travelling about 100 miles, but within this area we found some staggeringly good roads with just about the best views you could possibly conceive.

After two days we came away with ten of the best routes we could fi nd, highlighting why this should be the number one destination for any biker. If you’ve not been, book now – you’ll remember it for the rest of your life.

the tripI was on holiday when I got a text from Moby. “Shall we do this trip on Monday?” Given it was Sunday, I should have said no, but the lure of the Alps was too great. I’ve ridden some mountain routes, but none in France, so I was chomping at the bit. We cheated a bit, in that we drove the Nissan Primastar down, but I’ve ridden to Geneva before and it’s a breeze. Given fuel prices, tolls and wear and tear, sticking you and your mates’ bikes in the

back of a van isn’t a bad idea anyway.There are millions of hotels dotted

about, so we decided to play things by ear, so closed our eyes and stuck our fi nger in the map. Annecy it was then.

In the morning, over a croissant and coffee, we sketched out a route. There are some great resources on the internet to plan a trip, but without a laptop we had to rely on the map – and it came up trumps. We wanted to take in come classic Cols, but then mix them up with some routes we’d never heard of along with some random bits, just to get a fl avour of everything on offer out there.

Given our two day timescale, we covered as much ground as we could. We rode as hard as possible, but still left loads uncovered. As such, we had to leave areas further south and west for another time, but one look at a map is enough to see that basing yourself around Gap, Barcelonette or Grenoble will uncover similar delights literally minutes after rolling out of your hotel bed.

How long do you need? A day is great, two days amazing, but where do you stop? You could be out here all summer and not go on the same road twice. Our advice is to just go for as long as you can, even if that means a long weekend.

And what to go on? Anything – so long as it’s in decent nick, sports good tyres and has fresh brakes. We went on a KTM Super Duke and a Kawasaki ZX-10R, and each has its pros and cons. The Kawasaki was pure and polished, the KTM wild and savage – so take your pick and don’t be put off by the narrow array of other bikes you’ll see up on the hills. The hoards of German, Dutch and local riders seem to prefer either anything German or something big to keep the missus content.

We proved that this paradise is well within our grasp, all it takes is for you to give in to temptation. The French Alps isn’t a wish-list destination, it’s on our doorstep – what are you waiting for?

the French alps are about as accessible as heaven’s going to get on a bike ”

French alps guide


Mieussy – Fryroad: d308/d328pass: Col de la raMazaltitude: 1,610MdistanCe: 22kM

You’ll not find this little pass on many suggested routes of the Alps, but that’s the beauty of this place. There’s so many great and classic climbs that many of the little ones get overlooked. A

good indication of a half decent route is whether the Tour de France uses it. If it does, then it has to be well surfaced and wide enough for 200 Lycra clad loons to climb up it. This route may not have the wicked reputation of its lung busting brethren, but it’s still a hoot.

The Col de la Ramaz is a category one climb on the tour, meaning it’s a notch down from the truly big climbs, but it kicked things off on our trip very nicely. Lovely sweeping turns soon turn into tight hairpins, meaning you get a workout of all your skills in a very short space of time. The views at the lower levels are amazing, as the Mont Blanc range towers into view – despite the peaks still being miles away.

But there’s not much time for sight seeing and as the road is well surfaced, it encourages you to press on. I say press on, but if you get time to look at your speedo you’ll struggle to see 70mph on the clocks – that’s if you get chance to glance down at them. But this speed is like warp factor nine in the context of heavy braking, tight turns and blind bends. If you manage to snick fourth gear, then you’ll be doing well.

A little ski resort at the top drags out before you can take advantage of your hot rubber and get on it again. Because this route goes from west to east (of vice versa), there isn’t the big difference in terms of road

surface or scenery. Both sides of the climb are pretty smooth, with little to catch you out other than your own misjudgment. Once you get to the bottom, you can head left on the D902 (part of the La Routes des Grandes Alpes) and head up to Morzine and the heady trip up to Avoriaz, or turn right and steam down to Cluses and hope that you get a good run through the motorhomes and the rest of the holiday traffic.

Watch out for: FuelYou’re having the time of your life, looking at the scenery and then you look down and see your fuel light’s been on for 10 miles. Take a sat nav to find the next stop – and hope that it’s downhill to the petrol station...

Mieussy Fry

d907d307

d902

taninGes

d308

the views of the mont Blanc range at the lower levels are amazing ”


road: d4pass: Col de la ColoMbierealtitude: 1,613MdistanCe: 28kM

There are other smaller routes closer to Annecy, but the Col de la Colombiere is where things start to get serious. You literally get off the motorway at the unlovely functional town of Scionzier

and within two minutes you're on the route, heading 1,100m up to the top of the Col at 1,613m. The start of the route is tight, proved by it taking us a mile or two to overtake a quartet of lackadaisical Germans on a variety of ancient BMW machinery. It was still fairly early, so there were damp patches under the trees, something you've always got to be wary of until 11-ish on a warm day. There was also some wood cutting operations under way, another hazard that isn't signed until you're on top of it. Apart from the views, anything could be round the corner.

Once you're above the little ski resort of Le Reposoir, the trees part, and you’re left with impressive views all round. Things then speed up as the hairpins stop, replaced by quick blasts that follow the edge of the mountain. The kinks that connect the barely straight straights are fast, but the more-than-evident drops tend to curb any over enthusiasm here. Like at the top of any Col, there’s normally plenty of traffic at the crest of any road, with tourists stopping to grab a quick coffee before gurning for the camera – with an awesome view as a backdrop.

The way down also offers a great mix of roads, albeit with a few tiny hamlets dotted along the route. You'll find this on the south facing side of any route. As the north doesn't get as much sun, you'll hardly get anyone living in this harsh environment – and roads tend to be bumpier

and less well tended. The sunnier south side, however, tends to get more villages, serviced by wider and smoother roads.

It's an ace 28km, but just one look on the map is enough to see that there's plenty more to look forward to – whichever way you turn at Le Grand-Bornard at the bottom. Three, two, one, go!

Watch out for: sceneryThe Alps are amazing and have spawned some of the best roads in the world. But there's a problem in that you can't go fast and look at the mountains at the same time. So choose which one you want to do first...

sCionzier – le Grand-bornard

Warning: objects in mirrors are bigger than they appear

sCionzier

d12

le Grand-bornard

d119

a30

d4

French alps guide


road: d909pass: Col des aravisaltitude: 1,486MdistanCe: 19kM

We headed out of Le Grand-Bornard and headed for the Col des Aravis, but got distracted for the sign for the Col de la Fry. So we turned left on the D16 and headed along this

17km route, but it wasn’t everything it promised to be. We got to the top and beyond, but weren’t that impressed as the road up was pretty narrow, bumpy and there were too many little villages dotted along it to get a rhythm going. It’s still an awesome road in the context of what we’ve got in the UK, but is a tiddler in this Alpine context.

Still, no harm done, so we retraced our steps and quickly got on the Col des Aravis. Now, that’s more like it. Like many routes, it’s tight to start off with as it fights against the gradient, but then the road opens out beautifully before tightening up again on the way to the ski station of La Giettaz, where again you’ll catch some great views of Mont Blanc that’ll have you reaching for the Toblerone. It’s worth having a look to see what the weather’s doing here. If it’s building up for a storm, you should see it here and you can change your route accordingly.

On the way down you’ll even come across a tunnel where it’s eminently possible to get your knee down. Now, I always thought the whole point of a tunnel was to join two places by a straight line, but not here. Tunnels are tricky, however, for two reasons. The first is the massive contrast in light. Going from bright sunshine to almost pitch black takes a second or two to get used to – especially if you’re using a

dark visor. The second is that these little tunnels at altitude are notorious for gathering puddles as water either drips down or seeps up. Needless to say, we avoided any hardcore action here.

Once you get to the top, the road down isn’t as tight and it tests your brakes and bottle in equal measure. The road surface encourages getting a decent lick on as you head back down to the trees. Once you’re here, pop your ears and look out for the various chalets sprawled over the mountainside which can produce an emerging car. Then it’s a fabulous road to the bottom at Flumet. It’s tempting to turn around and do it all again. And who are we to stop you?

Watch out for: Cold cornersIn the height of summer, this isn’t an issue, but in June and September, watch out for north facing corners where the sun never makes it round. If there’s any ice on the roads it will form here first and melt last.

la Clusaz – FluMetla Clusaz – FluMet

If you want wave after wave of corners like this, then you’ve

come to the right place

la Clusaz

FluMet

d16 d909


road: d925/d902pass: CorMet de roselandaltitude: 1,967MdistanCe: 40kM

From Flumet, the map showed that the road to Beaufort was a fairly innocuous one, but the the D218 takes you over the impressive Col des Saises. The way up from Flumet is

particularly good fun, with a good surface and quicker bends enabling you to get into the zone. There’s a big ski resort at the top, which is wide and open. As it was prime-time holiday season, there’s lots to do up here – including quad riding and a wicked looking toboggan run – perfect if your adrenaline hasn’t all been used up by now...

Once you’re in Beaufort, you cross over a scary looking bridge and climb viciously on the D925. This is really tight stuff here, and Moby had all sort of problems feathering the clutch on the Super Duke to get it fired out and up to the next hairpin. Between each turn are kinked straights that, once you spot your line, you can arrow through accurately before banging on the brakes for the next turn. We went up here, but going down must be one hell of an operation with you having to pick a braking point with pin point precision.

There’s not much to look at in the trees, apart from trees, but as soon as you get to a plateau there’s a surprise in the form of the Lac du Roseland, one of the bluest lakes you’ll see. Well, technically it’s a reservoir, as a dam built here 50 years ago captures 185m3 of water. We stopped off for a drink, not from the lake but at one of the two lake side cafes, before heading for the Roseland’s summit, at nearly 2,000m.

There’s then two sections of tight corners, one to climb up out of the

lake area, and then another to the top. Both are enormous fun – as is the run into the big town of Bourg-St-Maurice. There are awesome views – but you can’t take them in and go fast at the same time. You can glance the town below, and it seems so close, but it takes an age to reach it, what with its tortuous route down. The surface varies, but on the whole is pretty good after some major resurfacing works a few years ago.

Watch out for: WeatherThe weather in the Alps can change in an instant. Check up on the forecast in the morning, but also use your head and look at conditions. It can snow in August and rain at almost any time...

beauFort – bourG-st-MauriCe

bourG-st-MauriCe

beauFort

d218d

d218a

d218a

laC de roselend

d925

there are some awesome views on the run into Bourg-st-maurice ”

French alps guide


road: d1212 pass: GorGe de l’arly altitude: 1,027M distanCe: 24kM

It was getting dark, we only had dark visors, and the hotel was miles away. After 400 miles on the bikes, all we wanted to do was to get back and find a beer and bed shop. The D1212 seemed like the best

route to do that. One look on the map showed it was direct and there were no switchbacks on it. It followed the base of the Gorge de l’Arly, and as soon as we set off, we knew that we couldn’t relax for a second. Each side of the valley is covered in little roads, all needing some serious switchbacks to creep up the almost cliff side. Being stuck in a gorge means that sunshine is somewhat of a premium, and by this time our fly-peppered visors weren’t offering a perfect view – just when we needed one. With no switchbacks, all we had to do was follow the bed of the river. But the meandering stream snaked its way through the rock, meaning plenty of bridges to cross the water, some hardcore corners, and tunnels just to spice things up. With increased speed comes danger, and it’s easy to cut corners here – literally. Late apexing is the name of the game. Not only do you get a decent view or the corners, but buses and cars shouldn’t surprise you if they creep their way across the white line. The first part of the ride has no habitation at all, so it’s a blast all the way to Flumet – scene of the end of the Col des Aravis, so it’s great to turn these two rides into one long one to get a real contrast of mountain top and valley. The cliff sides part after here, and the ride to Megeve is faster and flatter, so we wouldn’t admonish you if you turned

round at Flumet and headed back to Ugine. The valley is so steep, the road frequently suffers from landslides, so look out for any debris on the otherwise smooth surface. Also, as the sun disappears a good hour or so before than the mountain, the Tarmac can lose heat easily, so temper your riding if you’re out early or late in the day.

Watch out for: timeTime can evaporate in the Alps. One minute you’re having an ace blast up a mountain, the next you find yourself miles from nowhere without any sun to guide you home. Always take a clear visor – and keep the dark one clean!

uGine – MeGeve

MeGeve

uGine

a40

d1212

each side of the valley is covered in serious switchbacks ”


road: d1090pass: Col du petit saint-bernardaltitude: 2,188MdistanCe: 28kM

With mountains on every side, Bourg-St-Maurice can get stifling hot, so it’s soon time to head for the hills. It’s a good idea to stop for petrol and provisions here, as they’re both

cheap and available – two things they’re not higher up. The route to Italy takes you up via the Col du Petit Saint-Bernard, a

tortuously twisting route that takes you up 1,300 metres to get you way above 2,000 metres for the first time. This was believed to be the route that Hannibal took in Roman times – we would have been happy with our feet up back in Rome...At least it’s easier on a bike.

The start of the route is hairpin after hairpin after hairpin. There are plenty of fast kinks in between, meaning that any holiday traffic is, thankfully, easily dispatched. The hairpins themselves are generally fairly open, although there are some really tight ones mixed in that need some clutch slip to get out of. We didn’t venture into Italy too far, but at the top is a big statue of St Bernard – and, no, it wasn’t a big dog with a small barrel of hooch round his neck, but rather St Bernard of Menthon who founded a hospice there in ye olden days. So now you know.

We turned around, gulped, and charged down the hill, hoping that the bikes’ stock pads would anchor everything up before we literally flew back down to Bourg. Moby was complaining about brake fade, so we’re talking about track levels of stopping here. Again, there are some incredible views to be had, stretching out towards the Col de L’Iseran – the highest pass in Europe. A quick glance showed that the weather was

closing in and the Iseran would have to be scraped for now. This would have taken us past the massive ski resorts of Tignes and Val D’Isere, haunts that I know well from other seasons, but riding in the rain is a pain, especially when the sun was shining in every other direction.

So we took the dullest road we’d been on, the N90, back down the valley from Bourg to chase the sun and to get one last Col in that day.

Watch out for: CyclistsFor some stupid reason, people like pedalling up mountains – eschewing the combustion engine and its benefits. This is tough work, and they can rock all over the road, so give them plenty of room.

bourG-st-MauriCe – italy

The run to the Italian border is a hard charge up a seriously big hill

bourG st MauriCe

italy

d902

d1090

d1090

French alps guide


road: d213pass: Col de la Madelainealtitude: 1,993MdistanCe: 48kM

It was getting late, we were knackered and were miles from where we wanted to be. But the lure of one last climb for the day was too strong, and so we set off in search of the top of the Col de la

Madelaine – and Pussy, a little village just off the Col’s route. After a couple of k’s we wished we hadn’t bothered. On the north side, everything was tight, viciously twisty and just all too much given that we’d already stuck in some serious mileage already that day.

A dodgy surface compounded the north side, but time after time we’d found that perseverance pays. And so it was on the Madelaine, it gets better and better until you get to around 5kms from the top where it transforms into a mini, no, maxi racetrack. The pass is only open from June to November, so you need to have fun while you can. You top out just shy of 2,000 metres, then there’s a great descent into the ski resort of Longchamp, which was covered in the evening glow of sunshine when we hit it. This top 10km stretch each side of the summit is a belter, with a good surface and more corners than you know what to do with. Because there’s not much traffic that ventures above Longchamp, you’ve pretty much got the place to yourself. You’d be lucky if you hit 70mph, but the fun you can have between the 15mph hairpins and the dangerously short straights is seriously intoxicating – or maybe that’s just altitude sickness...

The way down to the bedroom (the town of La Chambre – yes, I got

a B in my GSCE French) is seriously gnarly, but because the resort gets a lot of traffic over winter, the roads are wide and well surfaced. This south side averages a gradient of eight per cent – this is a serious descent and there’s so much braking to do that at night the brake discs would surely glow red. According to Moby, the KTM wanted to back in everywhere, but the ZX-10R behaved itself impeccably, much like it did all trip.

So what started in ignominy on the north side ended up triumphantly at the bottom of the south. We headed back along the D1212, the Gorge de l’Arly, from Ugine towards Chamonix, a valley road that seriously challenged our weary heads and hands. This road proved that you don’t always need altitude to have fun. All we had to do now was find a hotel, a shower, some grub and some seriously cold beers.

Watch out for: tunnelsThe nature of the topography means that road builders couldn’t always go round mountains – sometimes they had to go through them. Tunnels are dark, colder (at altitude) and can be wet – so treat them with care.

la Coulee – la ChaMbre

Circuits the world over long for layouts like this

la Coulee

la ChaMbre

a43

d213


road: d927pass: Col du Glandonaltitude: 1,924MdistanCe: 47kM

On day two we picked up pretty much where we left off – aching and knackered. So with some resistance from both mind and body we rolled out of our hotel bedrooms and headed for La

Chambre again. Not only is this little town the end of the Col de la Madelaine, it also signifies the Col du Glandon’s commencement. Doing one without the other is crazy, so buy one, get one free!

The start of the Glandon is mostly tree covered, tight and tricky. If you get out of second gear, then you’re on a mission. There aren’t that many hairpins, but the road rocks and rolls every which way on its way through a couple of sparse villages. Once you’re out of the last, it’s more of the same – but without the trees. It’s all pretty narrow on this side of the mountain, but you get to see any traffic a mile off, so you can take the odd liberty or two. Or three.

Once you get to the top, just short of 2,000 metres, taking the Col de la Croix de Fer is a great option. The blast to the summit is exactly that, as fast as we rode all trip, along the road cut out of the side of the hill. The route down the other side is much tighter, so we turned back and did the quick bit all over again. Awesome!

Then we carried on down the Glandon, on some utterly sublime roads. There are some huge damns here, at the heart of France’s hydroelectric power generation, but even these massive man-made achievements can’t take your attention away from the near celestial scenery. The mountains seem really close here, and are very imposing if

you dare to look beyond your vanishing point for a second.The two sides of the Glandon couldn’t be any more different, much

like the Madelaine. Again, this is only open for three or four months of the year, so expect it to see snow if you head over in the early summer. It was a rollicking way to start off day two, and after the first set of corners had been dispatched, it was game on for the rest of the day.

Watch out for: busesTour buses plough a familiar furrow up and down the hills on the tourist trail. But they can’t do hairpins very well, so if you see one give it plenty of room because they swing out massively here.

la ChaMbre – bourG d’oisans

bourG d’oisans

la ChaMbre

a43

d927 if you get out of second gear here then you’re on a mission ”

French alps guide


road: d44b/d211pass: unnaMedaltitude: 1,860MdistanCe: 35kM

For much of the trip, we used a map to plot, then the Garmin sat nav to bash. We stuck to the bigger yellow D roads on the map, ignoring the smaller white D roads that litter the area. On the

whole, this is a good idea, but some roads slip through this net – and the D44 is one such road. This was basically a short cut from Allemond to the ski resort at Alpe d’Huez and we didn’t think anything would come of it, but it’s an amazing road in two parts.

The first part is smooth, wide and has some wicked switchbacks. This was fun, charging hard up the hillside before clanging the bikes back into first for the corners. Then, after the village of Villard Reculas, the road reverted to its white status. Its narrowness wasn’t the problem, rather the massive drop down to Bourg d’Oisans became the issue. It was a huge fall, and turned our almost careless enthusiasm of the previous stretch into serious self preservation. The difference between spectacular and shitting yourself was non existent.

This road brings you out on one of Alpe d’Huez’s famous hairpins. We charged up to the top, before taking on one of the hardest climbs in cycling – downhill, with a motor. This is serious cycling country, and you’ll always get riders struggling up Alpe d’Huez’s 14km side, so give them some room. When the Tour’s on, you’ll not be able to get near it as 400,000 fans pack the hill. When it gets wet, you’ll need to take care on all the paintwork that tour fans cover the road in, too.

Each hairpin is numbered for the pedal pushers, and there are posters advertising timed rides up the hill. Unfortunately, I don’t think they’re for motorcycles...The truth is Alpe d’Huez is probably best kept for the cyclists, as aside from the 21 bends that take you to the top and the amazing view, there’s precious little corner-wise to keep the likes of us interested. You do get entrepreneurial photographers on a few of the hairpins, so if you’re on your own you can at least you can get a little dynamic memento of your trip... At least the road is wide, well surfaced and spectacular, every inch of the way.

Watch out for: policeBut only in villages. We saw one cop car in a town on our trip, and that was about it. Respect speed limits in villages and you shouldn’t have a problem anywhere else. Away you go – just don’t take this piss!

alleMond – alpe d’huez

alleMond

alp d’huez

d1091

d211F

bourG d’oisans

d44b

d211

We didn’t think anything would come of this road, but it was amazing ”


road: d902pass: Col du Galibieraltitude: 2,645MdistanCe: 32kM

A fter Alpe d’Huez, there are a few kilometres of dead straight roads out towards Briancon. Once these are out the way, then it’s rolling roads for 30-odd miles, with the odd hairpin

chucked in for good measure. This is a good antidote to all the tight stuff and enables you to let the bike stretch out its legs and sup at the oxygen laden air before the climb up to the big one – the Col du Galibier. If you want, you can stay on the main road and tackle to Col du Lautaret, before turning back for this monster – you can’t miss it.

Again, this is big cycling country, (it was first used in Le Tour in 1911 and a century later a stage finished here, making it the highest stage finish ever), but because there’s nothing at the top, it isn’t quite as busy as Alpe d’Huez. Once you turn on to the D902, part of La Route des Grandes Alpes, the climb up is fairly bumpy, pretty tight, but stunningly spectacular. There’s an unnerving lack of barriers along the route, so this does temper speeds and ambition as you respect the terrain you’re in. A brief respite from the tight stuff comes in the middle, before the big climb to the summit. Avoid the tunnel, and you’ll head all the way up to 2,645m on a new stretch of road, hitting a gradient of over 10 per cent and daubed with Tour de France legends along every stretch of the way.

You have to stop at the top for the obligatory photos, and to pay massive respect to any cyclist that’s made it up, before taking on the best bit of the Galibier. The road down towards Valloire is amazing; tough, challenging but hugely rewarding. It’s tight at the top, and stays

that way almost throughout its course, meaning that you get a real workout of man and machine. The surfaces are great, the views through the corners are good, and it’s not too busy, meaning that you can get into a flow and really take the turns by the scruff of the neck.

The Galibier is more than a Col to merely cross off, it’s an incredible stretch of Tarmac in its own right. It may have been the barmiest idea to ever cross the mountain in the first place, but this desire has spawned a classic Col, and an essential part of any ride in the area.

Watch out for: altitudeBeing high up does funny things to you and your bike. Humans should be fine at the top of Cols, bar the odd nose bleed, but bikes don’t like the lack of oxygen and power is curbed accordingly. The ZX-10R belches out 180bhp at sea level, but more like 140 on the Galibier.

les Cours – valloire

If you think this side is good on the Galibier, then just wait until you get to the other side

valloire

les Cours

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d902

French alps guide


road: d902pass: Col du teleGraphealtitude: 1,566MdistanCe: 17kM

Our last pass of the trip was a beauty. Having taken in the majesty of the Col du Galibier, we stopped off in Valloire for some much needed refreshments, before heading down the

Telegraphe. The Telegraphe and Galibier are on the same road, so it’s hard to do one without the other, and where the Galibier is tortuous, barren and serious, the Telegraphe is much more picturesque, faster and fun. This is going to be a blast...

Once you get out of the big resort of Valloire you soon start hurtling downwards, dropping nearly a kilometre in the pass’s 17km length. The start of the run is fairly fast, but as the trees build, the road takes a turn for the tighter, with corners coming in waves, challenging you, your brakes and your front tyre. Still, you only just snick third in between the curves, and before you get to the bottom there’s another episode of switchbacks before you get into the big village of Saint-Martin-d’Arc. This was probably the dirtiest road we went on, but it was nothing compared to UK roads, so it gives you an indication of the quality. A tiny bit of gravel was on one or two corners, but when your dealing with a route that has a hundred, that’s not bad going.

And with that, we were done – literally. After 468 miles through the Alps in two days both Moby and I were knackered. That’s probably the equivalent of around six trackdays, with way more corners thrown in. Had our bodies been able, we would have turned around and done it all

again – either that or gone off exploring elsewhere and come up with another ten awesome routes. Oh well, there’s always next year...

Watch out for: touristsThey may be gawping at the sights in cars, wandering aimlessly at the top of a climb, letting their dog out for a crap – tourists are everywhere. Slow down at the top of Cols – and anywhere else jaw dropping...

valloire – saint-Martin-d’arC

valloire

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d902

the trip was the equivalent of around six trackdays, with way

more corners thrown in ”


road: d902pass: Col d’iseran altitude: 2770MdistanCe: 74kM

Strap yourselves in for one of the most incredible rides of your life. The Col d’Iseran is the highest paved road in the Alps, and is a must on any trip here. It was a must for us, but it turned

into a mustn’t as the weather closed in quickly and soon turned everything very wet indeed. If there was one disappointment of this trip, saying we didn’t reach the top of the Iseran was it.

Stock up on fuel and food in Bourg-St-Maurice, before looking for the brown Route des Grandes Alpes signs that will guide you onto the D902. You climb nearly 2,000 metres to the summit, so you’ll feel your bike doing some dramatically different things on your way up. Where it wheelies at the bottom, it will whimper near the top, due to the altitude.

You won’t get the road to yourself, as there will be a fair amount of traffic on its way to Val d’Isere and Tignes, two of the biggest ski resorts in France. Once on the climb, it’s a beast of a ride up. It’s not littered with switchbacks, so it’s a chance to just ride as hard as you dare with the decent surface and clear views encouraging speed – it’s a bit like the Mountain section of the TT. After the massive Lac du Chervil at Tignes, it’s onwards and upwards still. There a big tunnel as you approach Val d’Isere, a time to wind it down as you go through towards Val d’Isere, where you could bump into the odd cop as its a big town.

After Val d’Isere, you then tackle the last part of the climb, so this means hairpins. There’s not loads, but enough to sate any appetite. The

views are spectacular, so suck them in at an appropriate speed – or better still stop for a while, as the run down is going to take up a lot of your concentration. It’s a awesome ride down, with almost every corner you can think of thrown in for good measure. Some bits are fast, some bits tight and twisty – but it’s all massive fun, especially the bits above the tree line. Villages are few and far between, so it’s only the holiday traffic that might hold you up – even then, it’ll only be for a corner or so. The last 10km or so really flattens out, just to give your tyres, body and brain a rest. Enjoy!

Watch out for: petrolNo, not where you buy petrol, but rather what you buy. The French have been sticking ethanol into their petrol for a few years now. It’s marked as E10, referring to the percentage of Ethanol in it. The jury is out on whether it damages bikes, so avoid it if you can.

tarentaise – terMiGnon

terMiGnon

tarentaise

ride as hard as you dare with the decent surface encouraging speed ”

d902

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French alps guide


routes des Grandes alpes How does a 700km mountain route sound? Yup, that’s exactly what the Routes des Grandes Alpes, the most euphoric collection of roads and mountain passes that you’re ever likely to experience, all gathered as one road, named the D902. It was unveiled in 1937 after the Col d’Iseran was completed, and stretches from Lake Genva in the north to the Mediterranean in the south. Over the course of its 684km, the route passes over 16 passes, with six of them topping out at over 2,000 metres.

The last climb to reveal itself is the Galibier, that opens in June, so once the snow melts you’ve got until early October to experience it (although it can still snow anywhere – even in August).

Everything kicks of at Thonon-les-Bains, on the shore of Lake Geneva. Pick up the D902 and head out towards Morzine (passing our first Col, the Col de la Ramaz) and the picking up signs for

Cluses. The first big climb is the Col de la Colombiere, 28km of kick-ass roads that signal that the party has started. Then it’s straight on to the Col des Aravis before tackling the Col des Saises. Already you’ve done a trackday’s worth of cornering – and you haven’t even got above 2,000 metres yet!

The Cormet de Roseland is next and this takes you through to Bourg-St-Mourice, an ideal time to stop and give you and your bike a breather. Up next is the Col d’Iseran that takes you past Val d’Isere and up above 2,000 metres – in some style, too. It;s the highest point of the route, but it;s not as if it’s downhill from here!

Once you reach the end of the Iseran, you’ve got a steady ride though towards the Col du Telegraphe. You might think it’s boring now, but you’ll be glad for the rest. The Telegraphe, and ensuing Galibier are out of this world, and done as one, they present a huge challenge for man

and machine – just watch out for cyclists! Once the Galibier is over and done

with, it’s the racetrack-like section of the Col du Lautret to get the juices flowing before the slightly less exciting run to Briancon. That’s a decent day’s worth of riding done already, if you want to do more then you’re on a mission.

After a fill-up, you’ll set out over the Col d’Izoard, a big Tour de France hill, before dropping back into the valley to Guillestre. A big heave-ho gets you up towards the ski-station of Vars with the ensuing Col de Vars presenting a decent climb with great views. An easy-ish ride through to Barcelonnette puts the end almost in sight.

But before a very big bath, you’ve got same awesome hills left to climb that may not have the plaudits of their northern colleagues, but are still ace fun. The Col de la Cayolle has a decent kick to it, while the route from Guillaumes to Beuil to Roubion is a helter-skelter ride and about


the telegraphe and Galibier are out of this world, a huge challenge ”

French alps guide


the only time when the road deviates from its southerly trajectory. You go East until St-Martin-Vesubie before the ocean slowly beckons. Suck in everything around Sospel, before heading to Menton (the ever-so slightly poor man’s Monaco). The closer you get to the coast, the busier everything gets, but once you get the the sea, park the bike up for the night and order yourself the biggest beer on the menu, because you’ve earned it. Al you have to do is head back – and you know a good route back now, don’t you!

sand or ski? The Alps are a big playground, and Annecy to Nice is a hard 300 mile ride. What we’re trying to say is that there are plenty of roads to choose from, so you can pick whether you want ski scenery or want an ocean view at the end of the night. We wanted to use roads that were there for a purpose – to get from A to B. But as there are hundreds of ski resorts perched at the top of some very big hills, the roads up to them just stop, so you have to turn round and do it all again. These roads tend to be full of hairpins, as they have some massive heights to climb. We ignored these because we wanted out route to flow, but there are some awesome roads that can be explored – especially if you’re on a smaller bike that will eat up these switchbacks.

Around Annecy, where we were based, you can easily reach the resort of Morzine before heading on towards Avoriaz. This is a seriously big climb and a whole of fun. A little further south if Flaine. You simply get off the motorway just after Cluses, head through Araches-la-Frasse and keep on climbing to Flaine. Around Bourg-St-Maurice you’ve got the Arc resorts, right up to Arc 2000, that can get busy, but are a real hoot. La Plagne is close by, and is a serious climb, while from Moutiers, you can give the ride up to Valmorel, the valley over from the Col de la Madeleine a good go. We wouldn’t bother with heading to France’s highest resort – Val Thorens – where there are too many villages breaking up the flow. Alpe

D’Huez, as you would have read, is typical of these roads, and if you want more the road up to Les Deux Alpes offers more of the same.

sand The Alps stretch almost all the way to the bottom of France, so if you want a slice of the Mediterranean weather, but don’t want to sacrifice the cornering, then head south. You’ll do a lot worse than follow the Route Napoleon, a 325km stretch of biking heaven that stretches from Grenoble to Cannes. Follow the N85 and you’ll do in a few hours what Napoleon took 100 days to complete. There are some excellent elements here, especially the sction from La Mure to Gap and then around Digne-les-Bains, Castellance and Grasse. It can get busy, so pick your moments wisely.

Basing yourself somewhere around Nice will ensure you return back to the shore every night, with the day being filled with some sensational rides. There’s barely a bad road around Sospel, with the Col De Turini being the pick of that area. Once you’ve done that, try the Col de Braus and the Col de Brouis – three mega roads emanating from the same place. The roads around the Gorge du Verdon are stunning and about an hour away from the coast.

The scenery isn’t quite as peak filled as the views further north, but the roads are every bit as good, and if you’re there for the riding and not doing the tourist thing, what does it matter!

the closer you get to the coast, the busier everything gets ”


Time spent staring at the scenery is about the same as it

takes to get to the top

It’s like a Life of Brian scene on the Tour’s big hills – conjugate the verb...

There’s a friendly welcome in the Alps, wherever you

go on two wheels

You really can’t go much higher on a bike. Welcome to nose bleed country

Bikes and bodies need refreshing every once in a while

Race ahead – but know the way

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garmin.co.uk/zumo zumo: for the ride of your life–

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Fast Bikes French Alps Route Guide

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