As much as I like to destroy myself in the Dolomites, I have no problem with organizing my own versions of the ‘Tour de France’.
Although my cycling heart yearns for Italy, Paula is more charmed with the French part of the Alps, so sometimes you have to compromise 🙂
Although ‘sometimes’ eventually became ‘most of the time’ as a Giro d’Italia became more and more expensive…
We planned a first trip to the French Alps in the summer of 2010.
But Paula ended up in the hospital on our day of departure, so those plans were put on ice until 2014.
Since then, we went back for more ‘Tour de France’ adventures several times.
And in 2023, I finally got the cycle (part of) the French Pyrenees…
Regions
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Certainly one of the areas popular among cyclists, more specifically the (Haute-)Savoie and Isère regions.
Great if you’re looking for famous climbs like Alpe d’Huez, La Plagne, Croix de Fer or Madeleine to name a few.
And Europe’s highest natural pass the Iseran, is in this region too.
The Lautaret (Isère) and Télégraphe/Galibier (Savoie) both connect to the neighboring Haute-Alpes.
Alpes-Côte d’Azur
South of the Rhône-Alpes, this region is most known for the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence and the Haute-Alpes.
It also includes the Vaucluse, home to the infamous Mont Ventoux.
In the Haute-Alpes you’ll find a score of well known climbs, like the Lautaret/Galibier (the other end, from Briançon) the Izoard and Risoul.
The Agnel is leading into Italy and the Vars is connecting to the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence.
There, you will find the Allos, Bonette and Cayolle, both of which, like the Col des Champs, connect to the southern Alpes-Maritimes.
Where to stay?
Alpes-de-Haute-Provence
I really enjoyed our stay in Jausiers, close to Barcelonnette.
I guess Barcelonnette can be compared to a village like Cortina d’Ampezzo or Val Gardena.
And there are plenty of cycling adventures to undertake from there.
You can even get a ‘Brevet des 7 Cols d’Ubaye’, for which you need to climb the Bonette, Col de Vars, Cayolle and the Allos.
Plus three lesser known and shorter climbs: Saint-Jean, Pontis and the Montée de Sainte-Anne.
The last two are short but quite steep by the way…
Other than those, the area offers some climbs to other ski resorts, like Pra Loup and le (Super) Sauze and the Col de Larche.
A little further out, on the south side of the Bonette, you can go from Isola to Isola 2000 and up the Col de la Lombarde.
While we were there, I was able to squeeze in a stage involving French end of the Agnel and the Izoard.
So those are not too far out either, though you have to get over the Col de Vars first…
Hautes-Alpes
Looking at the map of the area, either Guillestre or Briançon looks like the place to start your cycling adventures.
The two cities are ‘connected’ by the Izoard.
Guillestre is at the base of the other end of the Col de Vars and Risoul.
Briançon is also located at the base of the Lautaret, and the climbs up Montgenèvre and Col de l’Échelle are leading into Italy.
Near Briançon, a few kilometers up the Lautaret, you can find the tough Col du Granon.
And as it is close to Italy, Sestriere and the Finestre are within reach, as I experienced during the Tour of 2017.
Savoie
Both during our training week in 2012 and our first week in the Tour de France of 2014, I discovered that the area around Bourg-Saint-Maurice is not so bad either.
In 2014 we were based close to it, with three major cols starting from there: Petit Saint-Bernard, Cormet de Roselend and the highest ‘natural’ pass of Europe, the Iseran.
Actually, there are five cols to be had, if you count the dead end climbs to the ski resorts of les Arcs and the more famous La Plagne.
From Moutiers you can eat your heart out on the 35+ kilometer long climb to Val Thorens, near the summit of which we stayed during our AD6 training in 2012.
North(-west) of Moutiers, in La Léchère, you will find the Madeleine.
The valley at the other end, the Maurienne valley, is where I found another favorite spot, Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne.
That sub-prefecture at the base of the Croix de Fer was the location of our base camp for my Tours of 2021 and 2022.
Isère
Probably the obvious choice for this area, would be Le Bourg-d’Oisans, although Allemond and Vaujany offer good alternatives.
Or maybe up the Lautaret a bit, in Le Freney-d’Oisans.
That is close to the base of the climb up Les Deux Alpes and the Alpe d’Huez alternative, Col de Sarenne.
We stayed in Villard-Reymond during our 2012 Alpe d’HuZes and although that village turned out to be rather remote, the climb up there is fantastic…
Tour de France 2024
Believe it or not, but in 2024 the (Haute-)Savoie / Isère will again be the battle ground of another Tour de France.
Instead of in Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne, our base camp will be in Albertville.
And upon scouting the area, I concluded Albertville was just as good a hotspot as Saint-Jean.
Plus it is closer to the Savoie, even if that’s just half an hour by car…
Tour de France 2022
From July 16 through July 23, I had another shot at missed opportunities from 2021’s Tour de France.
Once again, we stayed in Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne, not in the same apartment, but close to it.
And except for the ones I missed the year before, I added some – if not most – of the lesser known climbs in the area.
I also wanted to venture into the area of the Critérium du Dauphiné’s stage 8 of that year.
But in the end I didn’t for practical reasons.
As I had “only” one week, I wanted as less (long) car transfers as possible.
But I did have my “revenge” on 2021’s cluster fuck stage 12.
More on this trip here – it was definitely the most scorching hot Tour of my career ever.
Tour de France 2021
On July 30, I started where my Tour de France history began in 2014, the Savoie, with a base camp in Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne.
Well, I actually started in Isère, with a prologue up the Croix de Fer and then over the Mollard.
Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne is at the base of the other end of the Croix de Fer.
To the north, you will find the Glandon and Madeleine, with the Lacets du Montvernier in between.
To the south you’ll find the Télégraphe/Galibier.
There’s a score of other cols nearby and a bit further out, some of those requiring a transfer by car first, for instance close to Modane.
And while the official Marmotte Alpes starts in Le Bourg-d’Oisans, I finally cycled my own Marmotte Alpes.
More on this trip here.
Tour de France 2017
In September of 2017, I paid another visit to the French Alps for my very own Tour de France 2017.
That was mostly concentrated in/on the Haute-Alpes.
Unlike for Tour in 2014, when we switched locations four times, I picked a single location for our base camp that year: Briançon.
Like Bourg-Saint-Maurice and Jausiers in 2014, the city of Briançon is strategically located at the base of several mountain passes.
It’s also close to the Italian border.
Which meant I had the opportunity to destroy myself on the Finestre (from Susa) and cycle up all three end to Sestriere.
More on this trip here.
Tour de France 2014
After I had a taste of the French Alps during our 2012 training for Alpe d’HuZes, I eventually organized my first Tour in 2014.
We were located close to Bourg-Saint-Maurice and Barcelonnette respectively.
During that tour, that was originally planned for 2010, the ‘Brevet des 7 Cols d’Ubaye’ was on the to-do list.
I also engineered a ‘little detour’ to pay a visit to Bédoin, with the objective of obtaining the Cinglé du Mont Ventoux.
In the end – and after the fact – I can tell you that I will never organize any Tour de France of my own as chaotic as I did in 2014…
You can find everything you never wanted to know about that trip here.
What about the Pyrenees?
I’m glad you asked…
I’ve very nearly organized a Tour de France located in the area twice.
But twice that plan didn’t make it in favor of another Giro.
The Tour de France of 2021 was another (missed) opportunity.
Covid-19 didn’t make things easier and we found a dream apartment in Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne.
Tour de France 2023
However, my Tour of 2023 was finally organized in the Pyrenees.
Or in the “Haute-Pyrénées” to be more precise and we had a very cosy apartment in Bagnères-de-Bigorre.
After all, my (cycling) life would never have been complete without cycling up legendary cols like the Aubisque, Peyresourde, Tourmalet or Col d’Aspin 😎
I found Bagnères-de-Bigorre a very good spot to stay.
It’s close to (Sainte-Marie-de)Campan for the Aspin and Tourmalet, and it’s positioned between two other valleys.
To the West, it’s around 35 minutes to get to the valley starting in Argèles-Gazost for the Hautacam and Soulor/Aubisque.
Another 15 minutes brings you to Luz-Saint-Sauveur for Luz Ardiden, Tourmalet and Col de Tentes.
And to the East, it’s also about 35 minutes to get to Arreau for the Portet, Aspin and Peyresourde.
Ten minutes further, you find Saint-Lary-Soulan for Port de Bielsa, Piau-Engaly and the lakes near Oredon.
I covered over 25 cols between Port de Balès and the Aubisque in two weeks
Not all of them as well known as mentioned above, but certainly almost all of them worth the effort.
A map with cols in the French Alps I’ve created info pages for, as well as the track of the Marmotte Alpes, which will be more visible when you zoom in to Bourg-d’Oisans:
Background picture: Tadey Pogačar (UAE, yellow jersey) and Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step, white jersey) waved to the crowd on the Tour de France podium after Stage 16 in Nîmes. Creator: Felix Wong, 16 Jul 2024.
License: Attribution 4.0 International
