Saint-Michel-de-Maurienne Archives

Valmeinier (Télégraphe)

The weather forecast for this afternoon looked grim, but the various sources couldn’t quite agree on when the misery would begin.

I decided not to take any chances and 1) ride a shortish stage and 2) get in the car as soon as it would.

Provided that would not be in the final kms of a(ny) climb, of course 😎

In the end, I made it back home to the supermarket near our apartment, but it had started raining by the time we got out.

On the bight side: this was supposedly the last “bad” day for now and hot, sunny days are coming.

Not sure that’s going to be any better for me…

As mentioned, we will stay in Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne for my Tour de France 2021.

I’ve designated Briançon and Barcelonnette as French cycling hotspots – like Corvara and Bormio in the Dolomites – but this capital of the Maurienne Valley in the Savoie is definitely one too.

There are a lot of cols within cycling distance and a lot more further away, where opting for a car transfer seems the way to go.

The mountains on the southern side are the Dauphiné Alps and the Cottian Alps.

On the northern side is the part of the Graian Alps known as the Vanoise.

In this post, I’ll list the cols and possible routes that are “around the corner” from our base camp.

Tour de France 2021 – Stage 8

Valmeinier (Télégraphe)

Tour de France 2021 – Near The Base Camp