Cyclopaat, an alter ego with a twist
So, yesterday when I got home, Paula handed me an envelope.
While I thought for a moment she was handing me the divorce papers, it actually contained my birthday present 🤣
It was a printout of a reservation she had made on Booking.com and while she knows that my hearth lies in the Dolomites, that was just (way) too expensive.
But because we both have fond memories of last year’s stay in Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne, she figured this would be more than a consolation.
Well, HELL YEAH!!!
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.
As mentioned in my previous post, we will stay in Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne, capital of the Maurienne Valley in the Savoie, for my Tour de France 2021.
It’s easily one of the French Alps cycling hotspots – like Corvara and Bormio in the Dolomites – and there are a lot of cols within cycling distance of our base camp.
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 discuss the climbs that start at our doorstep.
So, thanks to the ongoing pandemic and subsequent “no fly” policy in the family, I get another cycling adventure this year.
As we will be going to France, I have obviously and as usual dubbed it “Tour de France 2021”.
While I do feel sorry for Paula’s not getting her well deserved sun vacation, I’m also excited at the prospect of having another go at the giants of the French Alps.
I was thinking (again) to plan for the Pyrenees, but I eventually couldn’t withstand the temptation of a remake of part one of my Tour de France 2014.
That was way too short – not the tour, just the first part – to tackle everything that’s in that area.
So for the Tour de France 2021, we’ve rented an apartment in Saint-Jean-de Maurienne, which is located at the base of the…
*Drum Roll*
