One of our most popular cycling trips is the Tour de France week – an exciting chance to ride the route of this famous event just hours ahead of the professionals, before taking in some of the world-class action right by the roadside.
Running from Sunday 17 July to Sunday 24, this tour is aimed at rider levels 3-5. You can read more about these levels here. As with all our trips, we have full support available which allows stronger cyclists to ride faster and longer while others can take in shorter rides at their own pace.
You’ll be up close to the action as Chris Froome looks to defend his hard-won Tour title and Alberto Contador takes part in his final professional riding season.
Three of the days will be spent at the Tour and on the remaining three we will ride roughly 100km each day, taking in 1500m of legendary Tour climbs.
Partners or non-cyclists are most welcome to join the trip – they can enjoy the Tour days as well as taking in the beautiful alpine scenery and other activities available.
Here’s a brief guide to the itinerary for our trip:
Sunday
Arrival in Geneva or Lyon. Transfer to our chalet base in Courchevel and settle in before supper, during which Dave will discuss the week’s riding programme.
Monday
Our first day in the Alps takes in Col de Petit St Bernard over to Italy. We have lunch in Italy and there are options to ride additional cols if you have the motivation – or legs!
Tuesday
Another Tour favourite is the legendary Col de Madeleine. It’s a great challenge with some steep sections but also with some flatter parts to recover.
Wednesday
Today we ride the Cormet de Roseland. Used regularly on the Tour de France it is one of the most spectacular sections in the Alps. We finish the ride with around 40km on the flat as we make our way back to the chalet.
Thursday
Starting in Albertville we will follow the tour route over the Col de Tamie down to Lake Annecy and then over the Col de Forclaz before heading up to the finish in Megeve. There will be a terrific atmosphere in Megeve as the TT finishes and we have reserved rooms in a local hotel.
Friday
Starting in Megeve we will ride the last 80km of today’s stage. We will then find a good spot to watch the final climb of the race, before rolling back to the hotel for the night.
Saturday
The stage starts in Megeve and our plan is to ride over the Col d’Aravis and Col de Colombiere where we can watch the pros race later in the day. We will then descend the Colombiere back to Le Grand Bernard where we can watch the tour finale before heading back to the chalet for supper and packing.
Sunday
Travel back to Geneva or Lyon airport for the journey home.
The cost of the trip is £950 per person and £650 per person for non cyclists. This is based on twin occupancy of room – single room occupancy is available at supplement of £20 per night.
This is a great opportunity to get right into the middle of the action at one of the world’s most exciting sporting events. You can find out more about the official Tour de France 2016 route here.
Places for our trip are filling up fast, so get in touch soon to book. We look forward to riding with you.