Ride the Alps Road Cycling (tailor made)

If you are a keen cyclist and a fan of the Tour de France, cols such as Alpe d'Huez, Col d'Izoard, Col du Galibier, Col de Manse and Col du Noyer, will be household names. Now, you too can give them a go!

During this trip, we offer three vehicle supported rides which include a vehicle and driver at your disposition during the day for emergency repairs, food stops at the top of cols and along the way. You also have the possibility of being collected if your legs burn out!

It's up to you which cols or routes you choose to do and we will tailor make an itinerary to suit you.

As we are multi activity specialists and this area has so much to offer, we have also included 5 activity points with this package. You can use these points to exchange for a range of activities (see list below) - cool off your hard worked legs canyoning, test out your head for heights on a via ferrata, go rafting or revisit your childhood tree climbing.

We will ask you to choose your activities at the time of booking as well as your chosen bike routes. We will help you to choose suitable ones! We will then put together a personalised itinerary including time for local self guided road routes or walks, so you can make the most of your time here.

Whilst it's amazing to watch the Tour de France pass though the Southern Alps, it isn't the best time to actually come cycling for yourself. The roads are very busy with tourists coming to watch the Tour. The best time to cycle in the region is May to July and September to October when the cols are clear, traffic is to a minimum, it's warm but not sweltering and the light on the mountains is spectacular.

Have a look at our road cycling kit list for advice on what to bring.

Itinerary

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If you are planning on travelling with your own bikes for this trip, we recommend that you avoid flying. You will need to take your bike apart for the flight and then put it back together again and there is always the risk of losing it on the plane (especially if there are a few people with bikes on the same plane).

This leaves, either driving down or getting the train. Driving down is straight forward and takes about 9 hrs non-stop from Calais so most people do it with an overnight stop. The big advantage of driving is that then you have your car here for exploring, getting about and really optimising your time here. Check out our partner's hire car rates.

If you get the train, the nearest train station is Gap which has rail links from Marseilles, Grenoble, Valence and Paris (including an overnight sleeper).

We can help you organise your train journey here and have local timetables available if you need them.

Once here it is an advantage to have your own car as the area has so much to offer and for you to explore in your free time and it will be easier to get to starts of self guided rides and activities, but we can arrange transport for you so please ask.