Geneva Vineyards
This is probably my favourite place for riding in and around Geneva.
The reason being there is so much variety to be had in the vineyards meaning you can do anything from a quick 1 hour loop right up to a monster 5 hour ride with over 1500m of elevation.
This ride is my go to when I’ve got around 2 hours to ride and want to get in some sharp intervals while also enjoying some great views and super quiet roads.
The ride leaves central Geneva and after around 10-15 minutes you’re in the village of Vernier, what I like to think of as the gateway to the vineyards.
We ride right under the flightpath of Geneva airport, and make our way to the first (and longest) climb of the day. CERN is to our right was we ride up through the village of Bourdigny Dessous to the ridge that takes us to Choully. This is a 2.9km climb at an easy average of 3% (but it hurts when you’re racing your buddies up here!)
CERN in the background
From Choully we recover by heading downhill, through the village of Satigny to the river Rhône at Peney Dessous. After crossing the river we pass through Aire-la-Ville and begin our second draggy climb up to Cartigny. This is another 3% climb that when we’re on a group ride we try to hit in the big ring. The 1.4km doesn’t quite pass by fast enough when the heart is trying to burst out of the chest.
Taking a break on a more gentle ride around this route
Once through Cartigny the route drops down again to the river, runs through La Plaine and turns sharp left onto the Chemin de la Corniche. This is a beautiful little farm track (but paved, don’t worry) that runs above the river through the vineyards. There’s a little kick in the tail as you round the hairpin, but a quick hard effort has you up on the top and rolling towards Dardagny.
Pushing hard on the Chemin de la Corniche
On the edge of the village we take the main road and descend again to the river, and this time take the short climb up to Russin. This little bump has a couple of hairpins, and is 1km long with a 5.7% average gradient.
On entering Russin village we take the left turn towards Les Baillets – riding again past orchards and through vineyards before we descend once more and cross the Allondon river and immediately climb up towards Malval. This another sharp climb (1.2km at 7%) which stings the legs.
We now head back to Dardagny, and drop down to hit the tough climb to Les Essertines – the steepest parts of this interval hit above 20%.
There’s a chance to get the breath back as we ride back around into Malval and descend before the climb up to Les Baillets (on the road we came down around 15 mins earlier). This is one of my favourites, with a couple of hairpins between the vines, and in the spring there’s often a huge number of red kites flying around this part of the countryside.
One of the hairpins to Les Baillets
We’re now on our way back into town, but not before hitting the Maison Rouge climb to Peissy, and then rolling down to approach our final climb.
Peissy Village
It is last but certainly not the least. This final challenge starts in Satigny and heads up past the Marie, all the way to Choully. It is only 0.9km at a 7.4% average but after the previous 8 intervals the legs and lungs are really feeling the effort.
The joy at reaching Choully and knowing that the hard work is done is big relief. Thankfully my riding buddies are typically very encouraging and often all we need is a few supportive words to get us to the end of these intervals.
You don’t have to smash this ride – it is a lot of fun just being able to see and not gasping for breath on each and every climb. And you can add or remove any number of small loops and climbs to make this ride fit the time you have to spare.