After a 15 min transfer from Geneva airport, we’ll put the bikes together, have a bite to eat and head out for a short spin in the beautiful vineyards of Geneva. We’ll be underneath the mighty Salève as we explore the super quiet lanes.

After a hearty breakfast we roll out of Saint Julien towards Annecy and skirt the incredible alpine lake. We ride along the purpose-built bike path away from any motor traffic all the way through the valley to the town of Ugine where we’ll have some lunch.

 After lunch is when the climbing starts. We ride up the super quiet Col de la Forclaz which is a nice short cut up into the Beaufortain valley. It’s then a spectacular road through Beaufort (home of the famous cheese) from where the major climb of the day begins.

 The Cormet de Roselend is almost 24km long at an average of 5.3%. This does include a flat section along the stunning lake, meaning the climbing is more like an average of 7-8%. The majority of the climb is nicely shaded in the forest, only breaking out once you reach the lake. Then we’re up into the alpine meadows, passing waterfalls and plenty of marmots. Once over the col there’s just the fun descent down to Bourg Saint Maurice to our hotel.

From the col we’re downhill all the way, past the Col de Lauteret (always nice to tick off a col without having to climb it!) into Briançon and our hotel.

What goes up must come down. Whilst the first part of today is all uphill, the second half is 86KM of downhill!

 We leave Bourg Saint Maurice along the local bike path, which keeps us away from the cars and buses for the first 12K of the climb to Sainte Foy. From there we keep climbing to Val d’isere where we’ll have a coffee. Caffeine fueled, we’ll then attack the final stretch of the Col d’Iseran getting up to 2,770m above sea level. This is the highest paved pass in Europe and the views on the way up are spectacular.

 The descent from the col feels endless and be sure to stop and take some photos of the road snaking away below you. We’ll eat lunch in Bonneval-sur-Arc before continuing the run down the Maurienne valley, through numerous beautiful mountain villages and past stunning hill forts. Our goal is Saint Jean de Maurienne, where we’ll spend the night.

What to say about today? One of the most iconic double acts in the alps, the Telegraph and Galibier is an amazing route which takes us up to 2,642m.

 We warm up in the valley with a run to Saint Michel de Maurienne where we turn right and immediately climb out of the town on the lower slopes of the Telegraph. Whilst the Galibier tends to take the headlines, the Telegraph is a great climb, with some steep pitches on the way up to 1,566m. From the col there’s a short run down into Valloire.

 Heading out of the ski station there are some steep sections to bring us on to the long drag out towards Plan Lachat. We can see the wall up to the higher sections of the Galibier across the valley from a long way out. The climb is always pretty steady, never terribly steep, and always spectacular. Once up onto the plateau, we soon are able to see the final stretch above the tunnel ahead of us. This last kilometer at 9% tests even the best climbers, but once up at the col we’re able to look over towards the mighty Meije, and back towards Mont Blanc.

 Then back the way we came, with only the short climb back up the Telegraph in our way to returning to the hotel.

This is an optional trip, it can also be taken as a rest day, or there are some shorter self guided options available for today.

Today we’ll ride one of the most memorable roads in Europe. Along with one of the classic Tour de France climbs.

 After a short warm up from the hotel we arrive at the foot of the Lacets de Montvernier. This truly iconic set of 18 hairpins is so much fun to ride, with barely 100m between each bend, and views back over the valley. From the top of this stretch we continue up to the Col du Chaussy along an incredible cliff road. By the col we’ll have climbed more than 1,000m and now we descend a little to join onto the Col de la Madeleine. 

 We’ve now got another 14k of climbing ahead of us, at an average almost 8%. This is another beautiful climb through alpine meadows, herds of cows and sheep, with kites and eagles circling above. Once through Saint Francois de Longchamps ski station there’s only 5k to go before almost all the climbing is done for today.

We’ll take a coffee at the top and then enjoy the descent back over into the Isère valley where we’ll pick up the road to Albertville (home to the 1992 winter Olympics). Once there we pick up the bike path towards Annecy and spin back to the lake and Saint Jorioz where we’ll spend the night.

The mighty Mt Semnoz towers over us today, and the last big climb of the trip takes us up to the summit. We warm up along the lake before climbing up to the Col de Leschaux, a staging post on the way to the top.  In total the climb is 25k at an average of 4.7%, but there are certainly some tough sections on the way. We take in incredible views over the lake to the alps on this quiet mountain road.

From the top we drop back down into Annecy, and pass through the town into the surrounding rolling countryside. We’re now on super quiet roads which pitch up and down constantly, with the Aravis mountains looming over us all the time.

Before you know it we’ll be at Mont Sion, from where we can look down into the Geneva basin towards the lake and the end of the trip.

Once back at the hotel we’ll take apart the bikes and prepare for your departure in the morning.