Cycling near Nice

supermurph09

Hi

Huge potential for a family holiday near Nice towards the end of June, also looking to do a bit of cycling, won't be full days but possibly with some early starts maybe 2 or 3 half days.

I've been looking on Strava and the climbs look plentiful! Had anyone been there for cycling?

As an example: https://www.strava.com/segments/686107

https://www.strava.com/segments/782273

cougie

I've raced in Nice - you get out into the climbs very easily from there. I think Sky have a base in Nice too - so clearly its great territory.

Nice to do one spin along the coast road - but it gets a bit manic in Cannes etc...

ronnierocket

Hi,

It's great for cycling. I did some there a couple of years back, and plenty of pros live nearby I believe.

I did this route 2 days in a row, really scenic. The first hill is usually the end hill in Paris Nice and the second one is where Lance Armstrong used to test himself and the Trek Madone bike is name after. I hired a bike from these guys http://cyclecotedazur.com and also did the first day out with them as a tour and then just followed the route on the Garmin the next day.

https://www.strava.com/activities/44820461

It's a love place Nice, great markets and restaurants.

supermurph09

ronnierocket wrote:

Hi,

It's great for cycling. I did some there a couple of years back, and plenty of pros live nearby I believe.

I did this route 2 days in a row, really scenic. The first hill is usually the end hill in Paris Nice and the second one is where Lance Armstrong used to test himself and the Trek Madone bike is name after. I hired a bike from these guys http://cyclecotedazur.com and also did the first day out with them as a tour and then just followed the route on the Garmin the next day.

https://www.strava.com/activities/44820461

It's a love place Nice, great markets and restaurants.

Fantastic, thank you for this, just the info I was after. I've been thinking a little more on this and have looked at bike rental too. Spotted what looks like a reputable company http://www.francebikerentals.com/ (I'll check your's out too).

Early thoughts would be to hire a bike and get out for 2 early morning rides near Nice (similar to your route) but then consider the logistics of getting to Ventoux! Seems to be one main road for 70% of the way. The rental company I linked had bike hire in 2 sites, one being Ventoux the other being Nice. Trek Emonda Ultegra for about £40 for the day, might go for something even better for Ventoux.

As I say all speculation atm, but certainly under serious consideration.

Cougie, thanks for your input too.

term1te

I did a bit of cycling around there last June. The ride around the top of the Madone was worth the manic traffic in Menton https://www.strava.com/segments/2363 riding down towards Monaco we saw Froome and Porte riding up, which was nice.

Don't forget the Col d'Eze www.strava.com/segments/2573255 which features in one of the Sufferfest videos.

supermurph09

Term1te wrote:

I did a bit of cycling around there last June. The ride around the top of the Madone was worth the manic traffic in Menton https://www.strava.com/segments/2363 riding down towards Monaco we saw Froome and Porte riding up, which was nice.

Don't forget the Col d'Eze http://www.strava.com/segments/2573255 which features in one of the Sufferfest videos.

Excellent, thanks. Think Ventoux will have to wait for another day, but looks like more than enough to keep me busy in Nice. Without Ventoux I can explore a little more.

iron_duke

Was based in Mandelieu, little bit along the coast going west, this summer and some great riding, scenery and weather. Down in the sea front can get pretty hot in the day time but early morning gives pretty good conditions.

Had hoped to make a trip across to Ventoux also but you are still a fair distance away and for the sake of family happiness I stuck to the local hills.

lostboysaint

How did Ventoux end up on the same thread as a cycling in Nice? It's a LOT of Kms away, by bike or by car! (Normally 3 hours or so in the car and 300km by any sensible route.)

The cycling around Nice is awesome, as has been suggested.

supermurph09

lostboysaint wrote:

How did Ventoux end up on the same thread as a cycling in Nice? It's a LOT of Kms away, by bike or by car! (Normally 3 hours or so in the car and 300km by any sensible route.)

The cycling around Nice is awesome, as has been suggested.

Just a thought that it might be the best chance I get, but I'll chance it'll come along another day. Logistically not easy as I'd want to be there early to avoid potentially high temps. As has been suggested I'll have more than enough to explore in and around Nice.

cougie

Iron_Duke wrote:

Was based in Mandelieu, little bit along the coast going west, this summer and some great riding, scenery and weather. Down in the sea front can get pretty hot in the day time but early morning gives pretty good conditions.

Had hoped to make a trip across to Ventoux also but you are still a fair distance away and for the sake of family happiness I stuck to the local hills.

Oh We stayed on the coast road near there - in the apartments by the huuuuuuge War memorial. Loved the coast road - we did a few rides up the Tanneron mountain ? Man it was hot. But a couple of cafes up there to choose from.

We did join a local club on the road - and a pro came along and towed us and the whole club. Never did work out who he was - but all the gear and legs to match.

bernithebiker

We stayed in Villefranche just West of Nice last September. Some great riding. Good hills, can be busy though.

I enjoyed gentle pootles around Cap Ferrat - it's where all the millionaires live, you might even spot a celeb. I even have a few KOM's there! (The pros don't tend to ride there!)

DrDavros

Far too busy down that way for my liking (I prefer 'La France Profonde'), but the Café du Cycliste has some good routes mapped out here: http://www.cafeducycliste.com/en/rides

BTW, the cafe itself is just outside Nice in Châteauneuf-Grasse - https://www.google.com/maps/place/Caf%C ... bec3b2daef (I'm sure it used to be in the centre of Nice, but perhaps I'm imagining that). They're a sort of Provençal Rapha (nice kit, but £££). They certainly used to have at least two weekly group rides, but not sure whether that's still the case.

Have a good trip

DD

FJS

Did a week of cycling there. Yes, do the Madone and Eze for their cycling history, but further inland it gets more scenic; the Col de Turini is lovely, both from Sospel and L'Escarene. La Madone d'Utelle is a great for some amazing Alpine views too, about 40 km from Nice. It's also worth taking the train to San Remo in Italy for a day trip, to do the Poggio and Cipressa an some lovely inland roads

cc78

Another vote for the Col de Turini, it's an extraordinary road.

Take the train from Nice to Menton (so you avoid the horrible traffic around Monaco), then you can do the Madone first and carry on to Turini through l'Escarene and Luceram, and back via Sospel (or vice versa). About 110km altogether.

Re San Remo, it is only about 15km from the border. There is a brilliant cycle path along the coast which starts just after Ventimiglia. Start there and carry on past San Remo and you can get to the Poggio and Cipressa.

mercia_man

There's fantastic riding from Vence, just to the north west of Nice. Take the cycle track along coast and head north along the Corniche du Var to St Jeannet and Vence and then ride up the Col de Vence. Lots of cyclists there at weekends. You can do a nice loop west via Gourdon (pretty village) and Tourettes sur Loup(gorges) . Or you can do a loop east via Coursegoules. Or continue west from the Col de Vence through the spectacular Greolieres cliffs and tunnels and on to the Col de Bleine. From there, if you are feeling fit, you can take hilly minor roads to Roquesteron and then back down to Nice.

term1te

Yet another vote for the Col de Turini, I rode it from the north last summer, the descent towards Menton was epic. One of our party over-cooked it on a corner, trying to overtake a van, he scratched up a brand new Dura Ace groupset, but he was fine. Just watch out for the petrol heads emulating the Monaco rally.

To be honest, just point the bike towards the mountains, and you'll be hard pushed to find a dull ride in that part of the world.

iron_duke

cougie wrote:

Iron_Duke wrote:

Was based in Mandelieu, little bit along the coast going west, this summer and some great riding, scenery and weather. Down in the sea front can get pretty hot in the day time but early morning gives pretty good conditions.

Had hoped to make a trip across to Ventoux also but you are still a fair distance away and for the sake of family happiness I stuck to the local hills.

Oh We stayed on the coast road near there - in the apartments by the huuuuuuge War memorial. Loved the coast road - we did a few rides up the Tanneron mountain ? Man it was hot. But a couple of cafes up there to choose from.

We did join a local club on the road - and a pro came along and towed us and the whole club. Never did work out who he was - but all the gear and legs to match.

Some really great rides on good road surfaces aren't there! Was staying on top of the hill so whichever way I road always a good sweaty climb for home. Did my riding early doors before the family were up but would not have wanted to be climbing in the heat of the day.

iron_duke

Supermurph09 wrote:

lostboysaint wrote:

How did Ventoux end up on the same thread as a cycling in Nice? It's a LOT of Kms away, by bike or by car! (Normally 3 hours or so in the car and 300km by any sensible route.)

The cycling around Nice is awesome, as has been suggested.

Just a thought that it might be the best chance I get, but I'll chance it'll come along another day. Logistically not easy as I'd want to be there early to avoid potentially high temps. As has been suggested I'll have more than enough to explore in and around Nice.

I can see where Supermurph is coming from. I was/am really keen to ride Ventoux and thought being down that way it may be a good opportunity. In reality it is still quite a distance away and wasn't conducive to fitting in around a family trip.

supermurph09

Potentially booking something this weekend so thank's again for all the input so far it's been a huge help. Just trying to put together some routes! I think what might be most likely would be 2 early morning rides to keep out of the heat. I guess the best thing for me to do would be to design some strava routes to enable me to get all the climbs in. Can anyone help?

Climb list so far:

1. http://www.strava.com/segments/782273 (Col d'eze)
2. http://www.strava.com/segments/2554657 (looks nice and easy to follow)

Not sure where we will be staying yet, but 1 and 2 are pretty close to Nice itself, my thinking would be that I could do at least one at the start and then potentially an up and down at the end of the route as both go in the same direction so not easy to loop in.

3. http://www.strava.com/segments/609007 (Madone) This is high on the list, unlikely to do this on same day as 1 and 2 given distance away from Nice.

I'll hopefully be back to update on most likely place where we will be staying (family campsites / accommodation recommendations also welcome) but please also feel free to paste in strava routes / segments to assist.

Cheers

iron_duke

Don't know if you've ever used mapmyride too route plan but if you use the search function you can specify a distance from it and see what rides people have plotted in the area.

Tried this when staying in Cannes/Mandelieu and certainly gave me a good idea for some nice routes.