Alps tour suggestions....

norwichdanny

Hi all,
My small group are going to the Savoie region, staying in Saint-Michel-de-Maurienne later this year. We will have 3.5 days riding and have come up with the following. Any suggestions of better climbs or comments welcome!
Day 1. Saint-Michel-de-Maurienne to Galibier, descend to briancon for lunch and then ride back up and over.
Day 2. Up Col de l'Iseran, and descend to Val-d'Isère for lunch, and then back up and over.
Day 3. col du glandon and descend to Rochetaillée for lunch, then up the croix de fer. (possibly fit in lacets du montvernier if time and legs allow!!)
Day 4. Alpe D huez just because!! (Will drive to the base, on the way home)

Last year we went to Bormio and done two big climbs per day, Mortirolo, Gavia, Stelvio etc all in bad weather (Snow!)!!
We travel in a van with our own bikes so have this to use to possibly avoid busy roads (mainly the L'iseran day).
After numerous trips like this we all agree that the best routes for us are out and backs, taking in both sides of the mountain, as it offers a bit of a safety net for anyone having a bad day to turn around at the top and roll home.

If anyone has a good knowledge of the area and any tips - greatly appreciated!!
Cheers,
Danny.

crescent

norwichdanny wrote:

Day 3. col du glandon and descend to Rochetaillée for lunch, then up the croix de fer. (possibly fit in lacets du montvernier if time and legs allow!!)
Day 4. Alpe D huez just because!! (Will drive to the base, on the way home)

If you are doing the Glandon then you could carry on and capture the Croix de Fer before your descent to Rochetaillee. It is literally a few miles further up the road. It would be quite a long descent to Rochetaillee just to go back up the same road again (unless of course that is your intention). From Rochetaillee you could then take in the Col de La Morte from Sechilienne, head down to Valbonnais and then do the Col d'Ornon which would bring you nicely back to Bourg d'Oisans ready for Alpe d'Huez on day 4. There is also a nice climb up to Oulles just before you arrive back in BdO. I did Ornon, Valbonnais and La Morte in the opposite direction, about 60mile round trip from BdO, it's not easy but definitely not as tough as some of the better known climbs in the area.
It's a nice part of the world to cycle. If you do Alpe d'Huez then it is worth taking in a few of the balcony roads that branch off the main climb, they are spectacular. 8)

poweredbyidris

An alternative to your Day 3 could be the following: Ascend the Glandon from St Etienne-de-Cuines (best ascent of the 3 ways up IMO) and then on to the Croix de Fer before descending to St Jean-de-Maurienne for lunch. Then across the valley and up the Lacets de Montvernier, but turn left at the top and climb up to the Col de Chaussey. Continue on the road and it comes out about 3km up the Madeleine - descend down to La Chambre for a drink before riding home along the valley floor.

This still gives the option of anyone on a 'jour sans' to bail out after lunch, and avoids descending then ascending the same road

norwichdanny

Thanks poweredbyidris this is exactly what i'm looking for. Just plotted the route and it looks perfect, 78 miles and over 3000m climbing, with a couple of good places to stop for drinks/lunch.
Thanks crescent, we are not actually based in le bourg, but have an airbnb booked in Saint-Michel-de-Maurienne. We are thinking of doing alpe d huez just because we are in the region and will have the last morning where we could detour. If time allows i'll be sure to check out the cliff roads!

crescent

If you are descending from Glandon to Rochetaillee then the first part of the climb from Allemonde to Le Rivier is a bit of a brute. If your legs are looking for a less diffcicult climb back up to the Croix de Fer then Le Rivier is a nice little hamlet to stop for lunch, then you are straight into the main part of the climb which is a fairly steady gradient. Glandon/Croix de Fer from Bourg d'Oisans was my favourite ride of my trip, just stunning. Enjoy, whatever routes you choose. 8)

poweredbyidris

norwichdanny wrote:

Thanks poweredbyidris this is exactly what i'm looking for. Just plotted the route and it looks perfect, 78 miles and over 3000m climbing, with a couple of good places to stop for drinks/lunch.
Thanks crescent, we are not actually based in le bourg, but have an airbnb booked in Saint-Michel-de-Maurienne. We are thinking of doing alpe d huez just because we are in the region and will have the last morning where we could detour. If time allows i'll be sure to check out the cliff roads!

No problem - anyone who still has something in the legs can do the Lacets again on the way home (they're great fun - I did them 4 times in a week last year) before descending via Hermillon and rejoining the road home.

Another tip for that route - there are water fountains in St Etienne de Cuines, St Jean, Montvernier and La Chambre to refill bottles

knedlicky

Day2: I imagine you fancy the Iseran because of its height, but I don't think I'd bother riding all the way from St. Michel, the lower valley landscape isn't that exciting (even if more mountainous than around Norwich!), the road drags on and can have quite a bit of traffic. I'd use the van to get at least as far as Modane, maybe as far as Lanslebourg.
Maybe you decided to only go as far as Val d'Isere because of the tunnels and galleries below Val d'Isere (some of which used to be poorly-lit, so you needed lights – heard this isn't now so true), and because of the traffic up to Val d'Isere (noisy in tunnels too). But if you do decide to descend farther, on the return you can over stretches avoid the traffic by riding small quiet roads on the other side of the river - between La Verdache and Villaroger, then after La Balme to the lake dam wall.

Day3: If you want to do the Glandon and Croix de Fer, and then „if time and legs allow“ Montvernier too, you are better off riding clockwise rather than anticlockwise, otherwise you have to repeat the 5 km stretch from St. Jean. Going clockwise, a small road from St- Etienne at the bottom of the Glandon takes you to the foot of the Lacets.
A variation I'd consider, when coming from St. Michel and before reaching St. Jean, is to turn up the Col du Mollard (a quiet climb with lots of switchbacks through woods lower down). This will bring you on to the Croix de Fer road about two-thirds the way up.


Mollard/Toussuire: You could do all or just part of the Mollard on yet a completely different route. First, all or part of Mollard, and when you join the Croix de Fer road, descend until the junction up to the ski resort of La Toussuire. After about 6 km climb you reach a junction from where there is effectively a looped road about 10 km long passing through La Toussuire. So going clockwise you could approach it from the SW and leave it to the NE, and then shortly before you come back to where you entered the loop, there is a turn-off which will take you along a small road through Les Bottieres down to St. Jean.

Chaussy: I endorse Idris' suggestion of going via Montvernier and Chaussy on to the Madeleine. There is also a road from Bonvillard (after Montvernier) which takes you nearly all the way up to the top of the Madeleine – it joins the Madeleine only 2-3 km short of the summit. Drawback used to be that the upper 8 km was mostly gravel and/or badly damaged asphalt, but I've ridden it (carefully) on a racing bike with normal 700x23 tyres so it can be done (and I've heard that it has in parts since been slightly improved if not yet asphalted).

Madeleine: I like the Madeleine, and if you thought to do an up-and-over/there-and-back on it, hoped not to cover much identical ground in both directions, but didn't fancy the gravel road after Bonvillard, there is a small road going up the west side of the valley from La Chambre, which then comes together with the mainer road at St. Francois Longchamp. As narrow, it's more suited to ascend (and includes one short, cornered unlit tunnel!)

briantrumpet

Note to @norwichdanny: knedlicky knows his stuff

alex222

I would recommend climbing up to Villard de Notre Dame before you go up Alpe d'Huez (it is just opposite). Make sure you have some front lights with you as there are a couple of unlit tunnels.
It is a stunning climb and you rarely come across a car.

sheffsimon

Lacets then Chaussy is a beautiful route, a nice restaurant at the top and some water fountains en route, one at the turn off the Lacets road on to the Chaussy and another in a hamlet near the col.

The climb of the Madeleine to Chaussy is very quiet and a great road.

Either route out of the Maurienne valley to Mollard is great, quiet, wooded, hairpins.

Nice restaurant at Le Rivier on the descent from croix de fer to allemonde.

Alpe d'Huez is one to tick off but rubbish.

Not sure I would bother riding to Briancon for lunch, I don't like the road from lauteret to Briancon and there are restaurants at lauteret.

ddraver

The road up to Val d'Isere is a big trunk road. Other than the Kudos of doing it from the very bottom I wouldnt go any further.

I guess there's not much you can do about it without changing accommodation now but the Maurienne Valley floor is a bit of a sh*thole. There are...nicer places

DeVlaeminck

Could you stretch to Glandon to Bourg then back over the CdF and maybe take in the Mollard on the way back ? I really like the CdF as a climb and a descent - unlike some others I found the tree lined Mollard a bit less attractive as a climb if that's the route featured in the Marmotte changed route a few years back? If feeling strong you could tick off AdH on the same day though maybe a bit much.

norwichdanny

Thanks all for great advice! I think we are set on the following:
Day 1. Col du Glandon and descend the croix de fer to Rochetaillee for lunch. Climb the croix de fer and descend via Mollard.
Day 2. Col du Galibier, descend to lauteret for lunch and then back over the Galibier.
Day 3. Up and over D L'iseran, and down to Val-d'isere for lunch and then return the same way.
Day 4. Drive to le bourg to tick Alpe D'huez off.
Will maybe fit lacets in somewhere!
Thanks everyone!