Briancon as a base to cycle from

jdee84

I've booked to stay in Briancon, in september this year with some friends and was wondering if anyone had any tips for routes. The Galibier and Izoard at either end of the valley will be on the list, and I've previously done col de vars and col de la bonette beyond the izoard and telegraphe and iseran at the other side of the galibier.

Others in the group won't have ridden any of these, but was wondering if anyone had any tips on places to drive to, to cycle from and routes they had used so we're not doing the galibier/izoard every day.

Also we're flying to Nice and driving to briancon from there would anyone know of anywhere a trailer for bike boxes or could be hired?

mrb123

The loop of Col de Cayolle, Col de Champs and Col D'Allos from Barcelonnette is amazing although obviously a bit of a drive from where you'll be.

davebradswmb

In my opinion the Izoard is best tackled as part of a loop. Use the minor road running down the West side of the Durance river taking in a couple of decent climbs on the way, cross the river to Guillestre and then do the Izoard from that side, descending back into Briancon.

Another ride is over the Col de Lauteret (which unfortunately is also a good part of the Col de Galibier) and down the other side to tackle the Alpe d'Huez.

mtb-idle

Love Briancon, a great place to stay.

a reasonable drive away or a very big day out if riding there is alpe d'huez, there and back should keep you busy.

col de Montgenevre is also nearby, reasonably easy it featured on the TDF in 2011 (I was standing roadside on it for my first tour experience) and you can cross over into Italy and grab an espresso in an italian alpine village for the full experience.

here's a few more nearby - climb by bike: Briancon

joe_totale-2

Braincon is a great place to say, the Izoard starts basically at the end of the high street!

The Col Du Granon is also nearby and has some great views, unfortunately for road bikes it's a dead end.

Another loop worth doing is to Bardonecchia via the Col de l'Echelle followed by riding down to Sestriere and then returning via Montgenevre.

A big loop but worth it is to drive to the bottom of the Col D'Lauteret nice and early, ride down to the Croix De Fer, climb that then over to climb the Galibier via the Col du Telegraphe followed by the decent down the Lauteret back to the car.

jdee84

thanks some great options to look into so far!

jdee84

joe_totale-2 said:

Braincon is a great place to say, the Izoard starts basically at the end of the high street!


A big loop but worth it is to drive to the bottom of the Col D'Lauteret nice and early, ride down to the Croix De Fer, climb that then over to climb the Galibier via the Col du Telegraphe followed by the decent down the Lauteret back to the car.

Is there a town near the bottom of the col'd'lauteret just for trying to find it for pre planning my route on garmin connect.

is this route from there towards bourg d'osains, the col de la croix de fer, st jean de maurienne, st michel de maurienne then telegrpahe and galibier?

joe_totale-2

jdee84 said:

joe_totale-2 said:

Braincon is a great place to say, the Izoard starts basically at the end of the high street!


A big loop but worth it is to drive to the bottom of the Col D'Lauteret nice and early, ride down to the Croix De Fer, climb that then over to climb the Galibier via the Col du Telegraphe followed by the decent down the Lauteret back to the car.

Is there a town near the bottom of the col'd'lauteret just for trying to find it for pre planning my route on garmin connect.

is this route from there towards bourg d'osains, the col de la croix de fer, st jean de maurienne, st michel de maurienne then telegrpahe and galibier?

IIRC there's a car park where you can leave the car.

Yep, you're correct with the route. If you're early enough the D1091 isn't too busy and it's downhill all the way to the Croix De Fer so it's pretty quick.

mtb-idle

jdee84 said:

Is there a town near the bottom of the col'd'lauteret just for trying to find it for pre planning my route on garmin connect.

is this route from there towards bourg d'osains, the col de la croix de fer, st jean de maurienne, st michel de maurienne then telegrpahe and galibier?

from Briancon you follow the D1091 north east for 70km to get to Bourg d'Oisans which is at the foot of alpe d'huez.

roughly halfway along that route is the D902 heading north (right turn). This is the top of the lauteret and the right turn marks the start of the Galibier climb. Head over the top of the Galibier and you descend into Valloire and then down the telegraphe and you are in Saint Michel du Maurienne.

Keep straight on and descend the lauteret and you are in Bourg d'oisans

The lauteret is a long circa 25km shallow climb. A good town to park in and mark roughly the start of the climb would be Le Monêtier-les-Bains but basically you are climbing all the way from Briancon.

I don't know what your riding/climbing experience is like but map out all routes planned first on something like https://ridewithgps.com/ as you can very quickly get into big numbers in terms of climbing or riding or driving required to get back to where you started if you take the wrong descent or are a bit bullish about what you can achieve

mtb-idle

jdee84 said:

Is there a town near the bottom of the col'd'lauteret just for trying to find it for pre planning my route on garmin connect.

is this route from there towards bourg d'osains, the col de la croix de fer, st jean de maurienne, st michel de maurienne then telegrpahe and galibier?

hmmm...typed this already but seems to have disappeared

follow the D1091 east out of Briancon for circa 70km and you get to bourg d'oisans which is at the foot of the alp d'huez.

roughly halfway along the D1091 is the D902, a right turn. This marks the top of the lauteret and the start of the final Galibier ascent. Over the top of the Galibier and descend into Valloire. Descend the telegraphe and you are in St Michel du Maurienne

the start of the lauteret isn't really marked but essentially it's a long, shallow 25km climb. you will be climbing all the way from Briancon.

a decent town to park in that has shops/restaurants is Le Monêtier-les-Bains.

take care to map all routes on something like https://ridewithgps.com/ before you leave as it's really easy to end up somewhere that requires a massive effort to get back from in the three valleys area in terms of either distance or climbing required. e.g. id you start at monetier and end at St Michel du maurienne that is a massive day out already never mind riding back over the telegraphe and Galibier to get back to the car.

mtb-idle

the marmotte route takes in many of the local climbs but is of course 5,000m of climbing over 174km

mrb123

The Bourg D'Oisans cycling guide downloadable here has information on most of the routes over that side including some of the lesser known but still fantastic roads such as La Berarde.
http://bourgdoisans.com/en/leisures/road-cycling

There is a similar guide available for the Ubaye valley too.

durhamwasp

Climb up to Sestriere just over the Montgenevre too

amrushton

Base for AG2R. Hard as you want to make it round there but it is I think the highest town in France, hence the proximity of the French/Italian ski resorts. Just the ride over the Izoard and back is epic,you descend then come back over Caisse Deserte.

gavinbay

I live here in Serre Chevalier / Briancon and have written this guide listing all the rides that are possible in the area and further beyond, feel free to ask me anything

https://stylealtitude.com/cycle-routes-briancon-serre-chevalier.html