News — France

Col de la Forclaz (1,527 m), Col des Montets (1,461 m) Last night potentially the worst mechanical of the adventure struck Phil's machine... Snapped rear gear cable. For those uneducated in the dark arts of derailleur setup, when a rear shifter cable goes, the chain is put straight into the smallest cog, which obviously, is not great if you're planning on doing 3000m of climbing that day. Phil turned to the most generous, dexterous, mechanically minded, methodical, strongest, handsome and humble member of the group and pleaded for help. I was only too happy to oblige.Rising early, I sorted Phil's bike. The...

Planning a cycle tour is exciting, and it’s always nice to know you have a holiday in the pipeline - otherwise there’s a danger that work can become all stick and no carrot. It will have been two years since my last tour, when 5 of us followed the historic Route des Grandes Alpes. That tour took us due south from Geneva through the high French Alps leaving the Swiss Alps and Italian Dolomites unexplored and perfect for another trip. And this is it. For this tour, we’ll be flying out to Venice and riding more than 1000 km west...

I’m having a bit of a moment. At 4.45am in a dark, chilly car park in Les Saisies, high in the French Alps, I’m getting ready to descend to Megeve with 500 odd other riders and I have a broken zip on my jacket. Any hopes at remaining “tranquilo” before I begin the world’s toughest one day bike race look to be scuppered as I struggle with the stubborn little piece of metal and unfairly growl at my girlfriend. A couple of deep breaths, some brute force applied to the zip and I recover my senses and make my way...

Four members of the Shutt Velo Rapide Racing Team spent a week in June following the historic Route des Grandes Alpes through the high mountains of France from Lake Geneva to the French Riviera.  The Route des Grandes Alpes (Great Alpine Road) is a 700 km long route through the French Alps devised by the French Touring Club and constructed between 1909 and 1937. It runs from Lake Geneva to Menton on the Mediterranean and includes some of the highest and most beautiful mountain passes in Europe. Route profile. This version is for a 7-day trip. We’re attempting to complete it in 5...