Stage 16: Geneva (Annemasse) – St Gervais. 118km (lite 100km) / 3025m (lite 2620m). Mon 12^thJuly
Year of Stage: 1990

We begin our day a stone’s throw from Geneva, in the relative flatlands surrounding Lac Leman, and roll along the Arve valley, watching the mountains appear on the horizon and then gradually close in around us. The countryside is green and calming, overlooked by the occasional limestone crag to remind us of what’s to come. At Cluses we turn right, and begin our ascent of the relentlessly steep Col de la Colombière – the longest climb of the day, at just under 20km. Leaving behind the rural fringes of Cluses, we work our way up through the forests before emerging into Alpine meadows as we pass the serene chalets of Le Reposoir. The col comes into view shortly after this, but there are still several brutal kilometres to go, with a gradient that averages just below 10%.

Look out for the mural of a young Bernard Hinault on the descent to Grand-Bornand – and then we’re straight into the Col des Aravis. This 10km climb is gentler than Colombière, but once again the gradient ramps up in the final kilometres. The wonderful scenery is ample distraction – this is a classic Alpine climb, with smooth tarmac wriggling its way through glowing green pastures, past intricate wooden chalets, with big pointy mountains on the horizon.

Following an exhilarating helter-skelter descent to Flumet, we pass through the ski towns of Praz-sur-Arly and Megève, then soar along the balcony road towards Saint-Gervais, overlooked by Mont Blanc. Our final climb up to Bettex is 7.2km at 7.7%, and steeper towards the top, but our tired legs will be fuelled by a glow of triumph, and the prospect of celebrating a day well spent with our fellow riders.

Lite: From Bonneville it’s possible to take a gentler 22km to St Jean de Sixt, missing 18km and more importantly the Col de la Colombiere. Your stage is now 100km with 2,620m of climbing

Why we chose it: While this stage pre-dates Le Loop and the Tour de Force, the climbs within it are old favourites and all of them were high on our shortlist of Alpine wishes. But it’s not all about the cycling… we had a rest day in the same hotel in St Gervais in 2023 and if you weren’t there, take it from us, there’s no more perfect place!

Le Loop Logistics
Start: Geneva hotel
Finish: St Gervais hotel

Rest Day: St Gervais. Tues 13^th July

A perfect location, surrounded by stunning mountain scenery and with the hotel’s spa on hand to ease your muscles. Rest, eat, clean, tinker.

Le Loop Logistics
St Gervais hotel 

Stage 17: St Gervais – Albertville. 146km (lite 115km) / 3169m (lite 2800m). Wed 14^th July
Year of Stage: 2016 (in reverse)

* Note that this is the 2016 stage – in reverse!

This is most definitely a mountain stage – five mountains to be precise – but a different sort of mountain stage with slightly gentler, shorter climbs than often feature in the Alps. This makes for a different sort of challenge with more regular recovery time but also a psychologically alarming number of mountains!

After a steep descent from our hotel back down to the valley floor, we have our first climb of the day; 500m up to the pretty ski station of Megeve. From here it’s a gentle 10km downhill to get ourselves ready for today’s biggest challenge; the col de Saisies – followed almost immediately by a last push to the Montée de Bisanne, 1,670m above sea levels and with views to match. It’s a relatively rideable climb coming from the north – 15km at an average of 6% – and as it comes early on in the stage, hopefully we’ll still have the energy to enjoy it.

From the summit of the Montée de Bisanne, we take a narrow, technical road down the quietest of the 4 descents. At this point today almost feel like a back-roads route, continuing up the col de la Forclaz Quiege which is a mere 4km at an average of just under 8% and also quiet and peaceful. We push on for the better known Forclaz (Forclaz means “narrow gap”; there are several climbs that share the name!) where, after 8km at 8.4%, we are greeted by THE best view of lake Annecy and every reason to wonder why we haven’t all moved to live here!

Our last challenge of the day, after a fast run along the SW side of Lake Annecy (the opposite side from our ride on stage 15) is to maintain momentum for the gentle 4% average of the 10km Col de Tamié. It’s a fun climb with plenty of shade and at the top all that remains is the fast run-in to our hotel in Albertville with our first views south and across to the mountains of tomorrow and Friday.

Lite: A short cut after the Montée de Bisanne descent eliminates 500m of climbing (and 31km) by missing out the Forclaz Montmin climb & lake loop. Your stage is now 115km with 2,800m of ascent.

Why we chose it: We were looking for a contrast to the feel and profiles of stages 18 and 19; a stage where the climbing wasn’t too brutal and came in more manageable chunks. Reversing this stage from 2016 not only gave us that but it’s also locationally perfect for our ride south through the Alps – and when you consider the unbeatable views, this stage was a shoo-in.

 Le Loop Logistics
Start: St Gervais hotel
Finish: Albertville hotel

Stage 18: Albertville – La Toussuire. 148km (lite 90km) / 4987m (lite 3087m). Thurs 15^th July
Year of Stage: 2012

Two of today’s four big ascents involve over 20km of uphill – and La Toussuire is only slightly less, at 18km.This stage is an absolute scorcher (just as well it’s ‘only’ 140 kms long!). It will be an epic day in 2027, just as it was back on our first public “Tour de Force” in 2012…

After the briefest of flat warm-ups along the Isère valley from Albertville, we swing right and set off up the long road leading to the Col de la Madeleine. This long ascent, during which we gain more than 1,500m, is more of a journey than just a climb – we’ll gradually rise above the villages, forests and clattering cowbells, eventually reaching a place where jagged peaks overlook treeless pastures, and the air is thin and cool.

Following a long descent into the Maurienne Valley, we next turn our attention to the double-whammy of the Col de la Croix de Fer, ridden via the Col de Glandon. It’s shorter than the Madeleine, very slightly steeper, and every bit as spectacular. The climb begins with little ceremony as we leave Saint-Avre, and grind our way up through the forests, with the ice-cold Glandon river rushing along the valley floor beneath us. After reaching the end of the valley, the road then scrambles up its southern wall via a series of tight switchbacks, where you can enjoy waving down at comrades a few minutes behind you. We then get to bag two cols for the price of one, as the summit of Croix de Fer is less than 3km away, and the gradient eases off once we’ve crossed the Glandon.

The descent from the Croix de Fer is in two halves, separated by a 6km, 6.8% not-insignificant climb of the Col du Mollard with stunning far-reaching views of the Alps on the way up and down and a chance to enjoy a quieter side of the Alps.

Then, following an enjoyably twisty descent,  and to complete this incredible stage, we still have 18km of the La Toussuire ascent to tackle – it’s a pretty brutal climb (although mercifully shallower at the top than the bottom) and with everything we’ve just done in our legs, it’ll feel even tougher. There are spectacular panoramas to admire on the way though (the Aiguilles d’Arves, Fontcouverte church, blue sky and Alpine pastures) and, with La Toussuire being one of the first ski resorts (founded 1923) and thus one of the first summer cycling meccas, you’re following in the wheels of the greats.

Lite: take a short cut from La Chambre (after the Madeleine descent) to St Jean de Maurienne and along with the Col de la Croix de Fer and Col du Mollard, you remove 58km and 1900m of climbing, picking up at the bottom of the La Toussuire climb.

Why we chose it: This is our Tour of Tours’ Queen stage and it needed to be a fun one! We wanted to line up some of the greatest Alpine climbs whilst keeping a manageable overall distance. We also wanted to sleep in the mountains, see the stars, consider our efforts and feel a huge sense of achievement. This stage really stood out all the way back in 2012 and emerged early on as an obvious pick for the Tour of Tours. The climbs and their stats are only half the story today because what the numbers don’t describe are the views and the experience and today both will be superlative.

Le Loop Logistics
Start: Albertville hotel
Finish: La Toussuire hotel

Stage 19:  Modane – Alpe d’Huez. 110km (lite 84km) / 3525m (lite 2705m). Fri 16^th July
Year of Stage: 2011

This stage is all killer, no filler – three A-list climbs, and the rest is pretty much all downhill.

We set off from Modane and follow the river Arc along the steep-sided valley to Saint-Michel-de-Maurienne: base camp for our first ascent. We’re heading downstream at this point, so the road should feel agreeably fast. At Saint-Michel we cross the river, and then watch it get smaller and smaller as the glorious hairpins of the Col du Télégraphe take us up out of the valley, at a stiff-but-steady gradient that hovers between 7% and 8%.

A short descent takes us into the pretty Alpine town of Valloire, where we begin our longest climb of the day: the mighty Galibier. Over the next 17km we gain more than a kilometre in elevation, and see the landscape change around us, gradually moving from lush green meadows to bare rock as the road winds its way across dramatic crags and scree slopes. The gradient ramps up above 8% as we pass 2,000m elevation, so we’ll be breathless with exertion as well as wonder when we finally reach the storied col, the highest point of the Tour of Tours, and gaze in admiration at the peaks stretching away on either side.

There’s plenty of time to recover on the descent that follows: almost 50km where we successively slalom through the Galibier’s southbound switchbacks, soar downhill towards the blue waters of Lac du Chambon, and then pedal gently along the pan-flat Romanche valley, re-engaging our leg muscles for what’s to come.

And at Bourg d’Oisans, we find ourselves yet again in the presence of greatness, as we ascend the 21 hairpins of Alpe d’Huez. This Tour titan starts with an interminable 10% ramp, and is not at any point easy, but unlike the Galibier, it does ease off to 5% in its final stretches, giving us a brief respite to enjoy our moment of victory.

Lite: There’s no obvious short-cut on today’s stage but for anyone who can’t face the full 110km, we’ll give you a lift to the top of the Telegraphe, removing 26km and 866m of climbing. Your day is now 84km with 2,705m of elevation gain.

Why we chose it: One stage; two spectacular climbs. The Galibier was reportedly Henri Desgrange’s (inventor of the Tour de France) favourite climb so we’re pretty sure he’d want it to be included here. And by putting it alongside another (the most?) renowned Tour climb, we have the perfect finale to our 2027 Alps stages – and a lovely hotel to match.

Note that this stage has a not-dissimilar profile to the sibling stage 12 (in the Pyrenees) so there’ll be a fun “compare and contrast” exercise for anyone who rides both.

 Le Loop Logistics
Start:Transfer to Modane
Finish:Alpe d’Huez hotel