Stage 16: Geneva (Annemasse) – St Gervais. Lite 100km / 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.

With a tactical short-cut, now’s time to take a breath and head (via 22km of gentle climb) into the Col des Aravis. This 10km climb isn’t too brutal but the gradient ramps up in the final kilometres so it’ll feel challenging and you’ll be delighted with yourself once you get to the top. 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.

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. Lite 115km / 2800m. Wed 14^th July
Year of Stage: 2016

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

This is most definitely a mountain stage – 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 separate climbs!

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 and you can delight at the bottom of the descent because this is your opportunity to take the Lite short cut and advance directly to the last challenge of the day; maintaining 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.

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. Lite 90km / 3087m. Thurs 15^th July
Year of Stage: 2012

This stage is an absolute scorcher and even the Lite option will be ample challenge, providing 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.

Having enjoyed the company of the whole group on this climb, it’s time to advance… a short cut on quiet roads along the valley floor takes us directly to St Jean de Maurienne where another massive climb awaits (but we have all day and there’s no pressure on speed because the main group will be well behind us now). The La Toussuire ascent is a pretty brutal climb (although mercifully shallower at the top than the bottom) and with the Madeleine 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.

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. Lite 84km / 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.

You’re welcome to do it all but if you’re enjoying “riding Lite”, your day will start with a lift to the top of the Col du Télégraphe.

From your start point, 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.

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