With our colleagues and friends from Accenture and Avanade in Norway we set off to conquer the French Alps as we all know them from the Tour de France. A lot of kilometers and climbing in the fantastic scenery was waiting for us. We got the opportunity to ride up some of the most recognized and pictoresque mountain passes that have been featured in many editions of the Tour de France.
Now that we’ve been there and felt it with our own legs it is even more incredible to see how those Pro Riders actually perform up those steep and long climbs and descents.
Luckily we didn’t do it in race mode. So we had the time to enjoy the views, take some pictures and sit down for a break on the mountain tops. We had 5 wonderful days in the saddle and brought with us a lot of memories:
Day one:
We arrived in Geneva and drove directly to Annecy where we stayed for the first night. After setting up our bikes we did a short round around Lac d’Annecy to shake up our legs after the flight and to get ready for the first real climbing the next day. We had a short briefing in the evening to get a bit more information about what the next day will bring before we went to bed in anticipation of the climbing to come.
Day two:
First day of climbing. From Annecy we rode over Col de Tamié and Col de la Madeleine to St. Jean de Maurienne. 129 km and a climbing of almost 2.300 meters and decending almost 2.100 meters. What a great day. Fantastic weather, wonderful mountains and gorgeous views on the way – what more could you wish for?
Day 3:
On day three we did a loop where we climbed Col de Glandon, Col de la Croix de Fer and the Col du Mollard with start and end in St. Jean de Maurienne. Even though todays loop was only 70,5 km it still gave us 2.010 meters to climb and the same amount to descend.
Day 4:
Day 4 was competition day. At least that was what they told us. But having in mind what awaited us the next day we both took it very easy and enjoyed the mountain time trial from the back of the pack. With only 29 km and an ascent of 755 meters this could be called a half rest day and that was very welcomed because the next day was THE mountain stage we all waited for.
Day 5:
This was the day we all had been waiting for. Now we would climb some of the most recognized mountain passes in the French Alps. From Saint Jean de Maurienne we climbed first Col du Télégraphe, then Col de Galibier and finished the day up Alpe d’Huez. What an epic ride! Within only 108 km we climbed more than 3.200 meters. To top it all, we had to fight the heat in the afternoon when we approached the bottom of Alpe d’Huez. Even though it was tough it was really worth it and we enjoyed every meter of this grand finale of the trip and celebrated on top of Alpe d’Huez with the best beer I ever had in my entire live 😉
Unfortunately we had a little battery issue and had to split this stage into two GPS files.
