The Alpe — Velo Club Traverse

This week, I was lucky enough to be invited on a trip to Les Deux Alpes to test out their glacier skiing. I thought that it would not only be a great opportunity to have a ski but I could sneak in my bike and head over to Alpe d’Huez in the afternoon.

The small road out of Les Deux Alpes down to Bourg d’Oisan is rather dramatic!

As you well know, Alpe d’Huez is pretty iconic with it’s 21 bends, it rises out from Bourg d’Osian on the valley floor and finishes up in the ski station. It is a hard climb, 14km long with some relentlessly steep sections. This is made even harder when it is 36 degrees in the full exposure of the afternoon sun.

In my opinion, the experience never really lives up to its legendary status. If I am in the area for another reason then I will happily do it, but I would not make a special trip out there to do it. This is not the case with Mont Ventoux, the Col du Tourmalet and the Stelvio, these are worth a detour! The 3 problems with Alpe d’Huez are the traffic, tourists and the finish line.

The road is very busy, with it being the main route up to a pretty large and popular town, this means that quite often you will have a bus or lorry trying to negotiate a bend in the opposite direction whilst you are battling a 10% gradient, it is a unwanted distraction.

A lot of the traffic seems to be Dutch campervs and other tourists who do not seem to be too confident at driving in the mountains. Ducks out of water. This leads to a heavy foot on the brakes. There is a strange juxtaposition of dramatic scenery with blue skies through the eyes but the smell of used brakes through the nose. It is only on the Alpe that I have experienced this.

After all that effort, you come into Alpe d’Huez and there are a lot of cycle shops, cafes and bars that have created a finish line. However, this is not the official finish line. You need to cycle another kilometre or so to find this. It is through the turn and even if you know the way, it is very confusing. When you reach the official finish, you are greeted, not by millions of fans shouting your name but, a small signpost next to an underground car park. It is so much different to all the other famous (and not so famous) climbs. It is rather disappointing. You just would think that they would make a little bit of an effort.

You must be kidding, still cannot believe that this is the finish to Alpe d’Huez, yes you read it correctly!

However, if you are in the area, then do it. You can then always say that you have.

What was not disappointing was the new route out of Alpe d’Huez that I found. A few years back, the Tour went over the Col de Sarenne. It has always been in the back of my mind to do this but quite hard to make out on Google Maps. I asked someone whether it was paved and ok for road bikes, he said yes. So I thought I would try it. It was a tiny road and very bumpy. The first half of the descent was tricky but certainly rideable. As the evening was drawing out, I continued into the unknown. But it was a beautiful unknown. It felt like a secret other world, so different to the Alpe. Flocks of sheep, waterfalls and huge mountain tops were all I had for company.

After all the adventure, you arrive at Clavans-le-Haut where the road becomes wider and descending at normal speed possible. It is a pretty little village hidden away from the rest of the world in a high mountain valley. Quite breathtaking. Then you head down and it pops you out at the dam which is at the foot of Les Deux Alpes. Missing out the entire main road between the two ski resorts.