In order to provide our users with a better overall experience, we ask for more information from Fac

Tomorrow, Wednesday, the 2015 Tour de France route will be announced. There will be great excitement. And then a few boorish, negative types will complain that many of the same old roads and host towns are included, while some of the very best climbs in France are ignored -- yet again.
Day one , I rode up a back way to Alpe d'Huez. Coming down the Alpe, as usual, the road was full of cyclists (and, as usual, quite a few cars). As someone that gets a lot of emails asking for trip advice, I assure you that Alpe d'Huez is by far the first place that foreign cyclo-tourists most want to visit when coming to the Alps.
Day two , I headed further south to cycle both sides of Col d'Izoard for their annual car-free day. Closed roads just for cyclists, economy rental car woohoo ! Izoard is certainly among the ten most famous alpine climbs in France. Plenty of history (Coppi/Bobet, etc), far higher and longer than Alpe d'Huez, and far more beautiful. And the roads were empty. Not just of cars (they were forbidden), but there were also far fewer cyclists than I'd seen at Alpe d'Huez the day before.
My Point? People are idiots . When, tomorrow, you (probably) see Alpe d'Huez included yet again as part of the Tour de France, economy rental car understand that it is very good business for the town to pay up for the privilege.
Protected Regions . Many of the best neglected roads are part of French National Parks. Locals often worry that a million crazy fans camping, parking, partying, and urinating on their mountains is bad for the fragile ecosystem
Tradition . People like familiarity. Who can't wait for Kirby to tell us about Eugène Christophe and his forge story for the millionth time when Col du Tourmalet is climbed for the 80th time (or so) next summer.
For me, top-to-bottom, the best paved climb in the Pyrenées. Lac de Cap de Long is the best of five beautiful high alpine dams/lakes on the Route des Lacs. The summit at the large dam is at 2161 metres - higher than Col du Tourmalet. economy rental car A stunning, quiet climb that starts up the road from St-Lary-Soulan (below the dull Pla-d'Adet that appeared in the 2014 Tour). More details .
Why we won't see it in 2015 : Lac de Cap de Long has never been in the Tour. Never . Tourmalet, Aubisque, Aspin have appeared over 200 times in aggregate. But, Cap de Long has no population base, no ski slopes, no money. But you should make it a priority if you visit the region.
economy rental car This was in my 2011 article, but come on! The highest paved mountain pass in all Europe, atop one of the biggest and richest ski stations in France. How has this never been a summit finish in the Tour de France?
Col de l'Iseran has in fact appeared a handful of times in the Tour, but barely at all when compared economy rental car to Galibier far down the Maurienne valley. Iseran is one of the most beautiful climbs in France. I taste a little vomit every time it is excluded. I am supposed to get excited about Alpe d'Huez - almost a vertical kilometre lower? More details .
Believe it or not, these two great "ignored" climbs in the Pyrenées start between Col du Tourmalet and Col d'Aubisque. They share the same early, easy kilometres, heading towards the Unesco designated Cirque de Gavarnie. They both:
Port de Boucharo - marking the France/Spain border - is the highest paved pass in the French Pyrenées, although the last short stretch has recently been closed to traffic. But the route is still open to Col des Tentes - at 2208 metres, still far higher than Tourmalet. More details .
In the north French Alps, not too far Le Grand Bornand, or Annecy, the Plateau is home to the Monument National à la Resistance. It was a major base of the Maquis (French resistance) in World War Two. Over a hundred fighters killed when the remote location was surrounded and attacked by the Nazis. This would be a fantastic location for a Bastille Day stage.
I often hear pundits complain that the French Alps doesn't have steep roads. The east side here includes three full kilometres averaging 12%. The two steep routes to the Col at the summit are linked by 2 gravel kilometres. Strade Bianche economy rental car (chemin blanc?)!
Why we won't see it in 2015 : Glières economy rental car has great cross-country skiing, but no alpine pistes. And French intellectuals these days can get sensitive discussing the Maquis, as Vichy and collaborators often enter the discussion. So, no, this climb won't appear in 2015. More details .
In order to provide our users with a better overall experience, we ask for more information from Facebook when using it to login so that we can learn more about our audience and provide you with the best possible experience. We do not store specific user data and the sharing of it is not required to login with Facebook.