Tours of the Legendary Cols

Classic Cols of The Pyrenees

French Cycling Holidays offers you the chance to ride some of the Pyreneen climbs made famous by the Tour de France. Our route takes in some of the climbs scheduled for the 2006 race — the Marie Blanque, the Tourmalet, the Aspin, the Peyresourde and the Portillon.

Tour des Cols Mythiques

The mythical cols tour is set in the battle grounds of the Tour de France, in the northern French Alps. Alpe D'Huez with its 21 hairpins, the mighty Col de Galibier, the Col d'Izoard with the eerie landscape of the Casse Deserte - you will scale all of these, where over the years Coppi and Bartoli, Anquetil and Poulidor and Armstrong and Ullrich have fought for supremacy.

Other passes which have made cycling history, as well as providing the most beautiful scenery imaginable for this tour, include the Col de la Croix de Fer, the Col de Vars, and the Col du Telegraphe.

The tour ends with the conquering of the most mythical mountain of them all, Mont Ventoux. Standing alone in the Provencal plain, the pale stones on the summit making it look perpetually snow-capped, Ventoux has seen memorable struggles in the Tour de France and the Paris-Nice, and sadly claimed the life of Tommy Simpson on a scorching hot day in 1967. We will visit his memorial on the way to the summit.

All the way you will be in the hands of the experienced and knowledgeable French Cycling Holidays crew, staying in charming hotels and eating (lots of!) superb cycling-friendly food (and the odd glass of beer or wine to help it down!)

Cols Légendaires des Grandes Alpes

Our tour of the legendary cols takes the majority of the great climbs of the northern French Alps — names familiar from Tours de France from the last 50 years. You will be following in the wheeltracks of Bartoli and Coppi, Anquetil and Poulidor, Mercx, Hinault and Armstrong.

A quick look at the climbs you will be vanquishing on route:

• Crêt de Chatillon (1699m)
• Col de Leschaux (897m)
• Col de la Forclaz (1150m)
• Col de Tamié (907m)
• Col de la Madeleine (1993m)
• Col d'Iseran (2764m)
• Cormet de Roselend (1967m)
• Col du Pré (1703m)
• Col des Saisies (1657m)
• Col des Aravis (1483m)
• Col de la Croix Fry (1467m)
• Col de la Colombiere (1613m)
• Col de Joux Plane (1713m)
• Col de la Ramaz (1610m)
• Col de Jambaz (1027m)
• Col de Feu (1121m)

…..not bad for a single week of cycling! If it's in the northern Alps and the Tour goes over it, chances are we do too!

Côte d'Azur & the Grand Canyon de Verdon

Our early- and late- season road bike adventure is a fantastic way to get some sunny kilometres in preparation for sportifs ahead or a perfect wind-down post season to carry some miles and memories into the gloomy winter ahead.

Starting along the foothills of the Pre-Alpes, rolling up and down to the sun-kissed Mediterranean, the route then takes us inland and uphill to the breathtaking Grand Canyon de Verdon, a 30 km gash in the Canjuers plateau plunging 700m nearly vertically to the river below.

Finally a series of cols brings us back to the Mediterranean.

Leisure Cycling Holidays

For a more relaxed cycling holiday try one of our fully guided and supported leisure tours.