Are you ready to conquer all of the famous climbs of the Alps? Our high Alps bike tours offer two options for tackling many of the climbs you have seen your cycling heroes race up in past Tours de France. The first option bases you out of St. Jean de Maurienne for 5 nights. The second starts and ends in St. Jean de Maurienne, but also allows you to take on Alpe d’Huez and stay in two separate towns. We will arrange your luggage transport and support.
Your hotels are perfectly located near the epic climbs of the French Alps. We prefer hotels La Grave, Valloire, and St. Jean de Maurienne because of their central location, and ease of getting to and from your tour.
See full itineraries below. Or CLICK HERE to find out more about our big mountain tours in France.
- General Details
- Guide/Concierge Info
- Accommodations
- Rental Bikes Available
- Inclusions
- GPS Availability
- Pricing
- Register For This Tour
Length: 5 nights, 6 nights, or customize your own adventure.
Service: Supported, Private, “Self Guided” tour. For more about how our Self Guided tours work CLICK HERE.
Type of riding: Mountainous
Bikes suggested: Road bikes
Average daily riding: 45km
Start city: St. Jean de Maurienne
Finish city: St. Jean de Maurienne
Suggested transport: Train/TGV from anywhere.
From greeting guests when they arrive, to personally handling luggage transfers, to curating excursions, to problem-solving (e.g., flat tires and other unforeseen issues) our concierges assist guests daily. They also set you up on your rental bikes, and can help with routing and simple questions. Need help finding a good lunch spot? Is it raining too hard or you’re too tired to continue? The concierge is a phone call away and are there to help you! Each tour group works with a single, dedicated concierge who can be called upon for in-person assistance at any time.
Over the years we have developed relationships with many amazing 3 and 4-star properties that distinguish themselves as providing much more than their rating suggests. We have loved getting to know these hotels and sharing them with our guests. For tour groups wishing to upgrade their accommodations, we can provide custom pricing for four and five-star hotels, pending availability. Below are an example of some of our favorite hotels in the region that we target using on our tours, pending availability.
| Location | Hotel | Photo |
| La Grave | Hotel Edelweiss |  |
| St. Jean de Maurienne | Hotel St. Georges |  |
All bikes come with helmet, repair kit, pump (or CO2 cartridges), lock, and water bottles. During the registration process, you will be asked for sizing specifics to ensure we have the correct sized bike waiting for you. We can supply a number of styles of pedals – please ask if you don’t see the pedal type you’re looking for on the registration form.
Road Bikes: Our rental road bikes are a racing style with drop handlebars.
- Type – Giant Defy or TCR Composite
- Sizes – XS, S, M, ML, L,and XL
- Components – Mixture of Shimano 105 and Ultegra with either triple or compact double cranksets. Many have road-disc brakes.
eBikes: These semi-powered bikes allow for non-riders to share the experience with their friends and family who are stronger cyclists.
- Type – Giant Explore and others including eRoad
- Sizes – S, M, L
- Components – Mixture of Shimano Acera and Deore.
- All hotel accommodations – mostly 3 and 4 star but ask for custom accommodation requests.
- An OBT cycling jersey!
- Detailed route notes, maps, and tourist information. This includes standard cue sheet, and GPS courses to upload to your own GPS device.
- Luggage transfers from hotel to hotel.
- Meals as explained in the tour itinerary pages. Usually this means all breakfasts, no lunches, and some dinners.
- Access to your personal guide/concierge (See Guides/Concierge tab).
WHAT IS NOT INCLUDED:
- Transportation to start location and from finish location.
- Bikes, but we have rental bikes available.
- Travel and Health Insurance.
- Admission to sightseeing venues, unless explicitly mentioned as included.
Available to rent for $150 per unit per tour. These easy to use GPS units provide an excellent worry-free routing method that you can depend on throughout your tour. If you choose to rent we will have the until ready for use with the routes pre-loaded onto the unit. All you have to do is start the daily route at the beginning of your riding day, and follow the highlighted line! We will also provide instructions that you can reference when needed. As a backup and supplement to the GPS, we will also provide a local map as well as routing instructions.
Tour Cost Per Person – 5 Night:
- Double Occupancy: US$1,595
- Single Occupancy: US$1,995 (for single room occupancy on multiple person tours)
- Solo Tour: Please contact us
Tour Cost Per Person – 6 Night:
- Double Occupancy: US$2,395
- Single Occupancy: US$2,895 (for single room occupancy on multiple person tours)
- Solo Tour: Please contact us
Bike Rental Per Person:
- Road Bike: US$350
Questions: First, please feel free to ask us any questions about the tour. We are happy to help clarify any details.
Registration: Once you are ready to register please go to https://outfittertours.com/registration/ and complete the registration form. EACH tour participant will need to complete the form. At the end of the registration for you will be asked for a US$800 deposit. You can pay the deposit by bank check, wire, or credit card. Once we have all registrations we will secure all of the details of your tour – hotels, bikes, etc.
Final Payment: 60 days prior to your tour we will invoice you for the balance of the tour.
Tour Packet Delivery: Once the balance is paid and approximately 30 days before your tour we will send you a complete tour packet containing all details of your tour – accommodation information, detailed routing, a suggested packing list, maps, tourist guide, and much much more!
For more information on our Terms & Conditions please CLICK HERE.
Daily Itineraries:
5 Night Option (1 hotel):
Day 1: St. Jean de Maurienne
Arrive in St. Jean de Maurienne via train early enough to assemble your bike and get in a warm up ride on Les Lacets de Montvernier.
Day 2: Col de la Madeleine
Ride the Col de la Madeleine, the scene of many Tour de France battles in years past. You will tackle the “harder” side of the Col.
Day 3: Col de la Croix de Fer & Glandon
This famous duo of climbs is one of the routes used by world-class tours to climb over the mountain toward Alpe d’Huez. They have been used in many editions of the Dauphine Libere and Tour de France.
Day 4: Col du Telegraph & Galibier
Ready for 40km of climbing? This is a BIG day! After 14km of the Telegraph you will have a brief reprieve through Valloire before the long drag up the valley towards Galibier. The switchbacks start a few kilometers from the top of Galibier. Don’t forget to save some energy to get back over the “short” 5km side of the Telegraph on the way back.
Day 5: Col du Mollard & Toussuire
After a huge day on Telegraph and Galibier, you have a chance to do some more relaxed climbs right out the back door of the hotel. Enjoy your last day in the Alps!
Day 6: St Jean de Maurienne – Departure
Catch a TGV heading either towards Italy or Paris.
6 Night Option (2 hotels)
Day 1: St. Jean de Maurienne
Arrive in St. Jean de Maurienne via train early enough to assemble your bike and get in a warm up ride on Montvernier Lacets.
Day 2: Col de la Madeleine
Ride the Col de la Madeleine, the scene of many Tour de France battles in years past. You will tackle the “harder” side of the Col.
Day 3: Col de la Croix de Fer & Glandon
This famous duo of climbs is one of the routes use by world-class tours to climb over the mountain toward Alpe d’Huez. They have been used in many editions of the Dauphine Libere and Tour de France.
Day 4: Col du Telegraph and Col du Galibier to La Grave
This is the scene of many great racing battles. Our hotel is in between the Galibier and Alpe d’Huez, in the lovely village of La Grave. Rest up for a big day tomorrow.
Day 5: Conquer Alpe d’Huez from La Grave
Today is the biggest day of the tour. Conquer both monsters in the same ride! Your hotel is at the top of Alpe d’Huez.
Day 6: La Grave to St. Jean de Maurienne via Col du Glandon
This is another big ride, and very scenic. This is the “easier” side of the mountain, so enjoy your last day in the Alps on the Glandon!
Day 7: St Jean de Maurienne departure
Catch a TGV heading either towards Italy or Paris.
