ROUTE DES GRANDES ALPES

DAY 4 - LA SALLE LES ALPES TO BARCELONNETTE - 100KM, CLIMBING 2,500 METRES
Today we start with a 9km descent into Briançon, so you can get those stiff legs working before you start the next climb, 20km up to the Col d'Izoard (2360m). It winds through several small villages, and at first it's not very steep, with several downhill sections, but then it ramps up to around 8%. The French Touring Club started constructing the route across the Alps in 1909 and it wasn't finished until 1934, with this the final col to be finished, and there's a stone monument on the top to commemorate the occasion. We start our 30km descent, through an almost lunar landscape, very rocky and jagged, cycling through one small ski resort after another, and along the Gorges du Guil, through a series of short tunnels (such as the "tunnel of the brown rocks" and the "tunnel of the violet rocks") crossing the beautiful, turquoise river via a small bridge. After Guillestre we climb again to the Col de Vars (1802m). The road rises quickly, and soon you can see down into a valley, with the Fort de Vauban in the distance. You get a bit of a breather in the middle, where there's a downhill section that goes through several villages, but after that there are places where it touches 11%. After the ski resort of Vars Le Claux it becomes easier. At the top is a small refuge, and then we have the fairly steep 20k descent into the Vallée d'Ubaye, with its numerous hairpins. There are many houses perched on rocky crags, but all have tin roofs; there's obviously a shortage of slate around here. We ride through Jausiers and on to Barcelonnette, where we're staying the night.

We just couldn't cycle past the foot of the Cime de la Bonette (2802m) without offering you the option to ride it if you wanted. It adds another 50km and 1500m of climbing to the day.  So you can either go straight to the hotel, as above, or turn left and ride along a small road bordered by green fields, with snow-capped mountains in the distance. As we ride, the landscape changes to arid hillsides with shrubby vegetation, and then we're above the tree-line and the vegetation disappears and it becomes quite bleak, even snowy. It's cold up here, we don't want to hang around long. The altitude at the official col is "only" 2715 metres. In order to make it the highest paved road in France, and one of the highest in Europe, the road was re-engineered to take you around the Cime de la Bonette (2802m). We retrace our steps to Jausiers, where we'll turn left and continue the 8km along the valley to the hotel.

DAY 5 - BARCELONNETTE TO BEUIL - 89KM, CLIMBING 2,100 METRES
We leave Barcelonnette and cycle along a quiet valley through the pretty floral village of Uvernet-Fours, before we tackle the fairly gentle Col de la Cayolle (2326m), 29km long and very pretty, starting on a twisting, quiet road, along the dramatic Gorges du Bachelard. There's very little at the top, but we pass from the Alpes de Hautes Provence to the Alpes Maritimes and now we're 130km from Nice. This is the most remote of all the cols we've done so far and we descend down a narrow road with lots of hairpins, to St Martin d'Entraunes. Now we're cycling along a gorge alongside rock that looks like giant heaps of black coal dust, following the river Var to Guillaumes, where we turn left to the Col de Valberg (1673m). The mountains are getting lower now, with noticeably less snow on the higher peaks. We descend into Beuil, where we're staying.

DAY 6 - BEUIL TO MENTON - 128KM, CLIMBING 3,100 METRES
From Beuil there's a gentle climb to the unremarkable Col de la Couillole (1678m). As we descend, we can look down the valley and see the village of Rubion, built on a series of hairpins. It's 15km to the pretty town of Saint-Sauveur-sur-Tinée, where the black powdery landscape has changed to dark red, jagged rocks. Just outside the town we turn very sharply left and start another climb into a different valley where the rock is now very sandy and pale, and there are occasional olive trees along the side of the road and houses with red terracotta roofs; we're definitely getting near the Mediterranean now. We climb to the Col de Saint Martin (1503m), just before the ski resort of Valdeblore, and then descend to Saint-Martin-Vésubie. Shortly after, we come to the foot of the Col de Turini (1604m). This 15km climb, with its tight hairpins, is narrow and shady, but a fairly consistent 7% all the way up. We finally arrive at the top with its bars and restaurants, and then we make the 24km descent to Sospel, passing under the arches of a small stone bridge that forms the access to a chapel called Notre Dame de Menour - reminiscent of the Great Wall of China. We go round a bend and suddenly we can see all the hairpins going down the mountain ahead of us. One last "bump", the Col de Castillon (706m), with a tunnel at the top, and then we're riding out of the mountains, under the enormous viaduct, and along the orange-lined boulevard towards the sea, where a well-deserved celebration is definitely in order.

DEPARTURE DAY
We transfer you to Nice airport, which is well connected to many European transport hubs.