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Thursday 03 July updated on 07-03-2025 at 8:06
Thursday 03 July updated on 07-03-2025 at 8:06
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July 2019, 14th stage of the Tour de France. Marc Madiot, sports director of Groupama-FDJ, yells at his rider Thibaut Pinot: “Come on, my man! You're great today, you're great, you're really great!!!” (and in the process becomes an absolutely brilliant meme).
That kind of ecstatic outburst is exactly what we need to hype ourselves up when we start wondering what we’re doing on our bike (when we could be lounging on a terrace chair with a strawberry soda in hand…). Keep that in mind when you take on one of the three cycling challenges we’re suggesting for this summer: you too are great! Really great!
One rainy day, while you were aimlessly scrolling through Netflix like a lost soul, you decided to start their documentary on the Tour de France: *Unchained* (probably drawn in by the sunny color of the yellow jersey).
Two seasons and 15 episodes later, you bought your first road bike, fired up with the desire to attack like Pogacar! Except… let’s be honest… clipless pedals are kind of your nemesis. So how can you make the most of your perfect cyclist gear?
By starting with a run & bike session with friends on the Voie Verte in Bourg-Saint-Maurice, of course! The idea: you hop on your bike (with their help if needed while you clip in), and you ride while they run alongside you (great if someone’s training for a marathon, for instance). When it’s time to stop, you can count on supportive shoulders in case you can’t unclip in time.
Do it again—once, twice, ten, twenty times. And once you’re confident, you can even consider tackling one of the easy cycling routes winding around Bourg-Saint-Maurice (like the Balcons de Tarentaise or the Versant du Soleil).
When you started road cycling, you dreamed of freedom — heading out on your bike Sunday mornings, letting your instinct guide you at each crossroads. A turn to the right, then to the left: it’s all about the journey, not the destination!
Except… you quickly realized the problem with road cycling is that it happens on roads. And you’re not alone on those roads. Cars, motorbikes, camper vans, tractors... No peace and quiet. No way to enjoy the fresh air or hear the birds chirping. So, little by little, you gave up country roads in favor of bike paths you now know by heart.
The solution? Join a friendly cycling event on roads closed to motor vehicles! Like La Roselende, for example: a beautiful climb of nearly 20 km and 840 meters of elevation, strictly reserved for bikes (average gradient: 6%; with some sections reaching 8% / 8.5%). Registration is free (in fact, you don’t even have to register: just show up with your bike on the day).
At the top of the pass: free snacks and live music. A lot nicer than the roar of engines, right?
Learn more about the next edition of La Roselende (May 25, 2025)
Your friends know it well: if you come back from a ride without that proper burn, you’ll be grumbling all day. A wasted morning. A Strava activity that barely counts (you even consider deleting it just so it doesn’t mess up your yearly stats). That’s how you see things—if your whole body isn’t begging for a nap afterward, it wasn’t worth it.
Don’t worry, we’ve got just the kind of suffering you love… A legendary climb, the highest paved pass in Europe (2,770 m): the iconic Col de l’Iseran! If you start from Bourg-Saint-Maurice, get ready for 51.5 km of climbing with 2,150 m of elevation gain (and if that’s not enough, you can descend to Bonneval-sur-Arc and climb back up from the other side; boom! That’s an extra 915 m of elevation added to the tally!).
Find even more climbs to explore here (Col du Petit Saint Bernard, Cormet de Roselend…)
