A 120 mile circular route crossing five mountain passes.

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From Alpe D’ÄôHuez we’Äôll take the road through the village of Villard Reculas and drop down through woodland to the valley floor at Allemond before beginning the long gentle climb towards the Col du Croix du Fer. ¬Ý

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Shortly before the top there’Äôs a brief detour to the Col de Glandon (1924m) and great views down the Glandon valley. The Croix du Fer (2068m) has a better cafe though so that’Äôs where we’Äôll stop!

The descent down to St Jean de Maurienne is one of my favourite parts of this route. Once we get below the tree line (approx 1600m) its a easy quiet ride through typical alpine scenery. ¬ÝEntering St Jean, the traffic can come as a bit of a shock after the quiet of the mountainside.

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The route then takes us along the valley for about 10 miles, the road winding around the main A43 motorway to Turin until we get to St Michel de Maurienne and the start of the major climb ¬Ýof the day. The first part ascends nearly 1000m though dense woodland towards the ski resort of Valmienier ¬Ýand the Col de Telegraphe at 1566m. A few miles later and a slight drop brings us to another ski resort, Valloire.

Once through Valloire we’Äôll pass through the tree line again and climb steadily on good roads towards the highest pass of the day, the Col du Galibier at 2700m. This is the sixth highest pass in the Alps with snow remaining into July and usually closed again by the end of October. The photograph above shows the approach road to the summit at the end of June although a short tunnel is available if the summit proves too much. After catching our breath here its a drop down to meet the main N91 Grenoble - Briancon road at the Col du Lauteret at 2057m, although after the Galibier it does seem a bit of an anticlimax. We’Äôll return to Alpe D’ÄôHuez along the N91 through the Ecrins national park ¬Ýand passing La Meije , at nearly 4000m, the highest peak in the area.