€500.00 – €2 ,190.00
GranFondo coaching camp, focused on the Etape du Tour. Five days cycling with experienced coaches to help you get your best result at the iconic event. The week includes riding the complete course over two days.
ALL ACCOMMODATION PACKAGES SOLD OUT. You can still book for coaching only, but you will need to arrange your own accommodation.
Booking instructions:
if more than two months before the start date, please use the coupon code “deposit” to pay 20%.
Two months prior to departure, please return to this page and use the coupon code “balance” to pay 80%.
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Difficulty –
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Dates : 9 to 15 June 2024
Purpose of the camp
This is our flagship coaching camp, designed specifically for the Etape du Tour 2024. The purpose of this camp is to help you get your best possible result at the Etape du Tour. The camp ends three weeks before the event, thus allowing you to recover fully from the training block and thus obtain the maximum benefit.
The camp is also excellent preparation for events such as the Marmotte, the Tour du Mont Blanc or the Haute Route. The camp will help you improve your climbing and descending skills, pick up vital knowledge on nutrition and pacing and then test yourself on the actual route of the Etape.
The coach to rider ratio is 1:5 or better, ensuring that you will have plenty of one-on-one coaching. There is a strong focus on technique with video used for analysis and feedback, and we run evening Coach’s Corner sessions on topics such as training, nutrition, recovery, mental strategies and tips for riding the Etape.
Read below and click on the tabs for more.
Is this coaching camp for you?
YES: if you want to learn to cycle faster, especially at the Etape du Tour or at other events like the Marmotte or the Haute Route.
YES: if you want to ride the actual route of the Etape du Tour before the event.
YES: if you want to make friends and have fun with other like-minded people.
NO: if you are essentially a leisure rider with no particular interest in riding faster.
How fast are the rides?
You may be asking yourself, “will I be able to keep up with these guys?” This is a perfectly normal question: nobody wants to be left behind or to feel they are always holding the group back!
The answer is that so long as you are comfortable riding for 5 hours a day, you will be fine. The average age of our guests is ⁓45, with many in their 50’s. Usually, about one third are women.
We use a number of techniques to support riders of different levels:
- The group of ⁓10 riders typically splits into two or three smaller groups by level.
- Each group is supported by a coach at all times.
- The faster riders will often ride extra distance or do more climbing.
- The faster riders may start later.
Rest assured that we have long experience of supporting mixed groups in the mountains. We treat everybody the same way, regardless of whether you are the fastest or the slowest. Everybody rides at their own pace, and we judge the timings so that the group is always well supported.
If you have any concerns about your ability to fit in, please contact us.
Date | Coaching Focus | Climbs | Distance & Elevation |
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Sun | Arrival day | - | - |
Mon | Descending | Col de Vence | 65km / 1,250m+ |
Tue | Climbing | Gilette, Conségudes | 81km / 1,200m+ |
Wed | Pacing | Col de Braus, col de Turini | 94km / 2,800m+ |
Thu | Nutrition | Col de la Colmiane, col de la Couillole | 90km / 2,890m+ |
Fri | Endurance | Col de Turini | 98km / 2,100m+ or 65km / 710m |
Sat | Departure day | - | - |
Sunday
Arrive at the hotel, the Lou Castelet in Carros. The hotel is only 15 minutes from Nice airport.
The camp begins with a welcome drink and briefing at 18:30, followed by dinner with the coaches and other riders.
Monday
Descending is a crucial skill to master if you are going to ride in the mountains. Our goal on this first day is to help you improve your ability to descend confidently.
We begin by warming up on the climb to the hilltop village of Carros, where we organise a descending clinic. Each rider has the opportunity to descend multiple times with a coach and to be videoed multiple times. This enables us to provide immediate feedback, and the video allows you to observe your own technique.
We then make our way to the major climb of the day, the col de Vence, via the hilltop villages of Gattières and St-Jeannet.
There will be plenty of opportunities to practice descending on the long descent from Courségoules back to Carros.
Tuesday
Tuesday’s ride begins with the short but steep climb to Le Broc, followed by descending back to the valley floor. We climb again to Gilette and then follow the ups and downs of the beautiful Vallée de l’Esteron to the village of Roquesteron, where we turn back and take a different road back to Carros.
The coaching focus is on climbing technique. We look at your seated pedalling technique and how it varies between the moderate and steep pitches, and we look at your standing technique to help you “dance” on the pedals like a pro.
The gradients vary a lot on this route and will allow us to contrast climbing techniques between climbs of different gradients. The goal is to learn to climb efficiently, thus maximising the use of your energy on long rides in the mountains.
Wednesday
Today we ride the first half of the Etape du Tour route. We will transfer you by minibus to Nice, and begin the ride at the exit of the town.
This ride is your opportunity to familiarise yourself with the route of the Etape, while practicing your skills. The coaching focus is pacing, to make sure you are riding at the right intensity to go the distance.
During the ride we will first climb the short col de Nice and then the much more serious double of the col de Braus and the col de Turini. Both of these have long, technical descents that need concentration.
We will spend the night at La Bonne Auberge in Saint-Martin-Vésubie, which is a delightfully characterful town, typical of Provence.
Thursday
Starting from Saint-Martin-Vésubie, we will ride the second part of the Etape du Tour: up and over the col de la Colmiane and then up to the finish on the col de la Couillole.
We will conclude the ride by returning to Saint-Martin-Vésubie by the same route in reverse, thus giving you two opportunities to familiarise yourself with the route.
The coaching focus will be on nutrition, which together with pacing is key to a successful ride in July.
You will also of course have ample opportunity to practice climbing and descending. The coaches will be on their bikes with you throughout the week to provide feedback and help you learn.
Friday
On this, the final day of the camp, we will ride back from Saint-Martin-Vésubie to Carros. We offer two alternative routes: if you are feeling strong, we will take you back over the col de Turini for a ride of 98km and 2,100m of climbing. If you feel and easy day would be more appropriate, the more direct route is 65km and only 710m of climbing.
Either way, the coaching focus is on endurance. At the start of the day you will have ridden 330 mountainous kilometres in 4 days, climbing some 8,140m. Our role as coaches is to help you bring all the skills together: climbing, descending, pacing and nutrition in order to get the most out of the week.
Saturday
Departure day. If you wish to stay on please let us know and we will help you with hotel bookings and route suggestions.
We will stay the first three nights and the last night at the Hôtel Lou Castelet 4* in Carros, just 15 minutes from Nice airport.
We will spend the other two nights (Wednesday and Thursday) at La Bonne Auberge 3* in Saint-Martin-Vésubie, a delightful Provençal village on the route of the 2024 Etape du Tour, between the col de Turini and the col de la Colmiane.
9 to 15 June 2024
4* room at Lou Castelet, 3* at La Bonne Auberge
- Package price (twin-share): €2,290
- Non-cyclist (twin-share): €1,540
- Single supplement: €400
3* apartment at Lou Castelet, 3* at La Bonne Auberge
- Package price (twin-share): €2,240 (Two-room apartment)
- Non-cyclist (twin-share): €1,490
- Single supplement: €350 (studio apartment)
Coaching only
- Coaching only (no accommodation): €750
We offer a 5% “welcome back” discount to all returnees, and a 10% discount for a second trip in the same year. If you are eligible, ask us for the code!
Your money is safe
As required by EU law, your payments are fully protected by an approved insurance policy against the very unlikely event of financial failure/insolvency of Alpine Cols. Full details are on the page “About Us“.
What’s included (full package)
- Accommodation
- Meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner, including drinks with the meal)
- On-the-bike coaching
- On-the-road support vehicle with free energy drinks and snacks, spare wheels and space for extra clothes etc.
- Mechanical assistance
- Coach’s Corner evening sessions on cycling performance
- Photographs and videos taken during the week (digital copies)
What’s included (coaching-only package)
- On-the-bike coaching
- On-the-road support vehicle with free energy drinks and snacks, spare wheels and space for extra clothes etc.
- Mechanical assistance
- Coach’s Corner evening sessions on cycling performance
- Photographs and videos taken during the week (digital copies)
Not included
- Travel to the camp
- Bicycle hire (ask for a quote)
- Minibar or drinks at the hotel bar
- Coffee or snacks during café stops
- Massage (optional extra)
- Meals and accommoation (if coaching-only package)