France destination recommendations

Riding
1

hello,

I am currently planning a two week road trip to France in September. My only fixed goal is to ride the cinglé du ventoux because my dad dragged me up there on Mountainbikes when I was 12 and I want to see how I’m doing about 20 years later.

Any recommendations or must dos? I’m starting in austria and would prefer not to spend too much time in the car, with first and last day for driving.

I asked chatgpt (duh) for some route planning help and it recommended the following:

  • Col du Galibier
  • Col d‘Izoard
  • Col d‘Agnel
  • Col de la Bonette
  • Ventoux
  • Gorge de la Nesque
  • Dentelles du Montmirail

I‘m gonna skip Alpe d‘huez because I’ve been there before.

Feedback or alternatives are very welcome.

Cheers

2

Hello,

Do you want to ride from fixed bases or point-to-point?

There is plenty of nice riding in the French Alps. Some of the things the AI missed are the Gorges du Verdon, the Col de Turini, or the Cormet de Roselend via Col du Pré.

You can have a look at the route of the event I am organising in the French Alps in September https://www.infernoseries.com/infernofrenchalps or the routes we did in May Ride with GPS | Bike Route Planner and Cycling Navigation App for inspiration. If you have a bit more of an idea how long the rides should be, I can make a few more suggestions :slight_smile:

2 Likes
3

Good call on the Gorges du Verdon - spectacular!

1 Like
4

Gorges de la Nesque is lovely and not particularly challenging compared to the others on your list so could be an easy day or could be extended. Also, there is a beautiful hilltop town called Salt on that route that is surrounded by lavender fields and is a great place for a lunch or cafe stop.

5

+1 on Gorges de la Nesque - just a fantastically beautiful ride near Mont Ventoux so a good one to do either the day before or after tackling the mountain itself. When we did a Provence trip with Trek Travel a few years back, we did the mountain and Gorges de las Nesque based out of Bédoin, then we did a couple more days of great rides out of Gordes which is a lovely place to stay.

6

Gorges du Verdon looks fantastic, that goes on the list. I’ll check the links out as well, thanks.

I’m training for my first race end of August so I should be decently fit. I think up to 200km and 4000m climbing is doable although not something I want to do every day.

7

I just did Gorge de la Nesque 2 days ago. Gorgeous and easy. Highly recommended.

8

If you’re doing the Cinglés du Ventoux then you’ll likely ride the Gorges de la Nesque as your approach to the Sault ascent of the mountain.

9

No wrong destinations in France. Amazing cycling there. :grinning_face:

1 Like
10

Riding in Nice is very good and a fun city with a good airport. Weather in September is good and crowds are diminished.