Biking Season in Alpe d'Huez Review
Tour de France time rolls around, and our roads are once again infested with loonies in lycra. Go Wiggo!
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Read reviews of the best Alpe d'Huez activities
Tour de France time rolls around, and our roads are once again infested with loonies in lycra. Go Wiggo!
It's no wonder the gymnasium in the Palais des Sports et des Congres (the leisure centre) here in Alpe d’Huez is used by some top sportsmen and women as the benefits of altitude training are well documented – higher red blood cell count, greater muscular endurance and increased vaso-dilation to name but a few.
If you’re after a shorter less committing bike ride than the infamous 21 bends up to Alpe D’Huez, the Col D’Ornon is a great option from the same starting point. The ride is easily done in less than two hours and there are certainly no compromises on the scenery!
The winds have been whipping the southern alps mercilessly and erratically since last Thursday. Bad weather severely hampered last week’s mountain bike event in Les Deux Alpes, the Mountain of Hell, but this week we’ve certainly felt the worst of it.
The Oisans region is not the best known sport climbing playground in the French Alpes, but there is no shortage of routes, often with spectacular views and a high mountain atmosphere.
Give something different a try on your trip to Alpe d'Huez - either in winter or summer
The summer season in Alpe d'Huez is well under way and we've had plenty of sporting events already this summer, with more to come in August. For a run-down of the month's events, you can check out our latest video report. The most exciting event this month was the Megavalanche. So what do we do in Alpe d'Huez when we're not watching MTB riders hurtling through the trees or cyclists steadily making their way up the 21 bends? Here's just a few ideas...
Serious adrenaline without a pair of skis or snowboard in sight….
If like me you watched the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics and saw our intrepid curling teams pick up medals and you fancy yourself as a David Murdoch (Silver Medal) or Eve Muirhead (Bronze Medal) then get yourself along to the ice rink here in resort and “brush” up on your curling skills.
After a long, hot summer season it’s tempting to take September as holiday, relaxing at home or heading off to the coast or the UK. But the early autumn is simply stunning here. Of course the days shorten, the temperatures cool and most of the amenities in Les Deux Alpes and Alpe d’Huez close, but it’s a small price to pay for the increasingly intense sunsets, the perfect weather and watching the leaves slowly change.
OOver the past two days, the weather here in the Southern Alps has taken a turn for the worse. While it remains warm, we’ve been victim to storms of rain and thunder, which have cleared the muggy air of last week and have lowered temperatures to the twenties. The freeze level on Deux Alpes’ glacier remains high – at between 3650m and 4350m – so the rain we’ve had in town is likely to have only fallen as sleet, at best.
Snowshoe hiking (or Rando Raquettes as the French would say) is a truly fantastic way to take in the stunning views and scenery around Alpe d’Huez, and keep fit at the same time.
If you've tackled every piste in the Alpe d'Huez ski area, why not fly over to neighbouring 2 Alpes in a helicopter for a day trip. It costs 70 euros per person return, setting off from the altiport every Wedsnesday, Thursday & Friday.
Alpe d’Huez is clearly the Mecca of road cycling and when the Megavalanche is on mountain biking takes over here in resort every summer.
Since last week’s prediction that the first snows of winter were not far away, the alpine weather has launched us back into summer. Over the past few days we’ve had temperatures in the mid- twenties and very little breeze. The early mornings have been a little foggy, but that’s been burning off by 9am. It’s perfect weather for all the DIY that needs to be done before the winter season starts again.
The summer season in Alpe d’Huez has started and this weekend has been a gentle beginning for what’s set to be a busy and exciting two months. Over the past couple of weeks, the weather has been warming-up and we started the season with clear skies on Saturday and Sunday. In resort, we’ve been sunbathing in temperatures of around 20°C, dropping to about 8°C at night. This is fairly average for the southern alps and it’s worth bringing a waterproof for the impromptu rain storms that sweep by every now and then.
When we were offered the chance to ski the Sarenne by Night we had no idea what to expect, but at 16:30 when we arrived at the DMC 1er Troncon station we were greeted with an extremely warm welcome and a handful of Milka bars – things were off to a great start!
Living in the mountains, it’s easy to become complacent about the beauty that surrounds you on a day to day basis. The Southern Alps is a region filled with glaciers and the retreat of these ancient masses has carved some incredible and rugged features into our landscape. Such features are best seen from on high and we’re lucky enough to have some of France’s highest roads on our doorstep. So today, The Boyfriend and I hit the road, taking a tour of the ‘local’ Cols which took us between 700m and 2645m above sea level and over around 300km of roads. It’s been quite a day!