Albertville?

[Arlberg]

Just wondering if anyone has been to Albertville (France) for cycling? How was it and how long did you spend there?

I've got 10 days free in France and I am looking for a mountainous cycling destination. I have already been to Le Bourg d' Osains (Alps), Bedoin (Ventoux), Argeles-Gazost (Pyrenees), Bagneres de Luchon (Pyrenees), Saint Jean de Maurienne (Alps) and I'm looking for somewhere else. I'll be adding this 10 days on to a week in Bourg Saint Maurice.

Wondering if Albertville would fit the bill? Has anyone been to other towns similar to those above that offer lots of climbs in the immediate area? Climbing 'Meccas', so to speak?

[RonK]

Le Tour passed through Albertville last year. Looking at the parcours there is plenty of climbing in the region.

For a change of scene, have you considered Corsica?

[find_bruce]

I've been to Albertville but it was 15 years ago & for skiing rather than cycling. It's a regional city and so its easy enough to get to - its only 64 km by road from Bourg Saint Maurice. I am not sure its going to add much to your trip as a climbing mecca however - when they held the Winter Olympics there in 1992, the alpine events were held at Val d’Isère, which is uphill from Bourg Saint Maurice and Méribel which is about half way between Albertville and Bourg Saint Maurice

[Arlberg]

Thanks Ronk. I haven’t been to Corsica but I will certainly check it out. Sicily is another place that interests me.

As an aside, I had 10 days cycling in Mallorca earlier this year. I went because I needed to use up some excess Rec Leave credits from work and it was too early to go to the Alps or the Pyrenees. I’d heard a lot about it as a cycling Mecca but in my opinion it is way overrated. The roads were very nice and smooth but I found the climbs were very short and very easy. The Sa Calobra climb is an amazing piece of engineering but not challenging at all. The local red wine is great though!!

[Arlberg]

Thanks find _bruce. I’m flying in and out of Geneva so if I go to Albertville it will be an easy trip back to the airport. Last year I climbed the Col d’Iseran from the other side (I was staying in Saint Jean de Maurine) so it will be interesting to see how it is coming up from the other side via Val d’Isere.

[g-boaf]

Just wondering if anyone has been to Albertville (France) for cycling? How was it and how long did you spend there?

I've got 10 days free in France and I am looking for a mountainous cycling destination. I have already been to Le Bourg d' Osains (Alps), Bedoin (Ventoux), Argeles-Gazost (Pyrenees), Bagneres de Luchon (Pyrenees), Saint Jean de Maurienne (Alps) and I'm looking for somewhere else. I'll be adding this 10 days on to a week in Bourg Saint Maurice.

Wondering if Albertville would fit the bill? Has anyone been to other towns similar to those above that offer lots of climbs in the immediate area? Climbing 'Meccas', so to speak?

Have you been to Valloire? That's a nice city, not super far from Geneva, you would want to have a car though to get you there. It has some very famous riding routes nearby, you've got Galibier:

https://www.cyclinglocations.com/valloire-alps/
https://www.strava.com/routes/17613800

That was a ride I did last year - one of the best days of riding I've ever done. And Geneva I'd say is a really nice airport to get in and out of, not enormous. I landed there at 4:00pm (touch down on the runway) and got out of the airport in no time at all. Do take spare parts for your bike, the LBS there are pretty small. You could probably get over to Madeleine as well from there.

[Arlberg]

Thanks g-boaf. I had 10 days in the Maurienne Valley (I stayed in Saint Jean de Maurienne) last year and did both those climbs and many more.

I've also been looking at going to Barcelonnette. It looks exactly like what I'm after but it's not so easy to get there from Bourg Saint Maurice, and its also a fair way from Geneva where I fly out of.

[A_P]

Have you been to Annecy?
I spent almost 2 weeks in annecy last year, plenty of good climbs + the lake is awesome in summer.

[Arlberg]

Yes I have been to Annecy, I forgot to mention it. That could be because it rained heavily for 9 out of the ten days I was there. This was in 2013.