Italy: Crossing Piedmont
I never used to be able to eat breakfast before exams. And even though I haven't gone to school for decades, I can hardly get anything down this morning. The clock shows half past five, the night was short at the Albergo Gran Paradiso at an altitude of 2,000 metres. Bruno, the landlord, has fired up the espresso machine especially for my friend Mike and me. There's even a basket of panini on the table, along with crumbly cake. Typical Italy. Cyclist or not, Bruno is no exception. A short time later, we leave the warmth of the breakfast room. As the door clicks shut behind us, we don't click on the pedals but shoulder our cross bikes and trudge up the steep mule track behind the Albergo. A 600 metre climb to the Colle del Nivolet awaits us. Bruno's caffeine injection is having an effect, my pulse is already hammering against the top of my head on the first hairpin bends. But after just a few hundred metres, I find a comfortable rhythm. The morning sun casts pale rays on the snow-covered mountain giants, the air is wonderfully fresh and dispels even the last doubts. Apart from us, there are no other people on the trail. A pity, really - the questioning looks from the hikers would have been fun. Two crazy people carrying racing bikes through the high mountains.
You can find everything about the 7-day tour below as a PDF download - including GPS data.
The difficult tour (653 kilometres, 15,840 metres in altitude) starts in Martigny in the Swiss canton of Valais, but immediately crosses the Col du Grand Saint-Bernard into the Aosta Valley, an Italian province in its own right. Apart from two detours into France, the route now runs on the Italian side of the main ridge of the Western Alps through the province of Piedmont. The first French detour, between Sestriere and the Col d'Agnel, is much more attractive than the ride through the Po Valley. And the last section of the route, the direct connection from the Stura Valley to the Riviera, inevitably leads through the French Maritime Alps.
Despite the lower number of metres in altitude, this stage is significantly more difficult than the Route des Grandes Alpes on the French side of the Western Alps. The toughest test is the 2,612 metre high Colle del Nivolet on the second day, with an uphill push/carry section lasting around three hours. But there are also rideable, longer gravel sections on Colle di Finestre (day 3) and Colle di Tenda (day 7). The remaining sections are dominated by narrow, often rough tarmac roads.
Only some overpasses - between Sestriere and Briançon or in the Val di Susa - inevitably run on main roads. The valleys in southern Piedmont are wild and lonely, and you rarely pass mountain villages. The "Cima Coppi" is the 2,744 metre high Col d'Agnel, the third highest pass in the Alps. Our route requires a robust bike, at least 25-millimetre tyres and an extremely mountain-appropriate gear ratio. We did well with cross bikes and disc brakes. Tip: take advantage of a period of good weather and minimise your luggage. Important: MTB or running shoes for the ascent to Colle del Nivolet.
Addendum: In the list of Transalp tour operators on page 29 we have added Champions-Training (phone 0171/2978998, www.champions-training.de) forgotten. Champions-Training offers a stage ride from Geneva to Nice with a detour to Mont Ventoux in Provence.
You can find everything about the 7-day tour below as a PDF download - including GPS data.
