French Alps - Col du Galibier - General
Info
July 8-23, 2003
Single Bikes16 days, 15 nights
Challenging route with long climbs and descents
60-90 miles per day/8000 ft per day average
Start/Finish in Geneva, Switzerland
$2750 per person
$500 single supplement
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The 2003 Tour
de France is the 100th anniversary of this most
revered event, and Lance Armstrong will be vying for his fifth
overall victory. This will truly be an historic event. To ride
the roads that have contributed to this history and to see the
action in person will be an unforgettable experience. Not only
will we climb most of the major climbs of this and past year’s
tours, we will be on the historic Col du Galibier when the Tour
peloton ascends this legendary 'hors' category climb.
The Tour de
France and “Les Alpes”; it is impossible to think of one without
the other. L’Alpe d’Huez, Col de la Croix de Fer, Col de
Madeleine, Col du Galibier, the list goes on and on. These are
the passes on which the Tour de France is contested, the roads
where champions are made. Our tour is where any cyclist can
imagine riding in the peloton of their heroes. Yet this tour is
even more than the Tour de France; it is a cycling experience
unmatched anywhere in the world. This is a tour of breathtaking
vistas of mountains, meadows, and lakes; the cliffs and gorges
of the Vercors; the mountain villages with their festive
markets, friendly hotels, and delicious food and wine. And,
ultimately, this is a tour of roads - France’s special gift to
the cyclist; roads laid down like a carelessly strewn ribbon,
narrow roads painstakingly chiseled into the sides of vertical
cliffs, roads virtually devoid of cars, roads plastered with the
names of cycling legends, roads climbing steeply and
relentlessly toward heart throbbing heights, and of course roads
plummeting downwards in rim-searing, thrilling, twisty descents
to distant villages below.
Although this
tour might excite even the best Cat 1 racer, it is a dream trip
for any reasonably fit cyclist. Each day will have two or
three different routes of varying difficulty, appropriate for
different fitness levels, or for those who just want to ride
easy; and of course the van is always available to assist
whenever needed.
At the end of
the day’s riding we’ll enjoy relaxing in the peaceful setting of
the small villages selected for our tour, and every afternoon
there will be a gathering to watch the 'Tour' stage finish, live
on TV.
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