Polka Dot Alps & Alpe d'Huez

We will be picking up at the Geneva airport (GVA) in the early afternoon and drive to our hotel, located on Lake Annecy. You will get fitted for your bike and take a short ride to shake off the dust from traveling. Dinner will be served at the hotel where the group will get acquainted and your guides will go over the itinerary for the coming week.

Each guest will receive gifts from Custom Getaways, including a cycling jersey and a gift from the Tour de France. You will also receive a discount card for 30% off official le Tour merchandise.

Good morning. Today we will start with a flatter ride, between 40 and 60 kilometers and less than 600 meters of elevation gain. We always offer different riding distances for our guests, so you will feel comfortable with the speed and distance of the rides.

Your guides provide a very high level of support with drinks, water, energy bars, gels, etc. for the rides.  A sag van will follow the riders for support during most rides.

Once we are finished with our ride, we’ll get cleaned up and head into the town of Annecy. There are many restaurants from which to choose your lunch. We’ll transfer to our next hotel, located in the mountains of Cordon, France.

Dinner is not included tonight, so you can wander the town and find a cool place with some of your new friends.

We will enjoy local cuisine together at our group dinner.

Following an early breakfast, we’ll pack up and transfer closer to our next ride in the Alps. Part of our ride today will be on the stage course as we head to our VIP venue, Relais Etape. This ride will be 40-60 kilometers with less than 900 meters of elevation gain.

The venue will serve a 4-course meal with soft drinks, beer, wine and champagne. There are TV’s and commentators to describe the action (mostly in French) until the races pass in front of us. The atmosphere is electric in anticipation of the racers and their entourage. To add to the excitement, a caravan/parade passes ahead of the race and tosses gifts and gadgets to the crowd.

We’ll make our way to our next hotel, nestled in the town of Vaujany. You’ll be on your own tonight for dinner.  Accommodations are chalet/apartment style where you will have a private bedroom and will share a common area with another couple or single. Vaujany is a ski resort town located on the back side of Alpe d’Huez….a beautiful setting!

Happy Bastille Day! Today may not only be the highlight of your trip, but of the entire Tour de France as well…Alpe d’Huez!  We will ride about 30-50 kilometers and climb approximately 1,300 meters in elevation gain. The 21 bends of Alpe d’Huez are legendary and you will have a story to tell your friends and family for many, many years!

After the ride, we will have a private, outdoor viewing party to see the racers make this historic climb. A chef will grill food and there will be plenty to eat and drink in our amazing chalet located between the last and second to last turns of the climb. The chalet has an outstanding location and view for one of the most important days of the Tour.

Today we start the day with VIP access to the start village in Bourg d’Oisans. Located at the base of Alpe d’Huez, this is a great location to experience the beginning of a Tour de France stage. The village has food, drinks and other actives before the racers depart. You’ll have the chance to see the racers line up on the stage to be announced.

After the start, you can grab a light lunch before gearing up for our last ride in the Alps. You can choose whether you want to make the Alpe d’Huez climb again, try one of the other routes or ride in the valley back toward the hotel.

Tonight will be our last night together, so we will have our farewell dinner and share stories from the week.

We will drop you at the Grenoble train station in the morning.

Bon Voyage!