Stage 7: St Etienne de Tinée - Nice

The final day of the Haute Route is the first day that is a net descent...  After a descending from the start in St Etienne de Tinée comes the final major climb of the event Col de Saint-Martin. The race pauses in Vence to regroup and from there it's on to Nice, the Mediterranean & the finish; and top it off, it's almost all downhill to the sea...

Bikeroutetoaster Course

Stage 6: Pra Loup - Auron

A simple stage - descend, climb, descend, climb - however it incorporates the Cime de la Bonette, the highest paved road in Europe.  Enough said.

Bikeroutetoaster Course

Stage 5: Serre Chevalier - Pra Loup

The 5th stage at 119km through the Hautes-Alpes and the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence is the second longest stage of the Haute Route.  It starts in Briançon at the foot of the Col d’Izoard, a 20km Haute Categorie ascent to 2361 metres.  This is followed up by the Col de Vars (2109 metres) and finishing up with the 7km ascent of Pra Loup.

Bikeroutetoaster course

Stage 4: Serre Chevalier - Col du Granon

Today the riders encountered a gruelling day on the bike battling against the heat, the wind and three major cols to get themselves to Serre Chevalier (results) where the 'caravan' will rest for two days.  Stage 4, tomorrow, will be a welcome respite: A 12km time trial up the Col du Granon on closed roads with riders setting off in 30-second intervals in the race against the clock up the difficult climb.

Bikeroutetoaster Course

Stage 3: Bourg Saint Maurice - Serre Chevalier

After today's tough stage in 32 degrees heat, the riders will have been wary of tomorrow; the stage from Bourg Saint Maurice to Serre Chevalier is very much the Queen stage of the Haute Route.  The 169km parcours includes two hors categorie climbs in the Col de la Madeleine (1993 metres) and the Col du Galibier (2645 metres).

Stage 2: Megève - Les Arcs

After a tough day today; taking the riders from 3h46 to 6h22 to complete the stage - results here - the Haute Route ramps up a notch tomorrow.  Stage 2 is 102km from Megève, encompassing the Col des Saisies (1650m), the Col du Cormet de Roselend at 1967 meters, and finally, a 20km ascent from Bourg Saint-Maurice up to the finish at the ski resort of Les Arcs 1800. What's more this will be being done on tired legs... 

Stage1: Geneva - Megève

The Haute Route commences today in glorious weather (34°C) with a 110k stage from Geneva to Megève incorporating two cols - the Colombière at 1613m, followed by the Aravis at 1486m.  By the time the riders get to the finish from 10am (BST) this morning they will certainly know that this event has well and truly begun...

Haute Route 2011

The first edition of possibly the ultimate cyclosportive starts tomorrow (Sunday 21st Aug).  The Haute Route involves 730km, 17,000 metres of ascent over and 15 challenging Alpine climbs from Geneva to Nice over seven days.  Some 300+ riders from 23 countries (average age 43) are competing individually, in pairs & teams.  Looks tough.  Good luck...