What's New in 2010

14th July 2010 - Today is Bastille Day in France, a national holiday and a day where a French rider will try their best to win the stage of the Tour de France. Today's Tour de France stage takes the riders south from Chambery to the outskirts of Grenoble before turning towards Uriage-les-Bains and Vizille. The 16 kilometre section between Gieres and Vizille is part of our Wednesday cycle tour from work so it will be great to see the professionals riding a road that I have ridden so many times since arriving in France. The riders then climb the Cote de Laffrey and La Mure before the climb over the Col de Noyer to finish in Gap.

We have seen an interesting and unpredicatble start to this year's Tour de France. Alessandro Petacchi showed that he still had the legs to still win at the Tour de France and Mark Cavendish did get the stage wins he so badly needed. The tears on the podium in Montargis showed us that. Sylvain Chavanel took the stage to Spa and the yellow jersey on a day that the peleton felt that the roads of Liege-Bastonne-Liege were too dangerous. The stage to Arenberg was one of the most exciting Tour de France stages I have seen, with the race splintering into small groups on the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix and race favourite Andy Schleck taking time out of Alberto Contador with the help of Fabian Cancellera.

This week, we also saw Lance Armstrong's luck disappear with a puncture on the cobbles and a number of crashes that have ended any hope of finishing his last Tour de France on the podium. I would like to see him take a final stage victory before the end of the Tour. And yesterday, Andy Schleck and Alberto Contador blew the race apart on the Col de la Madeleine. The race is celebrating the 100 years of the Pyrenees this year and the numerous mountain stages in the last week will show us if Schleck can drop Contador to take the time he needs before the time-trial on the penultimate day. I hope we continue to see such great racing.

I did enjoy Jens Voight's quote from the first week - "If they listened to me we'd go flat out and then see how far we could go. They don't want to listen to me. I suggest it every now and then though."

29th June 2010 - Normally this week, I would be preparing for my eighth Marmotte event but the knee problems that I picked up at the end of May will not go away. I seem to be able to only ride a few kilometres before I have sore knees. It is the first time in ten years that an injury like this has stopped me riding events but I am still very disappointed that I cannot ride this weekend. I have also cancelled any plans to ride the Tour of Mont Blanc event in mid-July. I am not sure if it was the bad weather in May, too much running, riding too far on the first sunny Sunday in May or a combination of events.

I took a group of cyclists from HP over to Alpe d'Huez on Friday for the fourth annual ascent to the ski resort. I run this annual event for non-serious cyclists to allow them to discover this famous Tour de France climb. I had already cancelled the event the previous week due to the wind, rain and cold temperatures but thankfully the weather was good. It was an enthusiastic group and everybody made the 14 kilometre climb. We all enjoyed a beer in Bourg d'Oisans afterwards and you can see the video diary of the climb.

13th June 2010 - My second day following the Critérium du Dauphiné with the sixth stage from Crolles to Alpe d'Huez. The riders had 151 kilometres of riding before the finish in the ski resort of Alpe d'Huez, with the Col du Grand Cucheron and the increasingly tough Col du Glandon climbed before the final ascent.

The climb of Alpe d'Huez was surprisingly quiet and I cycled up to hairpin nine with my camera gear and joined the spectators here for a great view of the road winding up the natural amphitheatre of the mountainside below. The race did not disappoint and we saw the lead group decrease down to two riders by the time the front of the race passed us.

You can find the photos in the gallery here.

12th June 2010 - I took an afternoon away from work yesterday to follow the fifth stage of the Critérium du Dauphiné on the climb to the ski resort of Chamrousse. The 17.5 kilometre climb would be the springboard for David Navarro from the Astana team to take his first professional victory in Grenoble.

You can find all my photos in the gallery here.

24th May 2010 - Yesterday gave me the chance to ride my first longer ride of 2010 with a 151 kilometres tour to the south of Grenoble, and a route that took me on the south-eastern side of the Vercors before riding back through the lovely, quiet roads of the Trieves region. In all, the route took me over nine mountain passes. Some of the passes were higher than others but the notable climbs were the 1402 metre Col de Menee, the 1318 metre Col de Grimone and the 899 metre Col du Fau from both sides and adding up to over 3,000 metres of climbing.

You can also see details logged from my Garmin 305 GPS, although I can see it had some problems to work with the tunnels as I do not remember riding at just under 500 kph and there is some additional blips on the climb to the Col de Grimone. You can see data from the ride here - click the Google Earth option to see the route in three dimensions.

19th May 2010 - Finally some decent summer temperatures are set to arrive this weekend after the wettest, windiest and coldest month of May that I can remember. Last week, I cycled 80 kilometres and ran over 50 kilometres in training. I've never run that much, but I could not face going out and getting cold and wet on my bike again. Still, the forecast is looking good with temperatures in the high 20s predicted for this long holiday weekend, and with the news that the Col de la Croix de Fer is now open, it may be time for my first visit to the high Alps in 2010.

At the moment, the Col du Glandon and Col du Galibier are sill closed. You can check on the state of any of the Cols in France on the Bison Fute website

The route of the Criterium du Dauphine Libere can now be seen on the official site of the event here. The race starts with a prologue near Geneva in Evian-les-Bains on Sunday June 6th. The race then passes near Grenoble on the way south with the first flat stages and the time trial in Monteux. The mountains start on Thursday 10th June with the climb to Risoul. On Friday 11th June, the riders have one notable climb to Chamrouse before the finish in Grenoble. Three climbs on Saturday 12th June including the Col du Glandon and Alpe d'Huez, before the final stage to Sallanches. It is a great route with plenty of mountains towards the end of the race. The final stage to Sallanches includes a loop around Domancy which the riders tackle five times. It is the perfect place to spectate with a short and steep climb with the backdrop of the Alps.

If you are ever planning to come to Grenoble, you can check the weather forecast for the next seven days on the Meteo-Grenoble site here.

31st March 2010 - The clocks have changed, it's officially Spring and we can now start planning for the summer. On Monday, I started riding my bike the 18 kilometres to work this week and found myself fighting a terrible headwind on the way home in the evening. I also ridden for 90 minutes at lunchtime with a climb to 800 metres, and by the time I started the ride home my legs were already tired. We do get value for money at the start of the season as it does not take too many kilometres for us to feel tired, but I really didn't expect to get home so drained on the first day I rode to work. I know it will get easier.

There is still a lot of snow on the high mountains and here's some video footage from the Dauphine Libere website of an avalanche that blocked the Col du Lautaret at the end of March.

The Marmotte organisers have added a new event to the cycling calendar in 2010. The 330 kilometre Tour de Mont Blanc will take place on 18th July and you can read about it on the blog here.

18th February 2010 - I have have read on the Sportcommunication website that inscriptions to this year's Marmotte event are now closed unless you want take part in the Trophée de l'Oisans or participate in three events as part of the Grand Trophée. They have already had 6.800 riders who have signed up for the 174 kilometre event at the start of July.

Sportcommunication have also now taken over from the Dauphine Libere newspaper to run the Challenge du Dauphine event in May. There are still three different circuits which start and finish in the ski resort of Autrans on Sunday 23rd May. More details are on the Sportcommunication website here.

25th January 2010 - Happy New Year to all site visitors. Grenoble has been enjoying a cold winter with a substantial fall of snow the week after New Year. Over 30 centimetres of snow fell in Grenoble which is a record for the ten years that I've lived in France. The irony was that Christmas and New Year break were snow free in the valley until the Monday 4th January when everybody returned back to work.

My plans this year include my eighth Marmotte event and you can already sign up online here. If you are planning to ride the event, I'd recommend registering as soon as possible and the event is now limited to 7,000 places. I signed up last week for myself and a friend, and I have number 1600 with my friend 4500. My other goal is the Tour de Mont Aiguille running event in June. I really enjoyed running the 24 kilometres in 2009, so will try and improve on last year's time.

I have also heard that the Challenge du Dauphine event may not be run this year at the end of May. I have heard that the Dauphine Libere, the regional newspaper, has new priorities. I'll confirm this.

22nd October 2009 - After a day of rain, the clouds cleared to show Grenoble that the Alps had been covered in the first covering of snow above 2000 metres. Mountains that had steadily turned grey and brown in October were now white with fresh snow. Lower down, the mountainsides around my village are still full of oranges, yellows and reds, as the trees await the first winter storm to blow away the leaves.

If you are flying with BMI Baby from the UK this autumn, you will find my tips of things to do in and around Grenoble in their inflight magazine 'Yeah Baby'. I gave three recommendations of things to do in and around Grenoble, including the legendary climb of Alpe d'Huez. You can see an excerpt from the magazine here.

We now have news on the two big professional races for next year. The Tour de France will take in the Alps before the Pyrenees in 2010, with the mountain stages kicking off with a summit arrival in the Jura mountains at the Station des Rousses on stage seven. Stage eight will finish in Avoriaz in the northern French Alps before the classic alpine stage on stage nine. The Col de la Colombiere and the Col de la Madeleine are included among the four ascents on the way to St-Jean-de-Maurienne. Stage 10 is the final Alpine stage, with two notable climbs in the way to Gap. The Cote de Laffrey is a tough ascent near Grenoble before the picturesque Col de Noyer at the end of the stage. For more details on the 2010 Tour de France, see the official website.

Next year's Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré takes place from the 6th to the 13 June. The final three days include a finish in Grenoble on Friday 11th June, a mountain finish in Alpe d'Huez on Saturday 12th June and the final stage will finish in Sallanches on Sunday with a circuit that includes the tough . This is the first time that the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré has finished in the ski resort of Alpe d'Huez. The complete route has yet to be annouced on the official website here.

27th September 2009 - Autumn is coming to the Alps and the leaves are starting to turn red and orange on the mountainsides above the city. It's been cool and cloudy in the morning with the sun burning through in the afternoon to give some very pleasant temperatures and still perfect for cycling in the high Alps.

I am determined to keep the weight down this winter and train though the cold months. After the summer break in the UK and Brittany, I was happy to get back on the bike here in France. I rode through the Chartreuse over the Col du Coq and Col du Porte with Phil and Benoit two weeks ago, before I pulled a muscle in my thigh after 90 seconds of football in a tournment at HP. My leg seems to be fine now so I am ready to start training again.

24th July 2009 - I spent the day in Annecy following stage 18 of the Tour de France with my friend Alain. I wasn't going to turn down his offer to join him after Bernard Hinault had invited him and a friend for the day. You can see my photos from the day here. I spent time in the Tour Village, the team warm-up area and near the start ramp.

19th July 2009 - An epic day out in the Alps with the 2009 edition of the Brevet de Randonneur des Alpes. Held every two years, the 225 kilometre event includes 4,650 metres of climbing on a route that starts and finishes in Vizille, just outside Grenoble. The route climbed the 2,646m Col du Galibier, 1,566m Col du Telegraphe, 1,638m Col du Mollard and the 2,067m Col de la Croix de Fer. I finished in a little over 10 hours and had a great day on the bike in one of the best cycling events I have ever ridden in the Alps. Great organisation, fantastic scenery and the four seasons in one day. Three days before the event, we had 38 degrees in Grenoble, the day before, we had snow down to 2,200 metres on the Col du Galibier. Here is my video diary from the ride.

6th July 2009 - I joined 7,000 cyclists on Saturday and rode my seventh Marmotte event. It was a day when the heat played an important factor, and the climb to Alpe d'Huez was as hard as I can remember. I finished in 920th place in a time of eight hours and 18 minutes, over seven minutes faster than in 2008 but I was six minutes slower on Alpe d'Huez. Here is my video diary.

1st July 2009 - Saturday is a big day for two groups of cyclists. In the south of France, the 2009 Tour de France starts in the Principality of Monaco with a 15.5 kilometre time-trial. On the same day, 7,000 cyclists will leave Bourg d'Oisans for the 174 kilometre Marmotte event, climbing the Col du Glandon, Col de Telegraphe, Col du Galibier and final ascent of Alpe d'Huez. This will be my seventh Marmotte and you can read about my thoughts and recent training in the blog.

This year, the organisers of the Marmotte have limited the entry to this year's event to 7,000 places due to administration restrictions that have been put in place by the Savoie department. It is stated on the Sportcommunication website that the event is full and there is no possibilty to sign up in in the next three days in Grenoble or Alpe d'Huez.

18th June 2009 - I organised the third annual ascent of Alpe d'Huez for my cycling and non-cycling colleagues at HP, and spent a fantastic afternoon on the road to the ski resort on the 12th June. This year, we were joined by some new faces as well as others climbing for the third time. It was hot on the lower slopes but perfect on the upper slopes of the climb with a little wind to cool the riders down. With the help of Yann filming on his camera, I was able to put together a video diary of the ascent.

31st May 2009 - Perfect weather in the Vercors yesterday for the 2009 Challenge du Dauphine event. Over 1000 cyclists started the event in the ski resort of Autrans with a choice of three distances, 66, 123 and 173 kilometres. I rode the 173 kilometre circuit, with 3,200 metres of vertical climbing, on a route that included the Col de la Croix Perrin, Col de la Chau, Col de la Machine and the Col de Carri amongst others. I rode most of the route with Guy from King of the Mountains on a spectacular circuit that included stunning countryside, tunnels and cliff roads, and numerous feed stops along the way. A really great day out on the bike for everybody.

You can see my video diary from the Challenge du Dauphine event here.

24th May 2009 - Summer has certainly arrived in the French Alps with a temperature of 35 degrees predicted in Grenoble today. Some of the higher mountain passes are now clear of snow with the Col de la Croix de Fer and the Col du Glandon opening in the last few days. It's not too long until the Dauphine Libere cycling race will cross the Galibier, so we can expect that the snow will be cleared in the next week or so to allow access to the tunnel on the 2646 metre Col du Galibier.

I left the house early yesterday and rode the 1924 metre Col du Glandon and then descended to the Maurienne valley and climbed the 2067 metre Col de la Croix de Fer from St-Jean-de-Maurienne. It's been a while since I've ridden a 30 kilometre ascent and I could cetainly feel the two climbs in my legs by the time I reached the Croix de Fer. In all, it was a 115 kilometre loop with over 2,600 metres of climb. You can see my video diary here.

6th May 2009 - I've added some new Cycling Wallpapers to download on the Wallpaper page with a Lance Armstrong theme to celebrate the return of Lance in the 2009 Tour de France, as well as a Dauphine Libere wallpaper and some Grenoble Cycling Page themes with a mixture of races and mountain photos. Do let me know if you have any comments and if I should add some more.

Grenoble - A city in the heart of the Alps

Surrounded by three mountain ranges, Grenoble is in a unique position and offers a cyclist a huge variety of rides. The rolling mountains of the Chartreuse to the north, the high plateau of the Vercors to the south-west before the huge imposing climbs of the Alps to the east.