Mountains
France
Hard
15,000
The most famous sportive in the world! The Etape du Tour is your chance to ride a stage of the Tour de France over completely closed roads and an absolutely stunning route. What makes the Etape so special? The atmosphere on the route is great with riders from around the world and friendly locals helping you up every climb. The organisation is excellent and the race directors who plan the route with meticulous attention to detail are the best in the world. That means you are guaranteed to be riding a very special route with stunning views, historic climbs, fun descents and lots of points of interest. From years of experience, we highly recommend booking at least an extra night to come for at least 4 nights, this gives you extra days for warm up rides in a beautiful part of the world and if you are flying, you avoid the madness at the airport on the Friday as people arrive from all corners of the globe to ride the Etape.
Another spectacular edition of the Etape du Tour. The race director has gone into his box of tricks to create an absolute stunner - starting by Lake Annecy and taking in a lovely "warm up" climb of the Col de Croix Fry, the route gets its character from the next part, the steep slopes into the wild of the Col des Glieres with a short gravel sector, an Etape first. After this excitement, there is some down time on the descent before the nasty Col de Romme and Col de Colombiere before descending to the finish line in le Grand Bornand.
A stunning route for the 2018 Etape taking riders into a new area. The route takes in 4 climbs: 11km at 7% of the Criox Fry 6km at 11% of the Glieres where the route takes in a short 2km unpaved section Then after a flat section along the valley, the final 1-2 punch of: 8km at 9% of the Col de Romme 7km at 8.5% of the Colombiere before a descent into le Grand Bornand.
This stunning lakeside town is the main host for the Etape. This is where the race village is to collect your race packs on Fri / Sat and where the race starts. It is a decent size town with everything you need. There are some great routes out of town including the lake loop which makes for a nice, easy warm up spin.
A pretty Alpine village in the heart of cycling land. Le Grand Bornand is close to a lot of great climbs including the Colombiere, Romme & Glieres as well as some climbs not features in the race including the Aravis. This village has a number of good bars and restaurants and a few smaller shops. We run shuttles to Annecy for the Etape so this is a nice option if you want to be in the mountains and by the finish line.
Every year we take thousands of riders to sportives around the world. While every rider is different, there are a number of shared needs from a trip. We try and add just the things you really need to have a great time and ride at your best without creating pricey packages. Our philosophy is to use the best, locally based & English speaking suppliers who know the area and what is needed to ride in it. For the 2018 Etape du Tour, we will have the following available for anyone booking a hotel with us and all still at the best price guaranteed:
Need help setting up your bike or got a problem when you are out there? Come and visit our onsite mechanic who is available just to Sportive Breaks customers to give free services.
Make the most of your Sportive Break with some guided warm up rides on the Thursday, Friday & Saturday taking in the best local routes and coffee stops.
Join us in November & January for our "Training Kick Off" months. You will receive a free month's training plan and advice from our expert coach.
Give yourself every chance to ride your best with a free 15 minute sports massage on the Friday or Saturday before the Etape.
Want to ride on your own or with your group? We provide you with GPX files and route descriptions for a variety of local routes.
Annecy or le Grand Bornand are easy to get to. Regular flights into Geneva leave from all major UK & Irish airports and the transfers are quick (around 1 hour). It is possible to drive, it is a 7hr30 hack from Calais but parking is tricky in Annecy. Le Grand Bornand is more car friendly. The race village is in Annecy - we have shuttles from le Grand Bornand or it is possible to ride there.
Upon purchasing your entry here, we will send instructions to register on the ASO website. You have until May to activate the unique code we send you, we will remind you to do this in May if you haven't already done so. Approx 2 weeks before the Etape you will get a Convocation on the ASO website. You will need a print out of this & a signed medical certificate (we will send a template to take to your doctor). Registrations are at the start village and will be open the two days before the sportive.
Finish time likely to be 7am. The start goes off in stages depending on your race number with the last group going out at 9am. The start groups are assigned based on previous Etape finishing times and the expected times you put in the registration form. If you are riding in a group and want to start together, put the same time. You are not guaranteed to be in the same pen and at the start it is not possible to move forward in your pens (but you can move back to be together).
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