Alpes 2024: an adventure through the passes that have made past and present cycling history

Haute Route Alpes 2024 promises to be a grandiose race. Through a collection of legendary mountain passes, the route represents the best the world has to offer for those wishing to tackle the most prestigious of mountains.

Haute Route Alpes 2024 route is a classic, firstly because it starts in Megève and takes riders to the azure waters of Nice. Secondly, because it takes in legendary mountain passes and stages in towns that have traditionally hosted the Haute Route. However, how can we not offer what cyclists from all over the world dream of?

Seven stages make up this edition, with names that awaken memories. On the first day, the peloton crosses the Col des Aravis, the Colombière, and tackles a short climb that, according to the race director Jean-François Alcan, has pleased Haute Route riders in the past: the Megève altiport.

The Col de la Loze will then be on the agenda for the second stage, while the scars of last summer’s battle between Vingegaard and Pogacar can still be felt at the summit.  Starting from Courchevel, the marathon stage takes place on Tuesday August 27, with over 4400m of ascent and an epic sequence: Madeleine, Glandon, Alpe d’Huez. It’s the kind of Haute Route stage that allows riders to push themselves to the limit, and to realize once they’ve crossed the finish line just how emotional cycling can be. This is an opportunity to remind that the organization plans everything to assist, encourage and support all riders, from the first to the last, whatever happens, even if they withdraw from the race.

The following day, riders who like to stick wheels will have to pedal alone, not into the wind, but against the clock on the 21 mythical hairpin bends that made the fratricidal Hinault-LeMond duel legendary, for a second stage ending at Alpe d’Huez. Before crossing Europe’s highest pass (the 2715m Col de la Bonnette), which the Haute Route rarely climbs, the riders will spend two days climbing the gentle Lautaret, the steep and magical Granon, and the underrated Col de Vars.

All riders will sleep in Briançon and Auron. After the effort, the rest of the Côte d’Azur arrives … but not immediately: the Col de Saint Martin will be the last difficulty before riding down to Nice through the superb Château gardens.

The menu is packed with cycling history legends, and the stages are varied in distance and elevation gain: Haute Route Alpes 2024 ticks all the boxes to become the greatest cycling memory of your life!

The Haute Route Team