MIDDLE DISTANCE - WITH BONUS CLIMB

The start of the 2nd stage, the 'Middle distance’ is at 09:00. It is suited for riders on ‘Group 2’ level and the distance of the stage is 99 km - it offers 2,149 meters of elevation gain.

Instead of repeating the descent from Les Gets directly towards Taninges as in stage one, the route goes in the opposite direction and 6 km down to Morzine and then 10.3 km up towards the COL DE JOUX PLANE from the back side. You therefore get pleasure from driving the final descent of the first stage as an ascent! That is, a enjoyable “wake up” climb of 692 meters of elevation gain reflecting an average increase of 6.7%

Just like the route for “Le défi cycliste extrême”, we are driving in the direction of Taninges which after the descent from Joux Plane (11.5 km) to Samoëns is an 11 km slightly downhill stretch. Let your legs have a welldeserved break and enjoy a rare moment without going steeply up or down.

From Taninges we drive to Châtillon (2.55 km / 4%) which takes us in the direction of Cluses. As we generally try to replace larger and busy roads with more scenic mountain sides and good altitude meters, we drive off the 3rd road in the roundabout approx. 43.8 km out on the route - aim for 'Boulangerie Tiffany', which in case of emergency can be a coffee stop or an excuse for a French chocolate croissant.

From here it goes 6 km upwards towards Saint Sigismond and on towards La Frasse on a relatively flat plateau. From the town of Aráchesla-Frasse we drive back down towards the valley via a winding road through the forest. Be aware of the speed, especially in the hairpin turns. After driving through the small town of Balme, we are in the valley and will come out at the roundabout to the main road "Rue Nationale" near Magland (see the map).

We drive approximately 500 meters ahead, safely cross the main road and the river, after which we drive 5 km on the opposite mountain side and on smaller cycle paths. When we have driven a total of 72 km, we arrive in the town of Sallanches, where we calmly move through the idyllic French atmosphere and the one-way streets. We set our sights on the country road 'Route du Fayet' and towards the Grand Final which starts 2 km after Domancy and at the 78 km mark.

At the town of Vertex, we turn into the 'Route de Lardin' and keep our tight pedalling all the way until we raise our hands in the air at LE BETTEX However, first we have to try our hand at the 15th stage's fierce and short Cotê des Amerands of 2.7 km, which offers a challenging average percentage of climb of 11.1%.

We keep to the right when the Route de Vertex hits the Route des Amerands and we drive 1 km until we hit the Route de Megéve. From here we strive towards to top of LE BETTEX through signs and count-down of kilometers. We stay at three hotels in Saint Gervais, and you will receive information for directions.