Every cyclist knows the climb with twenty-one hairpin bends to Alpe d´Huez. Some have already climbed it once (or more) on a cycling trip or for charity during the Alpe d'HuZes. Others no doubt know the climb from the stories of others or from the finish of the Tour de France Femmes last year. But as iconic as the mountain is; actually, we - Jeffrey and Maks - prefer to seek out the unknown ourselves. So when we drove our camper van through this region, we decided to linger for a while anyway to ride the Alpe d'Huez not as an out-and-back on the road, but as a bigger loop on the gravel bike. Up via gravel to then descend via road. Out of this came a beautiful 63km route with over 1500 altimeters, with almost 25% of gravel that was too beautiful not to share! At the bottom of this article, you can download the route via Komoot.
Text and photos: Maks Groeneveld / Jeffrey Wiese - @outfor.adventures
The route starts in Allemond, where there are plenty of campsites (often cheaper and quieter than at the foot of the climb). From there, the first 12 kilometres are pretty much flat. Great for warming up the legs for what's to come. However, you can immediately enjoy a nice gravel strip along the river.
When you enter le Bourg-d'Oisans, you know the flat kilometres are over. You cycle up through the first five hairpin turns of the classic Alpe d'Huez climb. Just before the last turn, the gradients rise to 18%! Fortunately, it's only tough for a moment, because at the 'Dutch turn' (turn 7) you may deviate from the known route. Don't forget to refill your water bottle at the tap there. Even here, however, the climbing continues. Sometimes steep, but most of the time it is doable - especially between the trees where you cycle in the shade.
From about 18 kilometres or so, the route becomes truly insanely beautiful. You cycle along a rocky outcrop that plunges full into the depths to your right. Suddenly you see how high you are already and how beautiful the surroundings are. We ourselves immediately got new energy in our legs as we cycled here; the views were a good distraction. With beautiful vistas and photogenic spots after every turn, this is definitely a place to enjoy.
Through pretty tunnels you ride higher and higher. At 24.5 kilometres you can see the gravel road on the right where you will soon enter. We opted to ride on to Auris en Oisans to score a can of Pringles and drinks at the supermarket. With the hot weather, we could really use this! Auris en Oisans is a typical ski village, but now in mid-August it is especially the perfect base for hikers and mountain bikers.
Then it is finally time for gravel! From here it is seven kilometres of beautiful unpaved paths to enjoy. The route is undulating; sometimes a tough bit of climbing, but then you are rewarded again with a stretch of downhill where the views are breathtaking.
After 34 kilometres, you come to a fork, from where the paved road starts again. Now we did indeed see someone on a road bike here, but because of all the loose stones, the road certainly felt 'gravel worthy' enough to ride with our 45mm tyres. The 5 kilometres on this road slowly get a bit busier, and of course for a reason; the village of Alpe d'Huez finally comes into view. The summit has been reached!
We chose to start the descent right away, but of course this is the perfect spot to first grab a terrace for a well-earned drink. The route then contains a small section of gravel before you are allowed to descend on the paved road for 12 kilometres. This stretch does cover the real Alpe d'Huez route. Quite nice to be able to experience the gift of descending without having climbed all the hairpins. It almost feels a bit like cheating.
The remaining kilometres to Allemond contain roughly the same gravel sections as the outward route, with the occasional twist. Feel like just riding out? Then you can take the cycle path on the other side of the water. That way you can roll out and reminisce.
And, which bike would you prefer to take to the Alpe d'Huez after reading this article? Will you go for the iconic road climb or would you rather go off the beaten track? We secretly know...
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