{"id":17315,"date":"2024-03-05T11:50:54","date_gmt":"2024-03-05T10:50:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cyclingdestination.cc\/?p=17315"},"modified":"2024-05-23T12:09:41","modified_gmt":"2024-05-23T10:09:41","slug":"cycling-in-meribel-mottaret-col-de-la-loze","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cyclingdestination.cc\/en\/verhalen\/fietsen-in-meribel-mottaret-col-de-la-loze","title":{"rendered":"CYCLING IN M\u00c9RIBEL - COL DE LA LOZE"},"content":{"rendered":"

REGION THE THREE VALLEYS IS TRYING TO WIN HEARTS OF CYCLING FANS.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you talk about cycling in the French Alps, you tend to immediately think of the Alp d'Huez, Galibier Telegraph and the Glandon and places like Le Bourg D'oisans or Valloire, but those who have been following the 2023 Tour de France and have seen the 17e<\/sup> stage in mind now also know that the Col de la Loze is a mountain to be reckoned with. Located between Courchevel and Meribel lies this challenging climb. Pogacar bit the bullet on it and we (Sjoerd van Bemmelen and Dennis Knuist) now also know how that felt. At the invitation of M\u00e9ribel<\/a> we drove here, a 10-hour drive from the Netherlands. Our welcome by Marie is very warm. She immediately puts all the information at our disposal and gives us all kinds of tips for a nice stay! We are looking forward to it. Read along?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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FROM SKI TO BIKE RESORT<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The sites and M\u00e9ribel<\/a> Courchevel are best known among winter sports enthusiasts for their beautiful and challenging slopes, but since the tour has passed here for the 2x time, they are working hard to win the hearts of many a cycling fan.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

COL DE LA LOZE is the crowd puller<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Col de la Loze<\/strong> is officially 10.1 km long and has an average gradient of 8.6% with outliers to 13, 15 and even 20.9%. It is a monster of a climb, in the right sense of the word. It's a crowd-pleaser, but you don't get a moment's rhythm and the last 300 metres feel like cycling straight up. The last seven kilometres are car-free which is very nice cycling and once at the top there is the serene calm of magical mountain peaks a clear blue lake and Mont Blanc as a view.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Steep and straight up!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Love de la Loze<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

OUR STAY<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We are staying in M\u00e9ribel Mottaret, one of the highest ski villages in France (1750m). Our flat is located on the 1e<\/sup> floor of a large complex and offers space for 2 people and our bikes. It is fully equipped for a carefree stay. Right around us are shops and a supermarket so we are fully equipped. We are here at the invitation of M\u00e9ribel to take part in L'echapp\u00e9e du col de la Loze<\/a> a two-day cycling event consisting of a course and an uphill time trial. None other than Thomas Voeckler is our host these days. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Enjoying the village<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The first evening we were invited to dinner at restaurant LE80<\/a>, a pretty hip place right at the beginning of the main shopping street. Lots of kinds of burgers and pastas here (vegatarian too). A DJ here provides entertainment while you eat. Nice addition and the food is also just delicious! Immediately after this, we took the chance to explore M\u00e9ribel for ourselves. M\u00e9ribel is slightly lower than where we slept (1450m.) It is a village with many shops, restaurants and coffee bars. But since they are thus conquering the hearts of us cycling fans, they also have several bike shops and service points for maintenance. We discovered that it is not a sleeping city during the summer. There are plenty of bars, there are definitely tourists and so there is plenty to see!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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THE COURSE! DAY 1<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The first day of L'echapp\u00e9e du col de la Loze is a course of 67.3 km and almost 2600 altimeters. We gather in the heart of M\u00e9ribel. The weather is beautiful summer and it promises to be a fine day of cycling. Organisation has set up a tent here and we are handed our start number and transponder from there. At 9 o'clock we count down and it's KOERS. We descend in peloton from M\u00e9ribel towards Brides les-Bains. Almost 15 kilometres downhill. From there it's up and down through small French villages and over fine short climbs towards Bozel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Along the way, there are many volunteers to ensure the safety of the participants and we are also provided with food and drinks. From Bozel we climb towards Champagny en Vanoise and from there towards Courchevel to finally finish at the top of M\u00e9ribel Mottaret. The awards ceremony will take place at the in M\u00e9ribel Mottaret and none other than Thomas Voeckler (M\u00e9ribel ambassador) will present the prizes. The winner is from Belgium, and completed the course in a stunning time. It was a beautiful warm day, with lots of cycling and climbing that we finished with a good espresso and lunch at caf\u00e9 Jack in the heart of M\u00e9ribel. This caf\u00e9 is highly recommended for good coffee \ud83d\ude09 <\/p>\n\n\n\n