Cycling in Alpe d'Huez

No road climb in cycling is more iconic than Alpe d'Huez. Its 21 numbered hairpins zigzag nearly 1,100 metres up the mountain in under fourteen kilometres, each bend signed with the name of a past Tour de France stage winner.

When the Tour visits, a million fans line the switchbacks; the rest of the summer, amateurs from all over the world come to ride it for themselves and stop the clock at the top.

It is hard but democratic — no special skill, just legs, lungs and the will to keep turning the pedals up an average gradient over eight percent.

Ticking off the bends one by one, counting down from 21 to the resort at the summit, is a rite of passage every road cyclist dreams about, and the sense of achievement at the top is enormous.

A single sustained climb: roughly fourteen kilometres of smooth alpine tarmac at an average of around eight percent, steepest in the opening bends and easing slightly higher up.

It is a pure test of climbing fitness rather than technical skill — no traffic-free descents to master, just the grind upward, with each of the 21 numbered hairpins marking your progress.

Fit riders take a bit over an hour; most take longer, and there is no shame in a steady pace or a rest at a bend. Summer days can be hot on the exposed lower slopes and cooler at the 1,850-metre top, and mountain weather can turn.

Share the road with other cyclists, cars and the occasional descending rider, and enjoy the café and that finish-line photo at the summit.

Ride from June to September, when the high road is open and the weather is settled. Base yourself in Bourg-d'Oisans at the foot of the climb, where you can rent a good road bike if you're travelling light.

Gear low — a compact chainset and a wide-range cassette make the gradient far more enjoyable — and pace the steep first three bends conservatively so you don't blow up. Carry water and a layer for the cooler, breezier summit, and start early on hot days.

It needs no guide, but new mountain riders should practise on smaller climbs first and take care on the fast descent back down. Fuel well, respect the traffic on the hairpins, and savour counting the bends down to zero.