Oisans

Suggestions for cycling loops around the Oisans

Our grands cols

The Oisans is ringed by the great Alpine passes. Le Bourg-d'Oisans at 720 m altitude is at the crossroads of the territory's roads. For many cyclists, it's the starting point for climbing the mythical cols. Especially if they wish to add to their list of achievements le Lautaret (2057 m) and le Galibier (2646 m) on the Hautes-Alpes side, or the du Glandon (1924 m) and la Croix-de-Fer (2064 m) on the Savoie side. Added to these are the local passes, some of them small but strong, such as the col de Sarenne (1999 m) or the Sabot (2100 m). But also the Col d'Ornon (1371 m) and the Col du Solude (1681 m).

Bicycle events

Before mentioning the annual cycle races that punctuate the Uissan summer, here are the major events that very regularly choose the winding routes of the Oisans:

• The Tour de France, of course, with the legendary Alpe d'Huez stage and 30 passes since 1952.
• Le critérium du Dauphiné Libéré

Every summer, a number of renowned competitions follow one another:

• L'Alpe d'Huzes (Dutch charity race for the fight against cancer organized since 2006)
• La Marmotte Granfondo Alpes
• Alpe d'Huez Triathlon
• La GNFY Vaujany
• Le BRO, brevet du randonneur de l'Oisans, organized every 2 years alternating with the BRA, brevet de randonneur des Alpes.

Finally, a special mention for the Oisans Col Series, a general public event to promote cycling, scheduled every Tuesday morning in summer. The concept is simple: close a road to motor vehicles for the morning. Every Tuesday, the route changes, but what's fixed is that it's free, there's a friendly refreshment bar at the finish, and it's open to all disciplines, from ski wheelers to pedestrians.

Coming back in winter

Winter and its beautiful blanket of snow... The Oisans and its high-altitude resorts benefit from long runs with great vertical drops. This is the advantage of being able to reach the Pic Blanc at 3330 m (Alpe d'Huez) or the Girose glacier at 3600 m (Les 2 Alpes) by ski lift, and then descend to 1100 m, for example.
But that's not all, Oisans is also lucky enough to be home to a ski area like La Grave, totally wild, with marked but ungroomed itineraries for skiing in natural snow.
And on the family resort side, in addition to the small satellite resorts of the Alpe d'Huez such as Villard-Reculas, Auris-en-Oisans, Vaujany and Oz-en-Oisans, the Col d'Ornon offers alpine ski runs of all colors and cross-country ski loops. It has another feature that is unique in France (as far as we know): the entire resort can be rented out! How's that for a private ski area?

Other events

Among the great events hosted on Uissan soil here are a few highlights:

• La Mégavalanche (Alpe d'Huez) and the Mountain of Hell (Les 2 Alpes) in July: 2 outstanding downhill mountain bike races, with a mass start for added adrenaline and a crazy vertical drop, around 2,500m!
• L'UT4M (ultra trail des 4 massifs) or the Oisans Trail Tour to name but two major trail events.
• L'Ultra-raid de La Meije, for enduro mountain bike enthusiasts, Europe's finest mountain bike raid, in September.
• Tomorrowland Winter (Alpe d'Huez), an electro music festival in March.
• The Derby de la Meije, a crazy ski race on the ungroomed itineraries of La Grave in March.

And there are also smaller but much-loved events like the Festival des randonnées musicales de la vallée du Ferrand, the Fête des guides de la Bérarde or the Olivier Messiaen au Pays de La Meije festival with its classical music concerts.

The Oisans and its 21 communes have all the services needed to welcome holidaymakers and cyclists in particular. Indeed, from the bus station in Bourg-d'Oisans, a range of local lines provide access to the various resorts or villages.

Most tourist localities offer food shops, sports stores and rental accommodation (available on the oisans.com marketplace), some of which have the "Accueil Cyclo Oisans" label with services specific to cyclists' needs: bike-oisans.com/accommodations
Findon this siteall the services and shops in Oisans.

Témoignages

"What a beautiful region! Fresh air, dreamy mountains, top welcome! bravo! and thank you!" Sarah R.

"A very beautiful region with lots of TOP sporting activities and splendid scenery"François and family

"Pleasant setting with lots of activities to do"Carole G.

"The more we come, the more we go back" Medhi S.

"The environment and the welcome is perfect! We enjoyed our stay immensely and will gladly return."Pauline and Marc

FAQ

• Can you cycle as close to the Ecrins National Park as possible?
  Yes, with the route that joins La Bérarde to Saint-Christophe-en-Oisans.

• How many "cyclo" itineraries can you do in Oisans?
  20 itineraries available in the "Cyclo en Oisans" guidebook.

• What are the "Oisans Col Series"?
  In Oisans, every Tuesday morning a different route is reserved for cyclists. Closed to all motor vehicles, the route has no fixed start time, no registration and is free of charge. The only obligation is to have a good time at the ravito on arrival.
  
  

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