Arêches / Bourg-Saint-Maurice

Now, here’s a wild stage leading you into the midst of high mountains and involving riding beside Saint-Guérin Lake and tackling the high Cormet d’Arêches pass. Leaving from Arêches, you follow the Poncellamont mountain stream up to Saint-Guérin Dam and Lake. Do dismount to cross the impressive footbridge suspended 80m above the water. Having enjoyed a breather here, time to tackle the way up to the Cormet d’Arêches, at 2,018m in altitude. Next, you descend towards Bourg-Saint-Maurice via Montgirod (in the commune, or parish, of Aime-La-Plagne) and Vulmix, the latter marked by its fortifications.

Passage points

ARECHES > Pont des Gerois > Barrage de Saint-Guérin > CORMET D’ARECHES > Les Chapelles > MONTGIROD > Vulmix > BOURG-SAINT-MAURICE. 

Don’t miss

• Le Cormet d’Arêches (2,108m in altitude) : Le Cormet d’Arêches is a pass linking the Beaufortain and Tarentaise Valleys. The final kilometres to the top on either side aren’t tarmacked, but are ideal for gravel bikes. Heading out from Beaufort along the 19.3km route, you’ll tackle a positive shift in altitude of 1,396m and a gradient of 8%. The climb is in two parts: the first, up to the dam at the end of Saint-Guérin Lake; the second, up to the Cormet d’Arêches. A gentle descent along 850m gives you a brief breather before the road turns into a track 3.2km from your destination, the slopes here varying between gradients of 8% and 9%!
• Bourg-Saint-Maurice : Welcome to Bourg-Saint-Maurice, or rather Les Arcs - Bourg-Saint-Maurice, a typical mid-sized Savoie town, a nice place to wander around, as well as serving as the main gateway to the major mountain resorts of the Haute Tarentaise Vanoise region. In the town centre, opposite the SNCF train and bus station, do visit the Coopérative Laitière de Haute-Tarentaise, putting to the fore not just Beaufort cheese, but also the area more generally.
• Haute Tarentaise Vanoise : With eight communes (parishes), six mountain resorts (including the famed Val d’Isère and Tignes), the Parc National de la Vanoise, glaciers, lakes, all manner of activities and an exceptional way of life… the area known as Haute Tarentaise Vanoise concentrates a mass of grandiose sites within its boundaries, the altitude in these parts ranging from 800m to 3,817m (at the Aiguille des Glaciers).