Joris Lesueur, the complete set!
Joris, can you introduce yourself?
I'm Joris Lesueur, 50 years old, married with a daughter and a son. I live near Dijon, in the Côte-d'Or region, and I've been cycling assiduously for 28 years, while seeking to climb as often as possible! Creator and host of alpes4ever.com, a specialist in Alpine passes, I've put my content and encyclopedic knowledge of the route at the service of routesdesgrandesalpes.com
Why a touring crossing of the Alps?
On the occasion of my 50th birthday, with the help of Lionel Terrail and Jean-Loup Tétard, partners and founders of Grandes Itinérances SAS, I decided to give myself a great gift: the mythical Route des Grandes Alpes® crossing.
After 28 years of climbing up and down most of the Alpine passes, it was an opportunity to combine all these wonderful climbs into a single trip. It was also a challenge: to test both the man and the cyclist, with the accumulation of a daily effort over nearly 700 km / 15,000 m of D+, spread over 8 days.
Ane anecdote?
Blueberry tarts! A friend had advised me not to miss the blueberry tart I could enjoy at Col de la Colombière... and indeed it was good! Then, the next day, I repeated the experience with a beautiful view of Lac de Roselend... Then, as the stages went by, it became a gimmick, a blueberry tart to reward the efforts of a happy cyclist! And the best? The one on the Col du Lautaret, served on a slate with whipped cream and the name of the pass written in icing sugar! On stage 6, I couldn't have my favorite dessert in Valberg (a waffle instead). Well, being on vacation in Nice, following the end of my trip, I went back there a few days later, out for a walk to unearth one. The story had come full circle!
