Short description
Welcome to a unique guided cycle holiday sharing a good time out on the
bike in stunning nature near Nice. It is for you whether you are training for a cycling event, sight seeing or just loving to ride!
Your cycle holiday will take in some of the most iconic and stunning routes in the lower mountains of the Alpes-Maritimes along this magnificant coastline and meandering roads to picture postcard hill top villages, so well known and loved in the area.
The itinerary suits experienced road bike cyclists taking in spectacular medium/long distance hillside routes in the Cote d’Azur and visiting
charming villages.
21-25 October 2021
75-100 km & 1100-1800 m+/day
Full board
Small group (6 persons)
Individual lux apartment in a beautiful complex near the medieval village of St-Paul de Vence and Nice Côte d'Azur Airport.
The plan for the long weekend is based on 3 days of cycling with plenty of time for relaxation and socialising. Hosted at Le Haut des Espinets on the fabulous French Riviera.
We will be a small group of up to 6 cyclists and go in a moderate pace, ca 18-22 km/h depending on the route. You can bring your own bike or we can help you to find a good rental bike.
There will be time built in for tasting specialities of the Nicois cuisine in local restaurants in villages at lunch and for relaxation, be it a dip in the pool, a game of tennis or boules, or a visit to the artists village of St Paul de Vence and the many attractions in the area.
Your guide, Tina Baltzer, is a keen cyclist from Denmark. She moved to the Cote d’Azur in 2015. With a passion for cycling through beautiful landscapes, Tina set up Lifesparkz Bike Tours.
The prize is set for 1 person staying in a single room in a lux villa complex. Non-cycling holiday partners can come along and share the room with you for 500€, breakfasts and dinners included.
The villa consists of multiple apartments with individual outdoor areas and bathrooms, big common rooms, an outdoor BBQ area, pool and tennis court in the beautiful garden with stunning view. It is a very tranquil place. It is the house of your dreams in Southern France.
The itinerary
Thursday 21. October: Arrival and welcome
Make your way to Le Haut des Espinets and get assigned in your own apartment for the weekend. Settle in and enjoy the surroundings. Set up your bike if you bring your own bike. In the evening, we will have a welcome barbeque on the covered terrace and plenty of time to get to know each other and discuss our routes.
Friday 22. October: Col de Vence and Estéron Valley
Distance: 105 km / 1500 m+
This is one of the most quiet and beautiful routes in the area and a favorite among local cyclists. We head for a local challenge: Col de Vence, which is a climb up through a landscape that looks like a moonscape.
We continue our ride in a loop through charming villages, such as Coursegoules and Bouyon. Following a pristine road into the Estéron valley you will be surrounded by rock formations that take your breath away. Lunch will be in a restaurant with typical provencal food and charm.
Saturday 23. October: Tour de France 2020, part of stage 1
We choose on the day if we ride the smaller or the bigger loop
Distance: 75 km / 1100 m+ (small loop) or 100 km / 1400 m+(big loop)
In 2020 Nice hosted the Grand Départ of the Tour de France and the first two stages took their depart and end in Nice in the midst of the COVID pandemic: perhaps you followed them on your TV?
Today we cycle one of the 3 loops that the Tour de France riders did on the first day of the Tour de France. In the Tour program it is presented as a flat route, but you will see that there is some climbing involved.
We cycle to Nice, follow the Promenade des Anglais and start climbing the hinterland from Nice city centre. The roads take us through beautiful medieval villages and curving roads. We descent via a technical and pretty route and cross the Var before climbing back up to Le Haut des Espinets.
Lunch in a restaurant in one of the villages.
Sunday 24th October: Col d’Ecre and the Calern plateau
Distance: 90 km / 1800 m+
On our third cycling day, we will discover the beautiful landscape on the plateau just above Le Haut des Espinet. We take an easy start and pedal through Vence and Tourrettes-sur-Loup to warm up the legs before climbing the challenge of the day: Col d’Ecre. Today you will cover the most challenging parts of the Ironman Nice cycling course.
The official climb to Col d'Ecre starts in Gourdon. It is a long and pretty stretch which is not too steep. You often meet a heard of sheep or a few prey birds circling around your head, which gives you a feeling of being far from civilization.
When we reach the top, we cycle through fields on the plateau. We pass fields and a few houses, before we descent through forestroads and come to our lunch stop in the village Gréolières. After lunch we pedal the final stretch across Col de Vence from which we decent to some time at the pool in Le Haut des Espinets.
Monday 25th October: Last breakfast and farewell.
Key information
- Highlights
- Col de Vence and l'Estéron valley
- Col d'Ecre and the Calern plateau
- Tour de France 2020 parts of stage 1
- Cycling the promenade des Anglais in Nice
- Lush green rolling hills surrounding the Var river
