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Climbing the Grand Colombier: The Ain's Hardest Summit and the Bugey's Best Secret
The Grand Colombier sits at 1,501 metres in the Bugey limestone plateau of the Ain department — a summit that has terrorised Tour de France and Critérium du Dauphiné pelotons for decades, and one that visiting cyclists consistently underestimate because the Ain doesn't have the Alps' marketing budget. Here's how to ride it.
By ZealZag TeamTour Auvergne Stage 7: The Grand Colombier and the Race Before the Race
Stage 7 of the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes sends the peloton from La Bridoire to the Grand Colombier summit — 8.4 kilometres at 10.2 percent, a finish so steep it forces every rider within striking distance of Luke Tuckwell's yellow jersey to show their cards a day before the finale.
By ZealZag TeamCycling Catalonia: The Coast, the Pyrenees, and the Riding Around the 2026 Tour de France Grand Départ
Catalonia hosts the 2026 Tour de France Grand Départ on July 4 — the first time the race has opened on Catalan soil. A guide to the cycling terrain the opening three stages will cross, the Girona pro-cyclist hub that anchors the broader Catalan cycling scene, and where to ride if you're visiting the region across the Tour window.
By ZealZag TeamThree Weeks to Barcelona: Tour de France 2026 Sets a Route Built for Climbers
The 2026 Tour de France rolls out from Barcelona on July 4 for the first Grand Départ on Catalan soil in race history — a 3,333-kilometre route across 23 days with 54,450 metres of elevation, 8 mountain stages, 5 mountain finishes, and Alpe d'Huez on two consecutive days. The opening team time trial is the first since 1971.
By ZealZag TeamTrail Bike Geometry: What Reach, Head Angle, and Chainstay Length Actually Mean on the Trail
Modern trail bike geometry data sheets list reach to the millimetre and head angles to the decimal. These numbers are not marketing. They directly describe how a bike will behave on steep descents, tight switchbacks, and sustained climbs — and understanding them before you buy or size a frame saves a significant amount of money and frustration.
By ZealZag TeamCycling the Beaufortain: Col des Saisies, Crest-Voland, and Savoie's Quiet Alps
The Beaufortain massif sits between the Tarentaise and the Arly valley in Savoie — a block of mid-altitude Alpine terrain with long climbs, low traffic, and a cheese industry whose villages make the best possible intermediate stops. Today's Tour Auvergne stage finishes here. Here's how to ride the same roads.
By ZealZag TeamTour Auvergne Stage 6: The Mountains Open and the GC Clock Starts Running
Stage 6 of the 2026 Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes rolls into the Alps today — 182.3km from Saint-Vulbas to the ski station at Crest-Voland, the first mountain finish of the race and the first real test of Alex Baudin's yellow jersey lead against a field that includes Paul Seixas, Isaac del Toro, Juan Ayuso, and Matteo Jorgenson.
By ZealZag TeamRide the Dombes: Cycling the Ain Plateau Where Stage 5 Finishes
The Dombes plateau north of Lyon — where the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Stage 5 finishes — is flat, lake-dotted cycling country connecting Alpine climbing to the Loire foothills. Our guide covers the route, how to get there, where to stay, and why this overlooked corner of France is worth the detour.
By ZealZag TeamTour Auvergne 2026 Stage 5: The Sprint Day Van Aert Has Been Waiting For
Stage 5 of the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes delivers the race's only true sprint finish — 195.8km from Saint-Chamond to the Parc des Oiseaux at Villars-les-Dombes, with all 2,200m of climbing front-loaded and a clean, flat run-in from the last bend 3km out.
By ZealZag TeamGirona, Catalonia: Why Professional Cycling's Favourite Training Hub Works for Every Visiting Athlete
Girona is a medieval Catalan city 100 kilometres from Barcelona where dozens of professional WorldTour cyclists have based themselves for over two decades. The infrastructure built around that community — roads, climbs, service, cafés — is now available to any visiting athlete. Here is how it actually works.
By ZealZag TeamCycling the Forez: Pierre-sur-Haute, Montrond, and the Volcanic Plateau's Quietest Edge
Between the Auvergne volcanoes and the Loire plain sits the Forez massif — a forgotten cycling region whose highest point reaches 1,634 metres, whose secondary roads carry almost no traffic, and whose Stage 4 finish town Montrond-les-Bains offers thermal recovery infrastructure that no alpine base can match.
By ZealZag TeamTwelve Seconds: Baudin and EF Roll Yellow Into Stage 4 at Montrond-les-Bains
Alex Baudin (EF Education-EasyPost) carries a twelve-second yellow jersey lead into Stage 4 of the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes today — a 167.5-kilometre transition stage from Le Puy-en-Velay into the Loire plain, with Vauquelin, Onley, and Jorgenson sitting just behind and Stage 5's first summit finish waiting tomorrow.
By ZealZag TeamCycling the Loire Roannais: The TTT Circuit and the Roads Beyond Perreux
The Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Stage 3 TTT runs a 28.4km circuit through the Loire Roannais — a stretch of rolling farmland and forested foothills between Roanne and Charlieu that rarely appears on any race route. A practical cycling guide to the area, from the TTT circuit itself to the Pilat Massif climbs one valley east.
By ZealZag TeamYellow on the Clock: Alex Baudin's EF Squad Faces the TTT at Perreux
Stage 3 of the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes is a 28.4-kilometre team time trial circuit in the Loire Roannais — the first direct GC test of the race, a Tour de France dress rehearsal, and the day EF Education-EasyPost must defend Alex Baudin's thirty-two-second yellow jersey against Visma, UAE, INEOS, and Decathlon.
By ZealZag TeamCycling the Swiss Alps: Andermatt as a Base, the Sustenpass, the Furka, and the Five-Pass Loop
Andermatt sits at the crossroads of four high Alpine passes — the Furka, the Sustenpass, the Grimsel, and the Oberalp — within a single day's ride of each summit. The Tour de Suisse finishes here next weekend. The roads are open. Here is how to use them.
By ZealZag TeamPogačar Arrives in Switzerland: Tour de Suisse 2026 Preview and Start List
The 2026 Tour de Suisse begins Saturday in Frauenfeld and finishes June 21 in Andermatt. Tadej Pogačar leads a UAE Team Emirates-XRG squad built around a one-week peak. The preview, the start list, and the three stages that will decide it.
By ZealZag TeamCycling the Matheysine Plateau: Empty Roads, Big Climbs, and the Isère's Quietest Cycling Country
The Matheysine plateau and the Trièves valley south of Grenoble carry some of the most empty, climbing-rich roads in the French Alps. The Col du Festre, the Col du Noyer, and the lakes of Laffrey are a 250-kilometre weekend within ninety minutes of a major airport.
By ZealZag TeamSkjelmose Slips the Leash on the Matheysine: Stage 2 Shifts the Tour Auvergne's GC Already
Mattias Skjelmose attacked from a six-rider move on the Col du Festre and held the line into La Mure to win Stage 2 of the 2026 Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Paul Seixas kept the yellow jersey. Isaac del Toro lost 38 seconds. The race has begun.
By ZealZag TeamCycling Grenoble: Three Massifs, One City, and the Roads the Tour Auvergne Uses Every June
Grenoble sits at the bottom of the Vercors, the Chartreuse, and the Belledonne — three mountain massifs within 20 minutes of the city centre. This week it's the basecamp for the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. For cyclists, it is the best-positioned Alpine training base in France. A practical guide to where to ride, when to go, and how to get there.
By ZealZag TeamThe Old Race Opens Under a New Name: Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Stage 1 Sends the Tour de France Field Into the Chartreuse
The renamed Critérium du Dauphiné opens in Vizille today with an unprecedented opening-stage ambition — five categorised climbs and 3,000 metres of climbing over 146 kilometres into Saint-Ismier — and a startlist that includes Paul Seixas, Isaac Del Toro, Wout van Aert, and Juan Ayuso, all using Stage 1 to begin telling the Tour de France story four weeks early.
By ZealZag TeamCycling the Cuneo Valleys: Monviso, the Agnello, and the Southern Piedmont Roads
The four Occitan valleys south of Cuneo — Varaita, Maira, Grana, and Stura — offer some of the emptiest and highest road cycling in the Italian Alps, anchored by the Col dell'Agnello, the Colle delle Finestre, and the medieval town of Saluzzo where the Giro Donne concludes today.
By ZealZag TeamFifty Seconds: The 2026 Giro Donne Comes Down to Saluzzo
Van der Breggen leads Vollering by 50 seconds entering the final stage of the 2026 Giro d'Italia Women — a loop through the Cuneo hills that ends in Saluzzo this afternoon. The gap is large enough to manage. The Montoso is hard enough to close it.
By ZealZag TeamFinale Ligure: Italy's Purpose-Built Enduro Capital on the Ligurian Coast
Finale Ligure is a small Ligurian coastal town where the limestone hills directly behind the beach hold several hundred kilometres of purpose-developed enduro trail. The Enduro World Series has raced here multiple times. The town has rebuilt its service economy around mountain biking. By most measures, it is the most complete enduro destination in Europe.
By ZealZag Team
Race the Route: Riding the Alpine Climbs of the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
The Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes traverses some of France's most spectacular cycling terrain — Chartreuse, Vercors, Belledonne. Our complete guide to riding these legendary Alpine cols, with logistics, gear, accommodation, and training advice.
By ZealZag Team