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Showing: france (17 posts)
cyclingfranceloire

Cycling 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 Team
cyclingstage-racefrance

Yellow 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 Team
journalsurfingfrance

Hossegor and the Landes Coast: Europe's Beach Break Capital for Traveling Surfers

The Landes coast runs 130 kilometres of near-uninterrupted beach break from the Gironde estuary south to the Basque border. Hossegor sits at its centre, above a submarine canyon that focuses Atlantic swell into waves of unusual power for a sand-bottom break. The WSL Championship Tour comes here every autumn for a reason.

By ZealZag Team
cyclingfranceisere

Cycling 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 Team
cyclingstage-racefrance

Skjelmose 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 Team
cyclingfrancegrenoble

Cycling 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 Team
cyclingstage-racefrance

The 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 Team
journalsailingocean-racing

The Vendée Globe: Why Sailing's Solo Circumnavigation Became the Sport's Definitive Test

Every four years, around 30 sailors leave Les Sables-d'Olonne alone on 60-foot monohulls and attempt to sail around the world without stopping or receiving outside assistance. The Vendée Globe is sailing's most demanding race. Understanding why it occupies that position requires understanding what solo non-stop circumnavigation actually involves.

By ZealZag Team
Race the Route: Riding the Alpine Climbs of the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
cyclingalpinefrance

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
Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes 2026 Stage 1: The Alps Awaken at Vizille
cyclingstage-racefrance

Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes 2026 Stage 1: The Alps Awaken at Vizille

Stage 1 of the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes 2026 fires the race to life on the roads below Grenoble — 146.2km, 3,000m of Alpine climbing, and a field of Tour de France contenders finding their legs in the shadow of the Chartreuse.

By ZealZag Team
Ride the Dauphine: A Cyclist's Guide to the French Alps' Greatest Race Route
cyclingfrancefrench-alps

Ride the Dauphine: A Cyclist's Guide to the French Alps' Greatest Race Route

The Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes queen stage packs 4,000m of climbing into 120km across the Aravis range. Our route guide covers the Grand Colombier, Plateau de Solaison, and how to base your trip in the French Alps.

By ZealZag Team
Dauphine 2026: Seixas, Van Aert and the Alps That Decide Tour de France
cyclinggrand-tourfrance

Dauphine 2026: Seixas, Van Aert and the Alps That Decide Tour de France

The Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes — cycling's definitive Tour de France rehearsal — begins Sunday in Vizille. Paul Seixas and Wout van Aert lead a start list that will answer every question the July race is asking.

By ZealZag Team
Cycling the Dauphiné: Grand Colombier, Solaison, and the Aravis in Haute-Savoie
cyclingfrancealps

Cycling the Dauphiné: Grand Colombier, Solaison, and the Aravis in Haute-Savoie

The Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes sends the peloton over the Grand Colombier HC and Plateau de Solaison HC — two of the hardest and least touristed climbs in the French Alps. Here's how to ride them, when to go, and where to base yourself.

By ZealZag Team
Critérium du Dauphiné 2026: Seixas, Del Toro and Van Aert Battle for Solaison
cyclingstage-racefrance

Critérium du Dauphiné 2026: Seixas, Del Toro and Van Aert Battle for Solaison

Paul Seixas leads the next generation into the renamed Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (June 7–14) — a wide-open GC battle over the Grand Colombier and Plateau de Solaison that will crown a Tour de France contender.

By ZealZag Team
journaltrail-runningrunning

Chamonix for Trail Runners: The UTMB Corridor and What the Trails Actually Ask

Chamonix sits at 1,035 metres in the Arve Valley, hemmed in by the biggest peaks in the Western Alps. Trail running here operates on three distinct altitude bands, from accessible afternoon runs at 2,000m to technical high-altitude routes that ask for more than aerobic fitness.

By ZealZag Team
journalsurfingfrance

Hossegor: Europe's Most Consequential Beach Break

The beach breaks at La Gravière shaped professional surfing for three decades. What remains after the WSL contest moved on is one of the Atlantic coast's most powerful stretches of surf — accessible, practical, and honest about the skill level it requires.

By ZealZag Team
journalsailingfrance

The Vendée Globe's Strange Logic: Why Solo Non-Stop Round the World Works as a Sport

The Vendée Globe is a sailing race in the same way the Badwater Ultramarathon is a running race — technically accurate and fundamentally inadequate. Solo, non-stop, unassisted circumnavigation of the world in a 60-foot foiling monohull. It has run every four years since 1989 and is the most watched sailing event on earth.

By ZealZag Team