ROTM FEB 2022

Ride of the Month: The Tour des Alpes Maritimes

The Tour of the Haut Var, or to give it its official title the Tour des Alpes Maritimes et du Var, has been running since 1969. The winner of the inaugural race was none other than Raymond Poulidor, icon of French cycling in the 1960s and 70s. ‘Pou-Pou’, as he was affectionately known, had other success at the spring races, winning one day prizes Milan-San Remo in Italy, Flèche Wallonne in Belgium and stage race Paris-Nice, twice.

The Tour du Var is seen as a warm-up to the more prestigious Paris-Nice, known by some as the ‘Race to the Sun’ (or a ‘roll to the beach’ for others). This race in the Var is an early test for punchy hill climbers and mountain goats, with its three voluptuous stages telling you who has been training well during the off-season, or not. More recent winners of the event are Colombian Nairo Quintana and Thibaut Pinot, Burgundy’s top grimpeur.

But let us slow down the pace for now, we ourselves are not here to race. We are here to ride and discover precisely what the Riviera has to offer the amateur road cyclist – beauty in abundance.

For this month’s ride we take the route of stage three of this year’s Tour des Alpes Maritimes (won by Quintana last Sunday) – from Villefranche-sur-mer to Blausasc. It’s a testing parcours, 113 kilometres with 2300 metres of climbing – so it’s no stroll on the promenade.

It’s a beautiful crisp spring morning, and with legs and arms fully covered, and sunglasses firmly on, we set off from Villefranche’s old town. Rolling with the steady, mellow pace of a coastal breeze, the heart-rates of our riders soon crescendo as we reach the mythical, lung-busting Col d’Èze.

If you can reach the top in under half an hour, you’re either in fine form or your eyes are deceiving you. The Col’s apex rewards with views of the ocean and the Cap-Ferrat peninsula; and a refreshing recovery on the descent, gulping in the fragrant Mediterranean air.

La Turbie is the crossroads that every Riviera rider stops at to refill bidons. Its iconic fountain is just one piece of a mosaic of cobbled streets, olive trees and tranquil hillside buildings. Villages such as Peille perch cosily, and you can see snow on top of the mountains beyond. You may also spot the idyllic training ground of French Ligue 1 club AS Monaco, former employers of Thierry Henry and Kylian Mbappé. The green turf happily hugs the hillside above the sea.

We are challenged by switchbacks on the descent from Peille, swooping through olive tree groves, and riding past Blausasc, the location of the finish line and home to yet another picturesque hillside church.

Rolling on we take in the rock forms and azure blue that gives the coast its name, punctuated by the yellow fire of the mimosa.

And then another climb, Col de Nice, 17km, with an average of 2.3%, with a couple of 9% steep sections. But the col brings us to another beautiful commune, Berre-les-Alpes, where the olive trees are replaced by chestnuts. A chilly descent down to Contes, and maybe a stop at Boulangerie Lefebvre to refuel – we still have the toughest part of the route to come.

The Col Saint Roch isn’t the most famous climb in the Alpes Maritimes, but it is devilishly hard. It’s dual personality – with a smooth easier first section, and then a steeper and tougher second part – can catch you off guard.

The first half ends at Coaraze, possibly one of the most beautiful of all the hillside villages in the Côte d’Azur and infamous for being a place where the villagers once caught Satan by gluing his tail to the flagstones. Once you leave Coaraze, you may feel your own tail is being dragged to the tarmac, with 12% gradients testing energy and resolve now with roughly 80km in the legs.

Reaching the top at 2000m above the sea, our intrepid riders think about continuing the ride up to Col de Turini, for another 15km of alpinism. But the choice was made to turn left down towards L’Escarene, enjoying switchbacks of the Monaco Rally before heading at speed into the valley and down to Blausasc for coffee and pastries.

LE SAUT DES FRANÇAIS

Exiting Nice from the north side, this ride provides a healthy mélange of architectural and natural landmarks, with a side of local legend.

CHRISTMAS IN PROVENCE

In Provence, Christmas lasts 40 days. In the small village of Luceram, nativity scenes have become a sacred tradition for its inhabitants.

URBAN GARDENING IN MONACO

A ride that goes further than the normal nourishing experience, climbing the iconic Col d’Eze en route to Monaco in search of a model turned urban gardener.

THE RESILIENCE OF THE HINTERLAND

In October 2020, Storm Alex hit the valleys in the hinterland around Nice and the whole landscape was permanently altered.