Road-Riding Weeks

At the White Room, we're both mountain bikers. It's what we're passionate about. All the same, we appreciate that we live deep in the heart of Tour de France country and that this may be of interest to those who like their tyres skinny and their handlebars bendy. June in the Alps is a month of spectacular change. The mountains switch amazingly rapidly from white to stunningly bright green. The weather rapidly shifts from winter cold to something that compares very favourably with a British summer. Importantly, all those high, lonely road cols get cleared of snow. By the end of the second week in June, even the highest of the cols (the Col de l'Iseran, right on our doorstep) will have been cleared. This summer, we want to offer road riders the chance to come and be the first to ride those cols. We're offering a full package of everything you need to ride the best that the French Alps has to offer. Road cycling weeks are scheduled to run on selected dates in June, however we're happy to run any week as a road-riding week as long as the booking is for a minimum of 6 riders. The prices for our road-riding weeks will include:

• Transfers from Geneva airport on Saturdays
• 7 nights accomodation in Chalet TinTin
• Well-researched routes with route cards and GPS mapping
• Full van support - we'll meet you at key points on your ride with extra clothing, spares, food & water. You can grab a lift if you've pushed it too hard and we'll provide transport for point-to-point rides.
• Breakfast and 3 -course dinner on 6 nights of the week
• Transfers from/to Bourg Saint Maurice train/bus station if required
• Unlimited beer, wine and soft drinks
• Afternoon tea & cake
• Bed-linen and towels
• Wireless internet acces

We live in an ideal spot for road riders. Even the climb back to the chalet from the main road is 500m vertical of lush, switch-backing tarmac! Our location is directly on or very close to the following major cols and Tour de France stage finishes:

• Bourg Saint Maurice - We've just heard that Bourg Saint Maurice will be hosting a 2009 Tour stage start and finish.
• Col de l'Iseran (2,770m) - the highest road col in Europe
• Col de Petit Saint Bernard (2,188m) - the pass between France & Italy has a history going back many centuries and has featured in both le Tour and the Giro.
• Cormet de Roseland (1,968m) - the pass between the Tarentaise and Beaufort valleys is truly stunning and offers spectacular views of Mont Blanc.
• Col de la Madeleine - a legend in its own right, the Madeleine can also be linked on to the Telegraphe, Galibier or Glandon
• Tignes - The resort of Tignes is barely 15mins drive from the chalet. A stage of the 2007 Tour finished here, above the massive hydro dam.

In addition to the services listed above, we can also arrange for a masseur to visit the chalet in the evenings.

Claire & Chris arrive at the Col de Petit Saint
Bernard - on 30lb bikes with 6" of suspension and 2.5"
knobbly tyres - respect!

OK, we admit it - we rode up in the van....