In the valley 

The great rides start literally on your doorstep. 

For an easy & flat ride, perhaps day one where you check out your bike and orient yourselve to the valley, head out to the Cirque along the Giffre river, perhaps looping back through Tanninge, perhaps stopping for a coffee on the way.  

You can also divert off to the Cascade de Rougues, which is really very pretty and where there’s also a café. Tip: push on, right to the Lignon car park, because the café up there’s a bit nicer and the tarte myrtilles is excellent.  

Col de Joux Plane  is your local Tour de France climb, right across the valley from the chalet – you can eat your breakfast on the chalet balcony looking at its slopes. Also a regular feature in the Dauphiné, as you’d expect it’s long and has some tough stretches in its 954m climb over 12.5km.  

The descent from Joux Plane to Morzine is a highlight, being fast, technical and challenging, with spectacular views of the Morzine & Montriond valley. From Morzine you can look to longer rides and more climbs as described below. 

Back in the Giffre valley, the chalet is right on the summer road (“route d’ete“) to Morillon 1100, the ski resort above the Morillon village. It’s a tight, twisty climb of around 325m, with a gradient that varies every few metres. Push straight on into the great, wide descent down to Morillon village to find your descending mojo and is an excellent training climb in its own right if you reverse the route. 

Climbing straight out of Samoens you can shadow the Grand Massif Express gondola up to the Samoens 1600 resort. Like Col de Joux Plane, there are some tough stretches, particularly out of Vercland, as it climbs 890m in 10km. The middle section after Vercland is particularly tough. It featured in 2024’s Dauphiné and rumour has it le Tour may use it for a mountain top finish within a couple of years…if you ride it and there’s a lot of fresh asphalt do tell us…

Heading straight out north west towards Cluses takes you up the main road to Chatillon-sur-Cluses, where a left turn will take you up the Croix d’Agy climb via St Sigismond, for great views of Cluses and the valley beyond up towards Geneva. This climb is a hidden gem – not too long, superb views and not that well known.

Stringing together Morillon 1100, Samoens 1600 and Croix d’Agy into a single ride of 90km and 2,378m makes for a scenic ride with some challenging sections. 

Into the surrounding valleys 

There are four main routes out of the valley; Joux Plane directly to the north, Cluses to the north-west, then to the north-east Taninges provides a gateway to Les Gets and Mieussy.  

One of the big climbs to get in is up to Avoriaz, probably via Morzine – which means it follows naturally from the Col de Joux Plane climb and descent out of the Giffre valley. The view from Avoriaz back down the valley is spectacular. Again, that’s two Tour de France cols in one ride if you fancy it. 

The drop off the back down the Col de Joux Vert is pretty special too, though it can be too narrow and busy to descent at speed. It takes you down to Lac Montriond and back towards Morzine, though reversed it’s a fine climb too. 

From Montriond you’re ideally  positioned for the climb up through Col de l’Ecrenaz up through La Cote d’Arbroz. Well worth adding on, with the descent down La Ravine being fast, while the descent down through Romme is quieter and narrower. Either way expect galleried tunnels and fantastic views. 

From Col de l’Encrenaz you could take the right up to Praz de Lys, then down Col de la Ramaz. Again, this is spectacular in either direction, with more galleried tunnels  and views down the valley both ways, including to Mont Blanc. This will drop you into Mieussy, just along the main road from Taninges. 

Of course, you can reverse any of these and they remain spectacular. Taking on L’Encranaz from Taninges means you can then take the Joux Plane from Morzine back over to Samoens – it’s a great climb that way too. 

Col de la Ramaz from Mieussy absolutely should be tried – another Tour de France climb, there’s a lot more time to appreciate the views on the way up and the climb is never too steep. The plateau at the top is amazing, so no surprise that the same climb from Taninges is great, joining the road from Col de l’Encrenaz on it’s way up to Praz de Lys.  

If you drop into Cluses from the main road out of the Giffre valley via Chatillon-sur-Cluses you’re in for a treat as the descent into Cluses itself is fast and wide. It’s a busy road but everyone is used to cyclists and gives you room. Cluses is then your springboard to and a vast variety of climbs including Col de Colombiere (another Tour climb). 

From Cluses, Col de Romme is beautiful with views straight down the Arve valley but it has it’s tougher stretches. From there you can take on Colombiere, or perhaps Solaison via Saxonnex, which is included in the Dauphiné 2026. It’s actually a great climb up to a quiet ski resort, but either way you’re likely to descend the balcony road from Colombiere – it’s fast, goes on forever and is just a superb experience. 

There’s also a monster climb from Cluses to Flaine, the Col de Pierre Carrée, at 21km to the summit and 25km to Flaine itself and 1343m of climbing.  

There are so many route variations from Cluses/Scionzier that it’s really up to you how you string them together. Every one will be an experience you won’t forget in a hurry. 

Further afield 

Lac Leman (Geneva) is definitely within reach by road bike, as is Annecy. They each feel very different and the scenery and climbing is noticeably different. 

The Abondance valley is particularly scenic and provides a gateway to Switzerland via Chatel.  

Planning your routes 

If you prefer an online route planner to build your route, it’s worth checking the smaller roads as what constitutes a ‘road’ on your route planner may not be suitable for your road bike. Particularly look for roads with ‘Chemin’ or ‘Chemin rural’ in their name.   

A Typical Training Week 

Let’s say you have a week – this is a pretty demanding schedule but it shows the variety on offer. 

Sunday	1 hr	Arrive, unpack bike, set up, check
Monday	2 hrs, 46km	Reliability ride; Cirque & Cascades du Rougues, coffee
Tuesday	4hrs 20m, 92km	Joux Plane to Morzine, Avoriaz, Joux Verte to Lac Montriond, Col de l’Encrenaz to Taninges
Wednesday	4hrs 20m, 90km	St Sigismond, Col de Colombiere, Saxonnex
Thursday	2hrs 20m, 55km	Col de la Ramaz from Taninges
Friday	4 hrs, 91km	Cluses, Romme, Solaison
Saturday	4 hrs, 91km	Morillon 1100, Samoens 1600 & Croix d’Agy Pack down for departure
Sunday	–	Depart

Bikes & kit 

You can hire road bikes in Samoens or Morillon if you can’t bring your own. 

If you do bring your own, we have maintenance and fitness equipment (see below). 

We’d recommend a lowest/easiest gear of 34-28 for stronger riders, or a 34-32 for enthusiasts, or the equivalent. Even powerful riders would benefit from a 34-32 as you may choose to take on climbs with prolonged periods at 14%+. 

(If you don’t know what those numbers mean, 34-32 refers to the smallest cog at the front having 34 teeth and the largest cog at the back having 32 teeth. This is your ‘easiest’ gear.) 

Essential Information 

There’s a secure garage for your bikes – ensure they’re insured as the chalet insurance won’t cover them.  

Maintenance & Fitness Equipment 

We’re pleased to make available bike maintenance tools, including a work stand, allen key set, track pump and pressure washer.  

We even have a turbo trainer in case you want to get some cardio work done in winter. 

Of course there is also the sauna. Double down on those marginal gains by jumping in post-ride to boost your red blood cells.  

Depending on how seriously you take your exercise, there are free weights available including:

Secure your dates!

Simply send an email to tim_j_sharpe@hotmail.com and we’ll talk you through it, or send us a WhatsApp/text at +44 7980 681207.