General Overview

Nestled at the foot of Alpe d’Huex, The Cycling Ascents’ B&B is an endurance athlete’s retreat with a stunning backdrop of the mountains. Run by our very own Coach, Kevin, this accommodation offers a friendly, yet focussed environment to fulfil your training in. We have double bedrooms Breakfast included), and two three-bedroom apartment options (self-catered, but with evening meals).

More about the rooms

The rooms come fully equipped with wifi, and there is access to UK satellite TV. All the rooms are ensuite.

There are washing facilities for your kit too.

Room upgrades

The rooms come as a private room as standard. You can share with a friend or partner if you prefer. (See the discounted rates above.

Breakfast in accommodation (included for B&B rooms only)

Lunch in local restaurants (not included)

Dinner is included.

At the B&B, the breakfasts for the camp guests are designed to ensure you are well-fuelled and ready to take on the day ahead of you.

In the other larger room options, there is no breakfast provided. These are self-catered.

All evening meals are provided.

If you have any specific requests, then speak to us beforehand, and we can ensure your needs are met.

Cafe stops and lunches are not included. We recommend organising your lunch the day before. Of course, athletes are invited to do their own thing too!

General Information

Bourg D’Oisans is located 1 ½ hours drive from Lyon International Airport (Lyon St Exupery) and 45 mins drive from Grenoble train station (which is 3 hours from Paris by TGV. Check out times and prices on the SNCF website here).

Bikes are free to take on trains if they are packed into a bag of 120 x 90cm or less.

Easyjet has flights from a number of airports in the UK to Lyon, including Bristol, Edinburgh, Gatwick, Stanstead & Liverpool.

Buses are available linking Bourg D’Oisans and Grenoble train station on a regular basis. See the Transiere website for timetables and prices.

Transfers

Transfers are not included. We would recommend car hire as that also helps open up some freedom around training sessions and is cheaper than arranging a bike transfer. Rhino Car hire offers discounts to guests of Cycling Ascents.

Arrival and Departure times

We will not be able to guarantee your room access until 2pm and you will need to be out of your rooms at 11am on the last day of your stay.

Where possible we will try and get you in sooner and accommodate you.

This camp has access to the following training facilities:

– Guiding and Coaching are all included.

– Personal Athlete Report to take home after your trip.

– 25m outdoor pool

– Open water lake swims

– Opportunity to overlap training camp with Alpe d’Huez race weekend or do a course recce

– Challenging mountain riding

– Mechanical support in the accommodation nearby bike shop in town.

– Spectacular trails for running

– The opportunity for altitude training

Kit choice suggestions:

– We recommend you bring a wetsuit

– Road bikes are recommended, but TT bikes are not discouraged

– We suggest you check the gearing of the bike you have and err on the easier side of it.

– We suggest you wear trail running shoes.

Generally, we suggest you make sure you have clothing for varied weather as the conditions can change very suddenly in the mountains.

General Overview

By the very nature of the region, the cycling is challenging. We recommend that athletes ensure they have the right gearing for the bike they bring and are confident with their bike handling.

We run three styles of weeks out in the Alps:

1) Shadowing the Tour de France

2) Preparation for the Alpe d’Huez Triathlon

3) A general Alpine Training Camp

We suggest you check the dates to see which camp is taking place. If you chose the same week as when the triathlon takes place, you don’t need to be racing the triathlon – you can take part in the camp and the coaches will give you some “testing” in place of the race!

All the weeks will take in some of the famous climbs, coach-led sessions and the breath-taking scenery. Taking place in the heart of the race season, athletes use this camp to springboard their performance into the second half of the race season.

We will be using the Alpine playground as an effective means of putting in a focused block of training. Those who would like to compete at the Alpe d’Huez Triathlon may do so on either the long or short course. The race week will have some quality training, discussions around race tactics tailored to your own ability. When le Tour is nearby, we will use the opportunity to ride to the stage taking advantage of everything that the summer Alps has to offer. This training camp is a must for all cycling lovers!

Suggested Ability Level

Unfortunately, we can’t flatten the hills! Therefore, we recommend that people attending this camp have some experience in longer rides and have a competent level of bike handling. Otherwise, the camp is certainly open to athletes of any ability and who are willing to challenge themselves.

Swim

Swimming takes place in the nearby lake or the outdoor 25m laned swimming pool. Sessions may include:

– HD video feedback sessions

– Technique focussed sessions

– Conditioning sessions

– Openwater skills practice

– Open water swimming

– Speed and priming session for the race season.

– Threshold repeats

Bike

The cycling around this location is, well, epic! Sessions include:

– The famous Alpe d’Huez

– Col Du Galibier

– Col du Glandon

– Col de la Croix de Fer

– along with other loops along the valley.

The best thing is that we finish at the bottom of the hill! We also run descending skills sessions as well as threshold efforts along the valley floor.

Run

With trails, paths and the mountains on the doorstep, you really are spoiled for choice.

– Lakeside running

– Trails in the hills

– Plenty of brick options

S&C

There is no direct gym on-site, but with plenty of room to spread out, there is plenty of opportunities to work on your activation and prehab before the sessions.

The training schedule written below is subject to change and is meant to be representative of the style of training scheduled to help your planning. If you want any further information, drop us a line closer to the start date as we will have a better idea of any tweaks or changes due to facility closures or weather.

Day 1

Arrive and set up bikes

Day 2

Run hill repeats, Bike familiarisation and checking on a short intro loop.

Day 3

Coached swim, first categorised climb ride.

Day 4

Swim, long trail run, optional lake swim.

Day 5

Swim, Alpe d’Huez ride and altitude brick run

Day 6

Big ride day.

Day 7

Coached Swim, Ride and brick interval option

Day 8

Depart

The Tour de France and the Triathlon event may change part of the schedules.

The expected weather for the Alps in the summer is usually fantastic. However, the mountains can bring very quick changes even by the minute. We recommend that you make sure you pack for all eventualities, even if the forecast is good.

There can be significant temperature changes due to altitude as well (it may be 35 degrees in the valley and then 5-10 degrees at altitude!). Make sure you pack as much as you can fit in your bag!

Choose to wear layers and always bring a thin waterproof.

Both the BBC and Dark Sky are good resources.

Bikes available

We do have limited access to local bike shops for bike hire, but we would recommend you bring your own bike.

Accessories

If hiring a bike, we suggest you bring your helmet and pedals with you. Depending on your saddle type, it may be worth bringing your own saddle too.

Please check the accommodation options and only evening meals are provided, except in the B&B.

You will need some money for cafe stops when out and about and if you want to purchase any snacks.

You will also need to create your own lunches.