Mary and I did our last bike tour with Breaking Away in July 2012. Called the Trans Alps Challenge, it was 10 days of epic biking along the border between France and Italy! We biked 57 miles during two warmup days and 594 miles with 78,500 ft of climbing during the tour! There were eight guests plus three guides: Oleg Bozhor (the new owner), Mitch Clinton, and Guillaume Dassonville. We had biked before with all three guides.
Here is the itinerary for the tour.
Days -1 & 0 (Wednesday & Thursday, July 18 & 19): We arrive in Geneva on Wednesday afternoon and shuttle to Divonne-les-Bains in France, where we spend two nights. We do warmup rides of 13 miles on Wednesday and 44 miles on Thursday by Lake Geneva back and forth across the border between France and Switzerland.
Day 1 (Friday, July 20): Shuttle to St Pierre-en-Faucigny on the outskirts of Geneva in France and then bike to Crest-Voland over the Col de St Jean de Sixt (956 m), Col de la Croix Fry (1,477 m), and Col des Aravis (1,487 m) for 43 miles and 6,900 ft of climbing.
Day 2 (Saturday, July 21): Bike from Crest-Voland to Bourg-St-Maurice over the Col des Saisies (1,650 m) and Comet de Roselend (1,968 m), shuttle to Val d’Isère, and then bike to Lanslevillard over the Col de l’Iseran (2,770 m or 9,088 ft), the highest paved pass in the Alps. We bike 71 miles with 9,000 ft of climbing.
Day 3 (Sunday, July 22): Bike from Lanslevillard to Sestriere in Italy. We go over the Col du Mont Cenis (2,085 m) and Colle delle Finestre (2,176 m) and finish with the climb to Sestriere (2,035 m). We bike 55 miles with 10,000 ft of climbing.
Day 4 (Monday, July 23): Bike from Sestriere to Dronero with a short shuttle to avoid some construction. We bike 67 mi with 3,500 ft of climbing.
Day 5 (Tuesday, July 24): Bike a loop from Dronero over the Colle Fauniera (2,481 m) for 56 miles and 6,500 ft of climbing. We are the only guests to do all of this ride.
Day 6 (Wednesday, July 25): Bike from Dronero over the Colle della Lombarda (2,350 m) at the border with France and half-way up the Col de la Bonette (2,715 m) when a thunderstorm forces us to shuttle to Jausiers for the night. We bike 74 miles with 10,500 ft of climbing.
Day 7 (Thursday, July 26): Bike a loop from Jausiers over the Col de la Cayolle (2,326 m), Col de Champs (2,080 m), and Col d’Allos (2,250 m) for 85 miles and 10,700 ft of climbing. We are the only guests to do all of this ride.
Day 8 (Friday, July 27): Bike from Jausiers over the Col de Vars (2,109 m) and Col d’Izoard (2,360 m) and most of the way down to Briançon when a gusty thunderstorm forces us to shuttle the last few miles to town. We bike 53 miles with 7,800 ft of climbing.
Day 9 (Saturday, July 28): Bike from Briançon to the tops of the Col de Lauteret (2,058 m) and Col du Galibier (2,642 m), shuttle through tunnels, and then bike up the famous Alpe d’Huez (1,780 m). We bike 41 miles with 8,300 ft of climbing.
Day 10 (Sunday, July 29): Bike from Alpe d’Huez to the top of the Col de la Croix de Fer (2,067 m), over the Col du Glandon (1,924 m), and down to La Chambre for 49 miles and 5,300 ft of climbing. We shuttle back to Divonne-les-Bais to end our epic tour!
Photos and commentary follow.
Day -1: Wednesday, July 18. We have this great view of Mont Blanc as we fly into the Geneva airport. 
After Guillaume picks us up at the airport and shuttles us to Divonne-les-Bains, we get fitted for our bikes and go for a warmup ride. Here Mary stops by a cornfield with Mont Blanc in the distance. 
Further along the first crop of hay has already been harvested.
Day 1: Friday, July 20. We get on our bikes in St Pierre-en-Faucigny to start the tour. 
These two cols are open. When we arrive at the junction for them, we take the road to Col des Aravis. 
We go over the easy Col de St Jean de Sixt, the first of three cols today. 
Next we go over the Col de la Croix Fry. 
We stop for lunch at the Col des Aravis. 
This is the impressive view of Mont Blanc from the col (photo by Mitch Clinton). Afterward we go down the Gorges de l’Arondine, cross the river at Flumet, and climb a short way to Crest-Voland where we spend the night.
Day 2: Saturday, July 21. Soon after we start we go over the Col des Saisies and drop down to the valley on the other side. 
Mary climbs the Cormet de Roselend (photo by Mitch Clinton). 
We stop at the top of the Cormet de Roselend, the second col of the day. We then enjoy a long downhill to Bourg-St-Maurice, where we have lunch. 
After a shuttle to Val d’Isère, we start the long climb to the Col de l’Iseran. 
Mary approaches the top of the climb with Val d’Isère far below. 
Mary has only 1 km more to go to the top of the climb. 
We are on top of the Col de l’Iseran, the highest paved pass in the Alps! There are still patches of snow in July. 
Long switchbacks take us down the other side of the col to Lanslevillard where we spend the night.
Day 3: Sunday, July 22. Mary is part way up the Col du Mont Cenis, the first climb of the day. 
Mary reaches the top of the Col du Mont Cenis. 
We bike several kilometers beside the lake near the top of the col. 
We cross into Italy and drop down to Susa in the valley below. 
We take the lightly travelled road on the right to the Colle delle Finestre. 
I near the top of the Colle delle Finestre. The last 8 of 19 km are not paved. Of the eight guests on the tour, I am the only one to do the whole climb on a road bike! 
I celebrate reaching the top of the Colle delle Finestre. 
We drop down the other side and then begin the long climb to Sestriere at the end of the valley in the distance. 
We spend the night in Sestriere, which is a biking destination in the summer and a ski resort in the winter.
Day 5: Tuesday, July 24. We do a loop ride that takes us over Colle Fauniera. 
This stretch at 15% grade is the steepest of the tour. 
Mary crosses an arched stone bridge. 
We reach the top of Colle Fauniera in a cloud. The alternative name of Colle dei Morti is more sinister. 
Lots of cows are grazing on the other side of the col. 
These cowbells help keep track of the cows. 
We stop at Hotel Village Ceaglio, which is a popular place for mountain bikers in the summer. 
We strike up a conversation with Peter Vogt who is in charge of IT for the hotel. 
Lots of old tools hang on a wall.
Day 6: Wednesday, July 25. We start the long climb up Colle della Lombarda. 
We go up these switchbacks. 
Mary nears the top of the climb. 
We reach the top of the col, which is now named Col de la Lombard since we are entering France (photo by Mitch Clinton). 
We go down these switchbacks on the other side. A ski resort is in the distance. 
We go right at this junction to the Col de la Bonette. 
Mary bikes past a waterfall. 
We get off our bikes part way up the col because of a thunderstorm overhead and shuttle to Jausiers (photo by Mitch Clinton). 
We spend two nights at the Hotel Villa Morelia in Jausiers (photo by Mitch Clinton).
Day 7: Thursday, July 26. We bike several miles from Jausiers to this junction where we start a big loop over three cols. First we go up Col de la Cayolle to the left. 
We follow the Gorges du Bachelard for much of the climb. 
We reach the top of Col de la Cayolle. 
Fireweed is in bloom as we go down the other side. 
We start the climb up Col des Champs. 
The col is in the distance. 
We reach the top of Col des Champs. The other guests are ahead of us. 
Mary goes down the other side. We meet the other guests and our guide Guillaume at the bottom where they are finishing lunch. We have a snack and say good-bye to them as they all shuttle back to Jausiers. 
We are on our own as we start the third climb of the day up Col d’Allos. The road is reserved for cyclists every Friday morning in July and August. 
Mary crosses one of many stone culverts on the climb. 
I make it to the top of Col d’Allos. Mary does too but struggles up this last climb of the day because she did not have enough to eat. 
We have a long descent to the valley below and then a few more miles up the valley to the right to get back to Jausiers. We have a long day on our bikes: 85 miles with 10,700 ft of climbing!
Day 8: Friday, July 27. We leave Jausiers going north. 
The Fort de Tournoux towers above the valley road. It was built to defend France against invasion from Italy. 
Mary heads toward the Col de Vars. 
We cross this river after which the climb gets steeper. 
We reach the top of the Col de Vars. 
We continue north a little way down these switchbacks and then turn east. 
We ride along a road high above the Gorges du Guil. 
Eventually we drop down to the river and see these kayakers. 
We leave the main road to Italy and head north to the Col d’Izoard. It is 14 km to the top. 
We bike through a small town in this valley before we get to the steep part of the climb. 
The last couple of miles go through the otherworldly Casse Déserte. 
This impressive monument is on top of the Col d’Izoard. 
We follow these switchbacks down the other side. A gusty thunderstorm passes overhead, and we get a shuttle the last few miles to Briançon. 
We walk to the old town of Briançon for dinner and cross the moat on this bridge.
Day 9: Saturday, July 28. We leave Briançon and start the climb to the Col du Lauteret in the rain. 
Both cols that we will climb are open. 
We reach the Col du Lauteret and continue up to the Col du Galibier. 
Mary nears the top of the Col du Galibier. 
We savor the top of the Col du Galibier, the fourth highest paved pass in France. We retrace the last part of our climb, shuttle through some tunnels, and bike to le Bourg-d’Oisans where we have lunch. 
After lunch we start the 14-km climb up Alpe d’Huez. 
This is the first of 21 switchbacks, which are numbered starting from the top. 
Lots of switchbacks are behind us as we are high up the climb. 
I near the top of the climb (photo by Mitch Clinton). 
This banner marks the official end of the climb. Note the crosswalk underneath the banner. 
Mary goes past the crosswalk to finish the official climb. However, we need to bike a little further to get to the hotel where we spend the night.
Day 10: Sunday, July 29. We proudly wear our new Alpe d’Huez jerseys that Oleg gave us the night before. 
We go partway down by a different route and then rejoin the route that we took up the day before. 
We bike along the valley floor until we come to this junction. There we turn right to climb the last two cols of the tour. 
This World War I monument is partway up the climb. 
Mary bikes along the Lac de Grand Maison. 
We pass fireweed above the lake and head for the Col du Glandon in the distance. 
We continue past the turn to the Col du Glandon and climb to the higher Col de la Croix de Fer along the road behind these signs. 
We reach the top of the Col de la Croix de Fer. Bikers in a race come up the other side. 
This is the Iron Cross for which the col is named. 
We go back down to the Col du Glandon. 
This big bike sculpture is at the col. 
We go over the Col du Glandon and down these switchbacks to finish our biking at La Chambre. We shuttle back to Divonne-les-Bains to end our epic tour!
Wayne Pfeiffer 