My Biggest Challenge Yet: Cycling Through Swiss, French, and Italian Alps

Cyclists Hub is supported by its readers. We may receive a commission if you buy products using our links.
All content on Cyclists Hub is written by humans, not robots. Learn More

A few weeks ago, I returned from my most challenging but by far the most beautiful cycling “holiday.” Below, I share with you what I experienced. Hopefully, you will feel at least a little inspired.

Switzerland

Switzerland has been my dream for a long time. Probably like many of us, I was captivated by the breathtaking videos of its nature.

It was out of reach for me for a long time, but I made my little dream come true this year. In fact, it came in handy as a stopover on my way to France.

I had three routes planned here. Easy (31 km, 950 m), very hard (119 km, 3500 m), and medium (71 km, 2350 m). After a 12-hour car ride, I checked the weather and found out that I would have to take the “queen stage” on the first day. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to ride it due to bad weather.

I quickly unpacked and headed toward Susten, Grimsel, and Furka Pass. Although the heat was horrible (over 30°C), I felt surprisingly good. 

Susten Pass was breathtaking, Grimsel Pass was unhealthily long, and Furka Pass… It was already clear to me on the exit of the Grimsel Pass that this was not going to be fun. Storm clouds were heading my way.

I rode about two-thirds of Furka Pass in a thunderstorm—thunder and lightning were flying around. The temperature dropped to 15°C, but I still had 800 meters of altitude and 40 km to ride to my accommodation. I was so wet that I couldn’t even unlock my phone to take some videos of the storm.

There was nothing I could do. I had to keep going. After a few dozen minutes of fighting, I made it. Mostly thanks to the motivation to see the Belvedere Hotel.

But I hadn’t won yet because I had a 30 km downhill while soaking wet. The wind gusts were strong, the descent was technical, and the road was in bad condition. However, I somehow managed to arrive safely.

The next day, I took the easy route, only about 31 km with 950 m of elevation gain. Lake Göscheneralpsee is beautiful, but I got wet again. “Hopefully, everything will work out on the third day,” I thought. 

The following day, after lunch, I set off toward Gotthard Pass. The last few kilometers were completely in fog. I wanted to descend to Airolo and climb back, but finally, my sense prevailed, and I turned around. In addition, riders from Tudor Pro Cycling, including Petr Kelemen, were passing by. So I rode with them to Andermatt and chatted with Peter straight away. 

To sum it up, the weather didn’t make me feel very welcome. There are a lot of nice views and majestic climbs here, but it’s not like the Dolomites. The villages are not as charming as in Italy.

Time to move on. Next stop, France!

France

This year, several stages of the Tour de France took place in the French Alps. I thought to myself that an opportunity like this might not happen again, so I started planning.

I chose a strategic location and combined the pleasant with the useful. The choice was Grignon near Albertville, where I could get quickly to the stages and the famous climbs.

The very first ride I planned was the hardest. The combination of the Col de I’lseran (2770 m) and the Col du Petit Saint-Bernard was 140 km and 3320 m of elevation, spiced up with a ride with the pros from Groupama-FDJ (I rode the last 15 km of Iseran with them, they rode “slowly,” I almost threshold). Surprisingly, the high altitude didn’t get me down.

The next day, I set off for my first-ever TdF stage. Along the way, I ran into Stephan, the founder of procyclingstats.com, who warned me that I should hurry up to make it to the penultimate climb.

He was right – the police wouldn’t let me go anymore, so I had to find an alternative route. Thanks to a few dirt roads, I got where I wanted to go. How lucky I was!

There were already a bunch of people waiting for the advertising caravan. The show was huge, but the best part was yet to come. The parade of riders! At that moment, Wout Poels was in the lead, chased by Wout van Aert. Then, the others followed, including a group of favorites. Well, what can I tell you? It was an experience! It was just all kind of too fast, even though I was standing in a steep passage.

I took a rest day at the lake on Monday, and then on Tuesday, I headed out for the individual time trial. Aside from Jonas Vingegaard shocking the cycling world by beating everybody else by a class difference, I scouted the start area, saw the race, partied at the bar, and chatted with the Tour de Tietema guys during their wheelie challenge. TOP DAY!

Wednesday was the queen stage ending on the Col de la Loze (the end is a fcking steep ramp). I felt great. I was flying up the hill until my rear hub failed, so I couldn’t pedal. I stayed 4 km below the summit. So, at least I got out to a place where the atmosphere was awesome. I didn’t worry about how I would get back at that point. It’ll work out somehow…

After the descent, I asked an Italian in town if he would take me to Albertville. And look, he was on the same route. That’s not even a coincidence anymore. I guess it was meant to be.

The next day, I went to see the Grand Depart in Moûtiers and took it via the Col de la Madeleine on the way back. Due to the heat, it was the hardest climb yet. Luckily I caught up with a Belgian guy who we did moral support with and rode it together. The views were again luxurious.

But it was time to move on. I moved a few dozen km to get closer to the Lacets de Montvernier (an alternative to the famous Alpe d’Huez), Montpascal, Col du Télégraphe, and Col du Galibier.

Honestly, Lacets and the following Montpascal were fun, unique, and quiet. I believe they are worth visiting if you are in this area. But the Col du Sapey… The last 2 km were around 15% on smooth gravel. Very difficult!

The next day, I did the Telegraph + Galibier combo. I rank Galibier next to Iseran as the climb with the best view. You have to see it with your own eyes. So I wonder if the hill I have hidden up my sleeve will be even better.

I still have a lot to discover here. Unfortunately, I haven’t had time to visit Col de la Croix de Fer.

Next station: Italy!

Italy

The return journey from France to the Czech Republic via Italy is quite long, so cutting it in half with one or more destinations made sense.

While planning my vacation, I discovered one gem basically along the way. The Colle del Nivolet (2618 m). It measures 46.4 km and has an elevation gain of 2125 m. Aside from being a physical challenge, it was also supposed to be a hill with spectacular views. Just from the photos, I thought it could really be worth it. 

The weather forecast for D-day seemed positive. I rode a few kilometers to the beginning of the climb to get a full segment on Strava.

I caught up with an American along the way, and we rode the first few kilometers together. He was riding fast, and for a while, I wondered if I’d better ride alone to not blow up.

But riding with him was advantageous due to the gradual incline for the first 20 km or so. He could no longer keep up with me in the steeper passages, so we each rode at our own pace. 

After two weeks of intense riding, I was pretty tired, so when a strong headwind joined the extremely long climb, it was just a matter of not breaking mentally. The passage from 34th to 40th km was especially nutritious. A total pain fest.

Fortunately, the direction of the climb reversed, and I rode the end mostly with a tailwind. Plus, the views were becoming increasingly epic. First, I passed Lago Serrù with its clear blue water, and then Lago Agnel. The water there was a shade of blue I’ve never seen in my life, a deep ocean blue. Beautiful.

I originally set a goal to do Nivolet in two and a half hours. Due to the headwind, it didn’t work out (I did it in 2 hours and 50 minutes), but I wasn’t worried in the end. I climbed a hill with by far the best view I have ever seen and probably the best in Europe.

It was an absolutely spectacular view – another world, another universe… If it wasn’t so cold, I might still be sitting there. I know it’s far away from other climbs. But it’s worth it. Trust me.

As icing on the cake, a few days later, I symbolically gifted myself a climb that broke me years ago about 2 km before the summit (I totally ran out of energy back then)—the famous Passo dello Stelvio. 

I climbed the first part (from Bormio) to the top at a solid pace in 1h and 36m. But it was pretty cold at the top (about 8°C), so I immediately turned around, went down the Swiss side to Prato, and started climbing the more famous side. 

The first half was okay, but from the forest part onwards, when it picked up, it was back to “mind games.” In my head, I just kept saying, “You’re not gonna break me this time.” And it helped.

I made it out in under 2 hours, so I’m satisfied. The sun wasn’t shining, but it brought back positive memories from my first time here. It’s hard to believe it’s been 5 years… 

On my way home, I made one more stop here and walked up to the Rifugio Garibaldi. I saw Stelvio from a different perspective. Furthermore, it was a sunny day!

Overall, this vacation was the most I’ve ever managed physically and maybe also mentally so far. I met a lot of interesting people, picked up a ton of experiences, and outdid myself.

What more could you ask for? I am super grateful. And honestly, this journey made me think again about the meaning of life.

Summary

Below is a summary of the major climbs and a few other numbers.