Despite the James Bond pun of a title, there's no actual Hollywood connection to this route but when it starts and finishes in Die. Well... there are so many possible puns but the Bond films lend themselves to it. 

 

In fact the route comes from linking some of the roads I really enjoyed on this year's Chickenstrips tours of the Alps and Corsica (which cuts through this corner of the mountains as it heads to the island). Stir in a little Vercors balcony-road magic and hey presto: one knockout ride. 

 

These are majestic roads: broad and sweeping through an oversized landscape of rocky cliffs and flowing rivers, towering peaks and staggering drops – you can easily imagine a Bond movie setting a car chase here… but for me it's better for biking. with stops for coffee in quaint stone-built villages and virtually no traffic. Certainly no speeding sportscars. Just miles of brilliant bends for bikes to discover.