My old mucker Thomas recently relocated from the Jura to Haute-Savoie – which is great news. He’d already shown me plenty of brilliant roads on the north side of Lake Geneva and now he’s discovered a heap more on the other side.

 

This route takes a weekend ride he shared with me and expands it to become a full day in the saddle, as I added some roads I know very well already – including some of the key passes of the Route des Grandes Alpes. Most riders heading from the UK ride that route north-to-south, so this route runs them in the opposite direction.

 

Thomas has tested the route and given it the thumbs up. His favourite sections? “It’s very hard to beat Col des Aravis,” he admits. “But the small passes I told you about – Col de Feu and Col de Cou – they’re brilliant and they might be better because the tourists don’t go there.”

 

Well, sorry old friend… maybe the tourists will go there now, as they’re plumbed into this full day’s ride. If you’re breaking a trip along the Route des Grandes Alpes at Cluses, this is a great way to expand your tour and the ideal way to see a side of the mountains only locals normally know about.