Cycling in the Alps; Don't get hung up on the distance, focus on the height gain
"We are use to riding 100 miles a day and would like to replicate that in the Alps........"
A question I've been asked many times over.
Many visiting riders from the UK, USA and Australia quite rightly look at their 'volume' of weekly or daily riding by distance and when they start to look at trip itineraries for cycling in the French Alps , they often interpret that the daily rides are shorter than they would like hence the tendancy to look around for cycling trips with higher ride distance. There is a mistaken belief that they will be able to cover the same daily distance in the Alps as they do at home.
In answering this regular question my stock reply is....
Don't worry about the distance, focus on the amount of climbing you intend to do each day. Its not Florida!
Unless you have ridden in the Alps or the Pyrennees before its unlikely that you have experienced climbs where you will be heading uphill for more than an hour per Col. Multiply that by 2 or 3 Cols in a ride and you definately won't be worrying about the distance. Add some high altitude thin air over 2000M and compare that air to what you breathe at sea level.
Typically I recommend daily rides that cover between 1700M and 2500M per day (5500ft to 8500ft) however on the tougher days it can be well in excess of 3000M (10,000ft). When desiging a week in the Alps I would normally suggest at least 2 Cols in one ride, and up to 4 Cols on some of the tougher days - all dependant on the group average ability.
As an example, I often ride the climb of the Colle San Carlos in the Aosta Valley, Italy. Its been used in the Giro D'Italia. The San Carlos takes me just under an hour to cover 11km at an average gradient around 10% summiting at 1971M. After descending down into La Thuile for a quick Italian coffee, I will carry on for another 10KM to the summit of the Petit St Bernard Pass which summits at 2188M - After that I will descend back to the valley and please trust me that is more than sufficient for a days ride.
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