What's New in 2009

22nd October - After a day of rain, the clouds cleared to show Grenoble that the Alps had been covered in the first covering of snow above 2000 metres. Mountains that had steadily turned grey and brown in October were now white with fresh snow. Lower down, the mountainsides around my village are still full of oranges, yellows and reds, as the trees await the first winter storm to blow away the leaves.

If you are flying with BMI Baby from the UK this autumn, you will find my tips of things to do in and around Grenoble in their inflight magazine 'Yeah Baby'. I gave three recommendations of things to do in and around Grenoble, including the legendary climb of Alpe d'Huez. You can see an excerpt from the magazine here.

We now have news on the two big professional races for next year. The Tour de France will take in the Alps before the Pyrenees in 2010, with the mountain stages kicking off with a summit arrival in the Jura mountains at the Station des Rousses on stage seven. Stage eight will finish in Avoriaz in the northern French Alps before the classic alpine stage on stage nine. The Col de la Colombiere and the Col de la Madeleine are included among the four ascents on the way to St-Jean-de-Maurienne. Stage 10 is the final Alpine stage, with two notable climbs in the way to Gap. The Cote de Laffrey is a tough ascent near Grenoble before the picturesque Col de Noyer at the end of the stage. For more details on the 2010 Tour de France, see the official website.

Next year's Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré takes place from the 6th to the 13 June. The final three days include a finish in Grenoble on Friday 11th June, a mountain finish in Alpe d'Huez on Saturday 12th June and the final stage will finish in Sallanches on Sunday with a circuit that includes the tough . This is the first time that the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré has finished in the ski resort of Alpe d'Huez. The complete route has yet to be annouced on the official website here.

27th September - Autumn is coming to the Alps and the leaves are starting to turn red and orange on the mountainsides above the city. It's been cool and cloudy in the morning with the sun burning through in the afternoon to give some very pleasant temperatures and still perfect for cycling in the high Alps.

I am determined to keep the weight down this winter and train though the cold months. After the summer break in the UK and Brittany, I was happy to get back on the bike here in France. I rode through the Chartreuse over the Col du Coq and Col du Porte with Phil and Benoit two weeks ago, before I pulled a muscle in my thigh after 90 seconds of football in a tournment at HP. My leg seems to be fine now so I am ready to start training again.

24th July - I spent the day in Annecy following stage 18 of the Tour de France with my friend Alain. I wasn't going to turn down his offer to join him after Bernard Hinault had invited him and a friend for the day. You can see my photos from the day here. I spent time in the Tour Village, the team warm-up area and near the start ramp.

19th July - An epic day out in the Alps with the 2009 edition of the Brevet de Randonneur des Alpes. Held every two years, the 225 kilometre event includes 4,650 metres of climbing on a route that starts and finishes in Vizille, just outside Grenoble. The route climbed the 2,646m Col du Galibier, 1,566m Col du Telegraphe, 1,638m Col du Mollard and the 2,067m Col de la Croix de Fer. I finished in a little over 10 hours and had a great day on the bike in one of the best cycling events I have ever ridden in the Alps. Great organisation, fantastic scenery and the four seasons in one day. Three days before the event, we had 38 degrees in Grenoble, the day before, we had snow down to 2,200 metres on the Col du Galibier. Here is my video diary from the ride.

6th July - I joined 7,000 cyclists on Saturday and rode my seventh Marmotte event. It was a day when the heat played an important factor, and the climb to Alpe d'Huez was as hard as I can remember. I finished in 920th place in a time of eight hours and 18 minutes, over seven minutes faster than in 2008 but I was six minutes slower on Alpe d'Huez. Here is my video diary.

1st July - Saturday is a big day for two groups of cyclists. In the south of France, the 2009 Tour de France starts in the Principality of Monaco with a 15.5 kilometre time-trial. On the same day, 7,000 cyclists will leave Bourg d'Oisans for the 174 kilometre Marmotte event, climbing the Col du Glandon, Col de Telegraphe, Col du Galibier and final ascent of Alpe d'Huez. This will be my seventh Marmotte and you can read about my thoughts and recent training in the blog.

This year, the organisers of the Marmotte have limited the entry to this year's event to 7,000 places due to administration restrictions that have been put in place by the Savoie department. It is stated on the Sportcommunication website that the event is full and there is no possibilty to sign up in in the next three days in Grenoble or Alpe d'Huez.

18th June - I organised the third annual ascent of Alpe d'Huez for my cycling and non-cycling colleagues at HP, and spent a fantastic afternoon on the road to the ski resort on the 12th June. This year, we were joined by some new faces as well as others climbing for the third time. It was hot on the lower slopes but perfect on the upper slopes of the climb with a little wind to cool the riders down. With the help of Yann filming on his camera, I was able to put together a video diary of the ascent.

31st May - Perfect weather in the Vercors yesterday for the 2009 Challenge du Dauphine event. Over 1000 cyclists started the event in the ski resort of Autrans with a choice of three distances, 66, 123 and 173 kilometres. I rode the 173 kilometre circuit, with 3,200 metres of vertical climbing, on a route that included the Col de la Croix Perrin, Col de la Chau, Col de la Machine and the Col de Carri amongst others. I rode most of the route with Guy from King of the Mountains on a spectacular circuit that included stunning countryside, tunnels and cliff roads, and numerous feed stops along the way. A really great day out on the bike for everybody.

You can see my video diary from the Challenge du Dauphine event here.

24th May - Summer has certainly arrived in the French Alps with a temperature of 35 degrees predicted in Grenoble today. Some of the higher mountain passes are now clear of snow with the Col de la Croix de Fer and the Col du Glandon opening in the last few days. It's not too long until the Dauphine Libere cycling race will cross the Galibier, so we can expect that the snow will be cleared in the next week or so to allow access to the tunnel on the 2646 metre Col du Galibier.

I left the house early yesterday and rode the 1924 metre Col du Glandon and then descended to the Maurienne valley and climbed the 2067 metre Col de la Croix de Fer from St-Jean-de-Maurienne. It's been a while since I've ridden a 30 kilometre ascent and I could cetainly feel the two climbs in my legs by the time I reached the Croix de Fer. In all, it was a 115 kilometre loop with over 2,600 metres of climb. You can see my video diary here.

3rd May - It was an early start this morning and I drove over to Bourg d'Oisans to ride to the Col du Lautaret. The month of May is a great time to ride the Lautaret - the other 2000 metre mountain passes are still closed, but the 2055 metre Col du Lautaret is kept open throughout the winter. As the temperatures climb, this pass becomes an option in the Spring. The road to the Col du Galibier is still covered in snow and hasn't been cleared by the snow ploughs for the moment. You can see my video diary from the ride below.

18th April - I'm attaching a list of 2009 cyclotourist events in the region - for both road and mountain biking. These are organised events, open to everybody, and that take in picturesque routes. There is usually a choice of distances, and feed stops along the way. Unlike the Cyclosportif events, the goal is to finish and not to be first so there is no classification. You can find the list here.

Finally, my third child was born last night - Oscar arrived just after eight thirty in the evening. Mother and little one are doing well.

25th March - Spring is finally here after a long and cold winter. I'm sure we haven't seen the last of the cold temperatures, and the mountains are still covered in snow but there are now warmer days. I've climbed on the bike after spending the last few months running, which was a shock to my legs. Last year, I rode the Marmotte after starting my preparation in late April. This year, I'm more optimistic to ride under eight hours with my training starting at the beginning of January.

Would you believe that we're coming up to ten years since I started writing and taking photos for my idea for a cycling website. The Grenoble Cycling Pages was born in 1999, and this year marks a landmark for me and this website. It is ten years since I left England and came to live in Grenoble and ten years since the site was first made available online. I plan to take photos and add more videos over the year, but need to think of a special trip to celebrate so let me know if you have any ideas..

6th December - I've added some new Cycling Wallpapers to download on the Wallpaper page with a Lance Armstrong theme to celebrate the return of Lance in the 2009 Tour de France, as well as a Dauphine Libere wallpaper and some Grenoble Cycling Page themes with a mixture of races and mountain photos. Do let me know if you have any comments and if I should add some more.

Grenoble - A city in the heart of the Alps

Surrounded by three mountain ranges, Grenoble is in a unique position and offers a cyclist a huge variety of rides. The rolling mountains of the Chartreuse to the north, the high plateau of the Vercors to the south-west before the huge imposing climbs of the Alps to the east.