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The Time-Megeve-Mont-Blanc is a cyclosportive that takes place early June in the northern part of the French Alps, 45 km from Geneva. This cycling event attracts 2,000 riders on a 140-km route that starts from the valley town of Sallanches and includes three passes: Col de la Colombiere, Col des Aravis, and Col des Saisies. The event finishes in the ski resort of Megève.
There are three choices of circuit: 80 km (Colombiere, Aravis — climbing 2850 m); 110 km (Colombiere, Aravis, Saisies — climbing 3930 m); 140 km (Colombiere, Aravis, two different ascents of Saisies — climbing 4810 m).
The route is designed so that the total amount of climbing on the longest course exactly equals the height of nearby Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in the Alps and for which the event is named. To complete this long course participants have to have reached control points before certain cut-off times, otherwise they are re-directed on to the shorter versions of the route. This is possible because the routes of the three courses share the same initial and final sections, but the longer routes also incorporate various additional detours on the Col des Saises.
The 2014 edition incorporated three new routes heading south of Megeve into the Beaufortin range: 80km 2000 m of climbing with two ascents of Col des Saisies; 110 km 3100m climbing with two ascents of Col des Saisies, Col des Pres, Lac de Roselend; 135km 3500m climbing with two ascents of Col des Saisies, Col des Pres, Lac de Roselend; Col de la Forclaz. Safety considerations following the death of a Swiss rider in the 2010 edition has led to the organisers neutralising downhill sections, participants passing through timing sections at the top and bottom of the major climbs.
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Mont Blanc is the highest mountain in the Alps and the highest in Europe west of the Caucasus peaks of Russia and Georgia. It rises 4,808 m (15,774 ft) above sea level and is ranked 11th in the world in topographic prominence. The mountain stands in a range called the Graian Alps, between the regions of Aosta Valley, Italy, and Savoie and Haute-Savoie, France. The location of the summit is on the watershed line between the valleys of Ferret and Veny in Italy and the valleys of Montjoie, and Arve in France, on the border between the two countries.
Savoie is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France. Its prefecture is Chambéry; it is located in the French Alps. In 2016, it had a population of 429,681.
The Haute Route, is the name given to a route undertaken on foot or by ski touring between Chamonix in France and Zermatt in Switzerland.
The French Alps are the portions of the Alps mountain range that stand within France, located in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur regions. While some of the ranges of the French Alps are entirely in France, others, such as the Mont Blanc massif, are shared with Switzerland and Italy.
The Aiguille de Bionnassay is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif of the Alps in France and Italy. It has been described as "one of the most attractive satellite peaks of Mont Blanc", and is located on its western side. The mountain's south and east ridges form the frontier between the two countries, and its summit is a knife-edge crest of snow and ice. Reaching it via any route provides a "splendid and serious snow and ice climb".
A cyclosportive, or often simply sportive, is a short to long distance, organised, mass-participation cycling event, typically held annually. The Italian term Gran Fondo is commonly used for these events in the United States, Australia and some other English-speaking countries.
L'Étape du Tour is an organised mass participation cyclosportive event that allows amateur cyclists to race over the same route as a Tour de France stage. First held in 1993, and now organised by the Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), in conjunction with Vélo Magazine, it takes place each July, normally on a Tour rest day.
The Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB) is a single-stage mountain ultramarathon first held in 2003. It is a race of the Ultra-Trail World Tour.
La Clusaz is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France.
Col de la Colombière is a mountain pass in the Alps in the department of Haute-Savoie in France.
The Dent du Géant is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif in France and Italy.
Mont Maudit is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif in France and Italy. The French name literally means "Cursed Mountain". Until the end of the 18th century, Mont Blanc and its satellite peaks were collectively known in French as the Montagne Maudite.
La Marmotte is an annual, one-day cyclosportive event in France for amateur cyclists. It is named after the large ground squirrel that is known to inhabit the slopes of the final climb to the finish in Alpe d'Huez. The first event held in 1982 makes it one of the oldest cyclosportive events of its kind and in France it is often called La Doyenne, borrowing the nickname given to the professional road race Liège–Bastogne–Liège. The Marmotte remains one of the most popular cyclosportive events today in Europe, with interest in participation exceeding the 7000 places available.
Peillonnex is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of south-eastern France. It lies 32 km north-east of Annecy, the department capital, and some 425 km from Paris.
The Aiguille du Grépon, informally known as The Grepon, is a mountain in the Mont Blanc Massif in Haute-Savoie, France. The Grepon has a Southern and Northern peak, which are the highest points of a sharp granite ridge to the east of the Glacier des Nantillons above Chamonix and northeast of the Aiguille du Midi. A madonna statue is situated on the Southern peak.
The Bornes Massif is a mountainous massif in the north French Prealps in the département of Haute-Savoie. It has 20 peaks higher than 2000 m and is a popular destination for winter sports. The Massif is the source of the celebrated cheese Reblochon.
The Marathon du Mont Blanc is an annual marathon distance (42.195 km) alpine trail running event held in Chamonix, France. The Marathon du Mont Blanc race is the titular event but the name also refers to the group of longer and shorter distance races one or more of which competitors can compete in over a three-day period starting on the last Friday in June.
The 2015 Critérium du Dauphiné was the 67th edition of the Critérium du Dauphiné cycling stage race. The eight-stage race in France began in Ugine on 7 June and concluded in Modane Valfréjus on 14 June, and was sixteenth of the twenty-eight races in the 2015 UCI World Tour season. The Dauphiné was viewed as a preview for July's Tour de France and a number of the contenders for the general classification of the Tour participated in the race.
The 2016 Tour de France was the 103rd edition of the cycle race, one of cycling's Grand Tours. On 24 November 2014 Amaury Sport Organisation announced that the race will depart, on 2 July 2016, from the French department of Manche, for the first time in the history of the Tour de France. The race had a stage finish in Andorra. The race finished on the Champs-Élysées in Paris on 24 July.
The Goûter Route is one of the two normal mountaineering routes used to reach the summit of Mont Blanc in the Alps, ascending to a height of 4,808 metres (15,774 ft). The route lies on the north side of the mountain, in France. Usually reckoned as the easiest route up Mont Blanc, it is extremely popular with mountaineers, seeing thousands of ascents per year.