Haute Route 2022

AS THE MULTI-DAY EUROPEAN SPORTIVE SERIES UNVEILS ITS CALENDAR FOR !"!!, WE DELVE INTO THE STATS THAT MAKE IT SO TOUGH

HA UTE ROUTE 2022 ST AT S Location Europe Next date June-September Distances Various Price From 799 Euros

While the European massparticipation sportive machine spluttered back to life this summer amid the continuing pandemic, with several major events such as L’Etape du Tour still not able to go ahead, the Haute Route battled on, and successfully managed to stage its whole calendar of events in Europe. The summer saw this multi-day sportive series celebrate 10 years of its original Alps event and Cycling Plus returned to experience it. A full report will follow in the next issue but in the meantime, here’s a profile of the series to coincide with the unveiling of the 2022 calendar.

THE 2022 SERIES

There are five European events next year, varying in length, difficulty and geography. It’s bookended by two of their threeday events, in Alpe d’Huez (24-26 June) and a new location, Davos in Switzerland (23-25 September). In between come two five-day events in the Pyrenees (5-9 July) and the Dolomites (30 August-3 September), with the showpiece seven-day Alps event in the middle of the calendar (21-27 August). Exact routes and profiles have yet to be revealed for all of the events, but the latter has revealed snippets, such as a reversal of 2021’s route, with a start in Nice and following a northern passage through the Alps. There’s also a more compact route of the Alpe d’Huez route for those who don’t want to ride as high or far as the riders of the original. General entry to the series opened on 14 October, with its community members a week before that.

THE RIGHT KIT

If there’s one thing you need to know about the Haute Route, it’s that you shouldn’t expect flat roads. At any point you’re either climbing or descending Europe’s highest mountains, so you’ll need all the help you can get from your equipment: low gears for the climbs (we’d recommend at least a 34/28 as a bottom gear), a lightweight bike (anything above 8kg, you will quickly feel), disc brakes (the great innovation for riding in the mountains) and waterproof, breathable kit for conditions that can turn on a sixpence.

THE EVENT

Aside from the obvious of riding the routes, a big pull of the Haute Route is in being a part of the whole travelling circus of the race. Okay, the nightly race briefings that detail what’s to come on the following day’s route might have lost their novelty by stage 7, but the memories of the event and the friendships made through the course of shared adversity will endure long after you cross the finish line.

THE RIDES

The Haute Route is perfect for the rider who wants to race, but doesn’t fancy the unpredictability of road racing. You are timed and ranked, but will likely spend much of your time in a solo battle with the mountains.