Saddle up for Alpine magic
SEB RAMSAY heads to the Rhône Valley to cycle some of the best routes in The Alps
IF you want to see just how water can shape a landscape, you’d struggle to do better than a visit to the medieval town of Martigny in the eyepopping south-west corner of Switzerland.
The massive Rhône Valley is nowhere more impressive than as it darts right in the town during the river’s 100-mile journey from the lofty Grimsel Pass and the Rhône glacier to Lake Geneva. Rain and snowmelt from innumerable feeders cascade down into the expansive waters from the 4,000m roof of this lofty section of the Swiss and French Alps.
For centuries traders have criss-crossed this part of the range’s main chain and more latterly huge vineyards have ended up pasted across the Rhône Valley’s sunward - mostly south-facing - slopes.
Dams, too, have been built both to store water and harness its power. The resulting network of routes old and new is every bit as diverse as you’d expect.
It’s hard to imagine a landscape better suited to cycling than that of Valais.
Pro cyclist and local hero Steve Morabito knows how lucky he is coming from this area.
Currently riding for the French World Tour outfit Francaise de Jeux, the 35-year-old was sidelined this summer after a knee operation. As a result, rather than riding the Tour of Poland, he was able to host us and fire the starting pistol for a sportive event celebrating the area’s wines - the Cyclosportive des Vins de Valais - which we’d come to ride. He told us that he was still discovering exciting new roads on his doorstep after years of exploring them.
“There’s a real connection between vineyards and good cycling roads. The grapes like the sun and the quiet, much like cyclists,” he says. “Many of the best places I’ve cycled have been wine-growing regions. It’s no different here. I’ve become a climber because of these roads.”
Indeed when the 2016 Tour de France came through Valais from Bern, Steve was one of those who took the fight to eventual stage victor, Ilnur Zakarin, as the race soared brutally over the Col De Forclaz before topping out at the lofty Emmosson Dam.
The route from Martigny to the dam is a classic of the region, its 2,000m of climbing taking riders up and out of the town on the main route to Chamonix before turning off through the pretty mountain village of Finhaut and then onwards via a service road built for the dam. The names of cycling heroes are plastered across the road still with locals like Steve and Sebastien Reichenbach getting by far the most column inches.
The restaurant/cafe at the dam is certainly a welcome sight after several hours in the saddle riding up from Martigny. Peaking at 15 per cent, the route is sustained and many people have chosen to use e-bikes. It’s still a thrutch on those and, while it’s not yet for me, it’s my feeling that it’s great that such a diverse group of cyclists can enjoy the route.
The next day we rode the Cyclosportive des Vins de Valais which started and finished in the Valaisian capital of Sion. In a fresh approach to these type of popular events, riders aren’t ranked by their total time but by the time it takes them to complete a collection of special stages. These climbs are timed and the aim is for riders to enjoy the day at a steady pace and then hit these 10 to 45-minute sections hard.
The route took a straight line down to Martigny before doubling back on the vine-covered, north side of the river. Cloudless, it was already about 20C when we started at 8.30am and by the time we reached the first of this sportive’s timed sections at around midday, it was well into the 30s. We all gave both of the timed stages on our route a good go. The first of them was the longest and steepest and after 45 minutes holding it wide open, I semi-collapsed into the feed station at its finish.
The Valaisians are justly proud of their wines. But they’re also fairly protective of it - less than two per cent of Swiss wines are exported and most of that goes to Germany. For me, the white Petite Arvine grape is the star of the show. A fickle grower, its thirst and its febrile nature mean there aren’t many places where it can flourish. Martigny is believed to be the birthplace of this grape, but apparently Italian winemakers in nearby Aosta also lay claim to its origins.
Anyway, the people of this stretch of the Rhône Valley are also proud of their food - and their cheese and meats were out in force at the feed stations. I have to say they weren’t quite what I was craving in-between back to back 400-watt efforts but I could see the bigger picture. The sportive’s route itself is stunning. Fields and fields of vines stretching across the lower, rolling valley floor in the shadow of soaring Alpine peaks, are hard to beat.
The roads and villages are picture perfect. I’ve travelled through this huge valley by train and autoroute on many occasions and to discover its hidden communities and landscape feels like a huge privilege.
The next day we’d ride around the source of the Rhône itself - the huge Rhonegletscher (glacier). We make our new base in the tiny ski town of Oberwald at the very eastern extent of Valais.
It’s different here, they speak German and thus call Valais - Wallis – and the roads are wilder and even more impressive. We’re billeted at the foot of two of the Alps’ classic passes that connect Wallis with the cantons (counties) of Berne and Uri. At 2,431m and 2,165m, the Furka and the Grimsel are a challenge but from Oberwald at 1,377m, not a huge stretch.
Plus, the gradients are sensible with neither going beyond 12pc at any time. The routes to each pass start in earnest at the hamlet of Gletsch. This funky little village is all about the Grand Hotel Glacier du Rhone which stands sentry at the junction of the two passes. Dark, wood-panelled and undeniably authentic, this imposing hotel dates back 200 years and its history is inextricably linked to the roads and also the railways that traverse these imposing, glaciated mountains.
And it’s not all out and backs, the potential here for huge days in the saddle is enormous. Keen riders can do stunning loops by linking the Furka with the likes of the Nufenen and St Gotthard passes plus the Grimsel can be linked with the Furka and Susten passes as well. In fact, you can link almost all of them if you really want. And then you really can make the most of this area’s fantastic cuisine with the true abandon of the guilt free. After three days hard riding we felt quite justified in joining a culinary safari down the valley. Rolling down the Rhone Valley from Oberwald, we’d made a big dent in our calorie deficit by the time we reached Fiesch. And the 15-mile digestif back to Obergoms was made decidedly more palatable by the e-bikes we’d hired.
Switzerland may be wild but it’s nothing if not civilised.