10 tours fit for an epic year of cycling

With the Olympics and a host of events looming, Simon Parker picks the best holidays on two wheels for all abilities

2024-02-17 -

For fans of competitive cycling, 2024 looks set to be a mega-year. On top of the usual three professional Grand Tours – taking place in France, Spain, and Italy – and the World Championships in Switzerland, a summer Olympics (also in France) beckons. The future of the Tour of Britain – the UK’s most prestigious cycling race – still hangs in the balance after the organisers went into liquidation last month.

Across Europe and around the world, however, professional and amateur cyclists are gearing up for an epic few months – whether as participants or as spectators. With this gathering momentum in mind, we have selected 10 of the best cycling holidays, in destinations ranging from Wales to Arctic Norway, to whet your appetite. They include everything from serious rides for middle-aged men and women in Lycra to gentle pootles for easy riders.

Cycle the Cotswolds

New for 2024, this Oxford to Bath guided bike tour starts in the city of dreaming spires and ends among crescents of honeystone Georgian buildings. On the way, you will take in villages such as Bibury (described by 19th-century textile designer William Morris as the most beautiful in England), and Bampton, where scenes from Downton Abbey were shot. Famed for its rolling hills and centuries-old pubs, the region also features Bourton-on-theWater, the “Venice of the Cotswolds”.

Exodus Adventure Travels (020 8772 3743; exodus.co.uk) offers a new six-day tour costing from £2,099 per person, including B&B accommodation and the services of a trip leader throughout.

Tour the Brecon Beacons and beyond

If you like the idea of carrying all your own gear and travelling under your own steam, Roam Bikepacking offers the perfect trip for your tastes. It will equip you with a bike, saddlebags, plus a tent and sleeping bag, allowing you to venture fully off road and into the wild.

This new tour for 2024 will see guests take on Gospel Pass, the highest road in Wales, and Devil’s Staircase – one of Britain’s toughest climbs, reaching a maximum gradient of 20 per cent. The company will also tell you about the best places to camp and swim.

Roam Bikepacking (07967 870654; roambikepacking.co.uk) offers this four-day tour for £425 per person (based on camping) or £550 (B&B).

Raise a glass in France

This is set to be a vintage year for cycling in France. Not only will the country host the annual Tour but also the summer Olympics. While the pros compete, why not take a leisurely amble around the Champagne and Burgundy wine regions? Highlights of a new tour include a visit to Notre Dame Cathedral in Reims, and a tasting at the Côte des Blancs wine estate. The laid-back route also takes in historic Dijon, the charming capital of Burgundy.

Exodus Adventure Travels (020 8772 3743; exodus.co.uk) offers a seven-day tour from £4,399 per person, including flights, half-board accommodation, bike hire and a trip leader. Departures on June 23, July 14 and Sept 15.

A new self-guided cycling holiday explores one of northern Europe’s most spectacular regions, Norway’s Lofoten archipelago. The route takes in deserted beaches and tiny fishing villages – and you might spot a white-tailed eagle.

Head north between the end of May and mid-July and the sun won’t set at all. Your bright nights will be spent in seaside lodges and red fishermen’s cabins. As for fuel: booze won’t be cheap, but there will be an abundance of local cheeses and stockfish dumplings.

Headwater (01606 720199; headwater. com) is offering a new self-guided trip between June and August. It costs from £3,419 per person, including flights, accommodation, bike hire and meals.

Discover the patchwork of rural Poland

Poland is not immediately associated with cycling holidays, but visionary operator The Slow Cyclist, renowned for its off-the-beaten-track adventures, has changed all that. This new tour kicks off in May and takes in Poland’s Lower Silesia region, bordering Germany and northern Czechia. By day you will ride past castles, forests and extinct volcanoes, while at night you can sample Polish wine – the country is home to some 400 vineyards – and dine on nutritious and hearty local food. Silesia is well known for its poppyseed cakes.

The Slow Cyclist (01865 410356; theslowcyclist.com) offers its new four-night trip from £2,290 per person, based on travelling as a group of 12. The price includes airport transfers, support vehicle and English-speaking guides.

Train like a pro in the French Alps

Aimed at serious cyclists, this weeklong training camp in and around Morzine – host of the Tour de France on more than 20 occasions – is as close to riding professionally as you can get. The “holiday” includes the services of a private chef, daily massages and use of a support vehicle while out and about. You will also receive a pre-camp training plan and an all-inclusive drinks package for the evenings – but don’t overdo it; the cycling will be tough. You will climb more than 40,000ft in a week – and one of the climbs, the Col de la Pierre Carrée, is considered among the toughest in the world.

Sa Calobra Cycling Club (0033 688 699 160; sacalobra.cc) will be running this seven-night camp between June 28 and July 5 with prices from £2,208 per person.

Spend a long weekend in the Italian Dolomites

Don’t fancy spending a whole week in the saddle? Then this is the cycling holiday for you. Rather than moving accommodation each night, you will be based throughout at a four-star lakeside hotel in the village of Alleghe. Each day ride is tailored to your ability and stamina, with three options ranging from mighty climbs for experienced col baggers to more relaxed jaunts for beginners. Epic scenery is guaranteed on all of these. On day four you will tackle Marmolada, the highest mountain in the Dolomites.

Marmot Tours (01373 830409; marmot-tours.co.uk) offers four-night tours for £1,350 per person this July and August. Airport transfers and half-board accommodation are included, as is wine with dinner.

Explore Ireland’s dramatic south coast

Cycle from Kerry to Cork on a new, eight-day self-guided tour on the green and hilly backroads of Ireland’s glorious south. Highlights include the forests and coasts around Clonakilty, and the Drombeg Stone Circle: 17 standing stones that date back 2,000 years. An evening spent in the coastal town of Kinsale gives riders the option of visiting James’ Fort, the ruins of a 17th-century fortress. The final day’s ride passes the Royal Cork Yacht Club.

Saddle Skedaddle (0191 2651110; skedaddle.com) offers this new tour between April and October. It costs from £1,445 per person, including B&B accommodation, luggage transfers and digital route notes.

Take an e-bike tour of southern Japan

Explore the mountainous splendour of Shikoku, the smallest of Japan’s main islands, on a Yamaha e-bike tour covering 240 miles in a week. Following sections of the car-free Shimanami Kaido cycling trail, you will hop between the smaller islands of the Seto Inland Sea via five suspension bridges.

By day you will cycle along the Shikoku temple pilgrimage route – comprising 88 sacred sites – while evenings will include sake tastings and bathing in onsens (hot springs). Excursions to Hiroshima and Kyoto can be added at the beginning and end of the tour.

Freedom Treks (01273 977968; freedomtreks.co.uk) offers this holiday in March, April and May. Prices start at £3,757 and include accommodation, meals and the services of a local guide.

Ride across America

The Big Daddy of cycling holidays, this 67-night expedition will cross one of the planet’s greatest nations, taking in the Rocky Mountains, Yellowstone National Park and the Great Plains. On the 4,000-mile journey between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, you will average 67 miles a day with a rest day every 10. The comfort, company and security of riding in a group will make the experience extra special. This is, of course, a US Presidential Election year – so expect plenty to talk about.

Bike Adventures (01273 413489; bikeadventures.co.uk) offers its TransAm tour between July 14 and Sept 18. It costs £10,395 per person, including accommodation, support vehicle and the services of a tour leader.