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The final run down to the sea at Nice. From the Turini you descend towards Sospel (keep an eye out just past Moulinet for a small bridge road above you, leading to a lovely little chapel, the Notre Dame de Menor), climb the Col Braus, then a small climb to the last col with great views of the Cote d'Azure. From there you ride a high road with a coastal view before descending to the coast road and Cafe du Cycliste in Nice. The route ends there but it's not far to Nice old town area to explore the market and old town shops, or go onto the Promenade des Anglais and follow the bike path there west towards the airport.
If the timing works for you, stock up in Sospel and enjoy a last night bivi a km or two along the track after the Col Braus. Beyond here it becomes harder to find good bivi sites and the views to the south west are nice from here. Strict Leave No Trace / ‘don't be a dick’ rules apply of course - take your litter with you and find a bin for it. Top marks to anyone carrying cold beers to share up here (wrap the in a jacket or sleeping bag, they'll stay cold for a while!).
Stopping at Café du Cycliste, or one of the bars on that road if you finish later, is traditional. There’s an Utile supermarket just behind the Café, a good spot for cheaper beers, also an Intermarche nearby. After that, ride past the old town area of Nice (to the north of Quai des Etats-Unis, well worth exploring), then onto the Promenade des Anglais toward the airport.
This is the shorter 'mini Via del Sale' descent to Tende, heading west from the col towards Casterino and descending towards the Roya valley. There are some steeper sections on the main descent, up to around 15-17% for short sections around 11km in, though overall the gradient profile is not severe.
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At the time of writing (July '21) there are roadworks in the Roya valley, related to the damage caused by Storm Alex.
Between Saint-Dalmas and Fontan is a 6 km long portion (downhill, on gravel track and tarmac) where traffic is one direction at a time.
At night and on week-ends, traffic can pass every hour between h00 to h15 from Saint-Dalmas to Fontan, and between h30 to 0h45 in the other direction. On weekdays the road is closed for works and only one crossing at 12:00 downwards and 12:30 upwards is allowed from 07:00 to 17:00.
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After La Brigue is the big climb to the Fort de la Forca and the Col de Turini, using a new road for the TNR. It's a tunnelled, balcony road that change into a dirt road towards the top.
The Roya valley between the Col Tende and the start of the climb to the Fort de la Forca is another potential supplies desert if you arrive there late after taking this route as a shorter-cut. Restaurants are the main options, though there is a Spar shop in Tende itself. Worth studying the options on the map.
The longer route off the Tende and onto the dramatic Via del Sale (VdS). The Via del Sale is a long, quite remote section of track through a karst limestone landscape. It's one of the most incredible mountain roads in Europe. The Refugio Don Barbera isn't too far from the Col Tende itself, a couple of hours ride on a good day.
The descent off the Via del Sale via the Pas du Tanarel / Monte Saccarello area is very rough for a couple of kms – rocky MTB terrain, though rideable with care on 650B 'Road Plus' type bikes – and it’s a long, arduous descent to La Brigue with some rolling terrain in the woods.
At the time of writing (July '21) there are roadworks in the Roya valley, related to the damage caused by Storm Alex.
Between Saint-Dalmas and Fontan you have a 6 km long portion (downhill, on gravel track and tarmac) where traffic is one direction at a time.
At night and on week-ends, traffic can pass every hour between h00 to h15 from Saint-Dalmas to Fontan, and between h30 to 0h45 in the other direction. On weekdays the road is closed for works and only one crossing at 12:00 downwards and 12:30 upwards is allowed from 07:00 to 17:00.
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After La Brigue is the big climb to the Fort de la Forca and the Col de Turini, using a new road for the TNR. It's a tunnelled, balcony road that change into a dirt road and onto the Circuit de l'Authion towards the top.
You can see the sea from the top if it’s a clear day. You can even smell the sea air sometimes... the coast isn't that far away now.
The Roya valley between the Col Tende and the start of the climb to the Fort de la Forca is another potential supplies desert if you arrive there late. Restaurants are the main options though there is a Spar shop in Tende itself if you back-tack up the valley on this route. Worth studying the options on the map perhaps.
Hi, while plotting the established Torino-Nice gravel route, I found that cycle.travel would not allow routing on this segment. I am not familiar enough with OSM to understand why. Bicycles are permitted and I didn't think the surface condition would preclude routing. Perhaps the "very_bad" smoothness? https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/50894205
https://cycle.travel/map/journey/389779
Below is an image of the desired route (in light blue). Any insight would be appreciated, as it will help me to learn how to best use OSM and c.t routing. Thanks!
Our original route past Chialvetta with the rough stuff section into Little Peru. A notable hike/push on footpaths in beautiful surroundings beyond Chialvetta rewards with some #bunkerresearch at the top and a dramatic unveiling of the altopiano from the Passo della Gardetta. If you rode the Col d’Izoard rather than the hike-a-bike option there and still want to earn your Rough Stuff Alps points on this route, then this is the route to take.
The route continues on a long descent to Demonte, a bike path road to Borgo San Dalmazzo and good resupplies at Limone Piemonte. It follows the same route as 4.2 after the Gardetta area, using a flat route between Demonte and Limone Piemonte.
Both 4.1 and 4.2 routes pass two bike shops around the 75km point, on the way out of Borgo San Dalmazo.
Made in the Cotswolds. Published by Éditions Système D Ltd.
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