Highlights of the Tour de France

Highlight: Mont Ventoux (1912 m). It doesn't take long before we're standing in front of Mont Ventoux. We crank up the bare giant of Provence, don't let the wind and old tales of shock knock us down, and reach the weather station at 1912 meters. A brilliant descent and two climbs still lie between us and our stage destination.

Highlight: Col du Festre (1441 m). We start again in easy ups and downs over the hills of Provence. The first lonely pass leads us into the hinterland - we are approaching the Alps! We cycle west past Gap and enjoy fantastic views of the main ridge of the Alps. A beautiful view also rewards us for the climb up the Col du Festre, our main pass today. After the descent we continue hilly to La Mure.

Highlights: Col d'Ornon (1371 m), Alpe d'Huez (1860 m). From La Mure, the road continues east into the heart of the Alps. To the left and right the mountain giants rise, slowly but surely the road climbs, and we crank our way from 900 to 1300 meters, up the Col d'Ornon, to warm up. Downhill to Bourg-d'Oisans, then we're off: off to the time trial to Alpe d'Huez. The climb on a well-maintained road leads almost evenly in 21 switchbacks with 10-11% over 14 kilometers and 1130 meters of altitude up to 1860 meters. The start line is unmistakable, the race can begin. A little orientation: Pantani - the fastest so far - needed 37 minutes, very well trained amateur cyclists need about 1:10 h. We can celebrate the mountain finish right afterwards in the hotel.

Highlights: Col du Lautaret (2057 m), Col du Galibier (2645 m), Col du Télégraphe (1566 m). On to the ULPbike king stage! We slide down the hump over the unknown and lonely Col de Savenne Alpe d'Huez, pedal a bit uphill-downhill and then enjoy the rapid descent into the valley. Leaving the famous ski resort of La Grave on the right, we spiral up the Col du Lautaret and - "come on, it's still going!" - a little higher on the Col du Galibier, one of the highest asphalt crossings in the Alps and thus the roof of the Tour de France. To rest, it's a wonderfully long downhill. Then it's time to mobilize hidden strength for the final counterclimb to the Col du Télégraphe. Readjust the brakes, do a little finger gymnastics, and off you go on the descent to St. Michel de Maurienne and the remaining flat kilometers to St. Jean de Maurienne.

Highlight: Col de la Madeleine (1993 m). For the run-in we roll along the valley to La Chambre. Then we climb the Col de la Madeleine, which has been part of the royal stage of the Tour de France countless times. And even if the muscles ache at the top, the eyes (and the soul) can be happy about the beautiful view from the snack station at the pass over to Mont Blanc. The altitude meters tumble on the descent down into the Isère valley to Albertville (300 m), we still take a small climb, then it's 400 meters downhill to Lac d'Annecy.

Highlight: Mont Salève (1375 m) We pedal relaxed along Lake Geneva, loosening our legs and getting rid of the last remnants of lactic acid from our muscles. The final highlight is our climb up Mont Salève and the breathtaking view from the top of Geneva and the Jura, as well as Mont Blanc. Finally, it's finish time, here we come!