You know a climb is special when even bike races in neighbouring countries want to feature its leg-sapping slopes and majestic views of snow-sprinkled peaks. Switzerland’s Croix de Coeur – an elegant Alpine pass in the southwest canton of Valais – is one that has caught the eye of Grand Tour organisers.
The first section of the climb is a squiggling trail of tight hairpins that leads to the ski resort of Verbier at an altitude of 1,500m, and it served as the dramatic final ascent of the 207.5km Stage 15 of the 2009 Tour de France, won by a swashbuckling Alberto Contador. And on Friday 19th May, the cloud-scraping Croix de Coeur itself, which looms 8km beyond Verbier at 2,174m, will light up the savage 207km Stage 13 of the Giro d’Italia.
In this dramatic realm of breathtaking altitudes, rocky gorges, atmospheric forests and mountain vistas, everything feels bigger. Valais has the highest relative elevation of any canton in Switzerland. The region boasts more than 40 peaks above 4,000m, including the Matterhorn (4,478m) and the Grand Combin (4,314m). It features some of Switzerland’s biggest ski resorts, including Verbier and Zermatt.
The 3,883m-high Klein-Matterhorn cable car station is the highest in Europe; the 285m Grande Dixence dam is the tallest gravity dam in the world; and the 23km-long Aletsch Glacier is the biggest in the Alps.
This larger-than-life landscape has already developed a reputation among ambitious amateur riders thanks to regional events such as the Tour des Stations. This unique gran fondo, created in 2018 by the organisers of the Marmotte sportive, serves up a full Everesting challenge, with 8,848m of climbing – including the Croix de Coeur – packed into a 242km loop. But pro riders have also been discovering the area thanks to its appearances in the Tour de Suisse and, more recently, the Tour de France.
As well as the 2009 Verbier summit finish, the Tour also visited the lofty Émosson lake, nestled at 1,930m, on Stage 17 of the 2016 race. But according to local Swiss photographer, bike guide and keen cyclist Alain Rumpf, who shot this Big Ride, the upcoming Giro stage will put the Croix de Coeur firmly on the map.
‘This isn’t a well-known cycling destination, but it is hugely underrated,’ he says. ‘If you base yourself in Martigny, down the Rhône Valley from Verbier, you can climb the Col du Lein [1,658m] and the Croix de Coeur, but also the Col du Grand-Saint-Bernard [2,469m], the road to Lac d’Émosson or the Col du Sanetsch [2,253m].
‘Verbier is a traditional finish for the Tour de Suisse, but the Giro riders will carry on up to the Croix de Coeur, which is another world. It really is as good as anywhere in the Alps. Surrounded by 4,000m peaks, the Croix de Coeur is so beautiful. I can’t wait to watch the Giro stage because the helicopter views will be amazing.’
Stage 13 of the Giro will see riders cover 207km from Borgofranco d’Ivrea in Piedmont, Italy, over the Col du Grand-Saint-Bernard, which straddles the border of Switzerland and Italy, then up and down the Croix de Coeur before finishing with an ascent to Crans Montana (1,456m). However, on this Big Ride, we have squashed the Giro’s Croix de Coeur adventure into a 71.1km anti-clockwise loop, making it easier for visiting cyclists who prefer the logistics of a circular route. With 2,600m of climbing, this ride combines the Croix de Coeur and the more rugged and rustic Col du Lein.
Ski dreams
We begin in Le Châble, a pretty Alpine farming town in the Val de Bagnes, where a cluster of patisseries, restaurants and mountain shops surround the Dranse de Bagnes river. The town is dwarfed by densely forested mountain slopes on all sides and the route can be completed in either direction, but going anti-clockwise means you get to enjoy the winning mix of steeper and more challenging climbs, and slightly gentler – and therefore safer – descents.
From Le Châble, the climb to the Croix de Coeur is 15.4km long, with 1,339m of vertical ascent. It has an average gradient of 8.7%, with sharp sections at 12%. Yet it is really two distinct climbs divided by the ski resort of Verbier.
The first 8km to Verbier is gentler at 7-8% on wide, smooth roads. The second section is steeper, with long segments at 10%, and the narrower road is much more rugged.
No sooner have you said goodbye to the sweet-smelling patisseries of Le Châble than the road kicks up and you’ll soon wish you were taking the ski lift that ferries people up to Verbier. The road here is the main access route to the village so there’s plenty of traffic, but you won’t be sharing it with cars for long. The road weaves around sweeping hairpins, which soon pile up and over each other. Peering over the low metal road barriers, you can glimpse the sun-drenched valleys, dark forested peaks, sparkling glaciers and jagged mountains all around you.
After about a dozen bends you’ll find yourself in Verbier. This is a busy place, full of chalets, apartments and bars, and there is even an 18-hole golf course up here. It’s worth savouring the atmosphere before you disappear into the region’s mountainous back country.
Le Carrefour, a restaurant nestled at an altitude of 1,750m, just above the resort, is a good pit-stop, with outdoor decking that offers views of the Grand Combin and the distant 4,807m-high mass of Mont Blanc. Their homemade tarte Tatin, topped with vanilla ice cream and Gruyère cream, is a calorie-laden treat popular with local cyclists.
Coeur blimey
When you head out of Verbier, the character of the ride changes quickly. The road to the Croix de Coeur becomes much quieter, the noise of the resort dissolves away and you find yourself in a dramatic high-altitude landscape. ‘Not even Google Street View has pictures of this road, and that says something about the nature of the climb,’ says Rumpf. ‘It’s a different world.’
Close to the road you’ll see soft meadows full of wildflowers, but in the distance you glimpse giant moraines, dramatic gorges and hulking peaks. This terrain is home to chamois, ibex, red deer, marmots, golden eagles, bearded vultures, mountain hares – and a few adventurous local cyclists. The road here is certainly steep, with those 10% gradients ruthlessly gnawing at your legs, but the scenery is utterly spellbinding.
‘The Giro always has to go beyond what the Tour de France does,’ says Rumpf. ‘The Tour was happy to finish in Verbier, but the Giro will take riders into a world of big views and drama.’
The road here is much more rugged too. The surface has a rougher feel beyond Verbier, which adds to the sense of adventure – although by the time the Giro arrives, the local authorities will have rendered it smooth and pothole-free. These roads form part of the Tour des Stations route, which this year is also hosting two new madcap multi-day ‘Ultimate’ rides of 500km and 1,000km for pain-hungry endurance racers.
When you arrive at the Croix de Coeur you are rewarded with the most mesmerising view. After drinking in the mountainous vista you can visit La Croix de Coeur, a small restaurant, nestled beneath a flapping Swiss flag, which offers views of the Combin massif and the Bernese Alps. In summer the restaurant serves dishes of local meat and cheese, as well as smaller cycling-friendly snacks such as fresh sautéed mushrooms on toast.
‘This region has typical Swiss mountain food, which means cheese, cheese and more cheese,’ says Rumpf. But maybe save the raclette or fondue for an evening treat. For a sweet finish, the restaurant offers panna cotta and mixed berries, or homemade iced nougat with a berry coulis.
Down with it
Just like on the earlier climb, the subsequent descent is really two distinct sections: the first section, over rougher roads, is to the ski resort of La Tzoumaz, and the second section, on smoother roads, takes you down to the valley town of Riddes.
‘This narrow tarmac was a gravel road until less than ten years ago, when it was paved for the Tour des Stations,’ says Rumpf. ‘So this could be a very unpredictable part of the Giro stage, with tactical moves and suicidal attacks. A skilled descender could make a big difference.’
The nervy descent begins near a mountain-top airport before zigzagging around a series of hairpins that carve through dense forest and around steep cliffs. If you were here in December you’d be wiped out by skiers in purple trousers as this is a ski slope, but in summer this landscape belongs to cyclists and hikers.
After gliding through La Tzoumaz, another dozen hairpins will guide you downhill through tunnels and past flower-bedecked chalets to Riddes in the Rhone Valley. The Giro peloton will divert right at this point to complete the final climb to Crans-Montana, but you swing left to take on the Col du Lein instead. Before you get there, however, you can enjoy a quiet spin through a charming section of the Rhône Valley, which is full of apricot orchards and fruit farms. The juicy apricot is the emblematic fruit of the canton and finds its way into many desserts. Apparently, each local eats on average 2kg a year.
After passing through the village of Saxon you begin the gritty ascent of the 1,658m Col du Lein. This mountain pass connects the Rhône Valley with the Val de Bagnes, yet it has an eerily quiet feel.
‘The Col du Lein is like a road to nowhere,’ says Rumpf. ‘Unlike the Croix de Coeur, this has a very different atmosphere. You’ll pass only a few houses and small hamlets, and you’ll see only farmland, quiet forests, hikers or farmers with cows. Very few people live here permanently. The Swiss pro cyclist Simon Pellaud – formerly of Trek-Segafredo, now of Tudor, and a specialist in crazy breakaways – lives very close to the Col du Lein. But not many cyclists know about this climb. The area belongs in another century.’
From Saxon, the climb is 13.5km long with 1,155m of ascent at an average of 8.3%. On the lower slopes you are surrounded by dense forest, which offers only occasional glimpses of the ever-shrinking valley far below.
But the hardest section comes halfway up the climb, where the gradient kicks up to 10%. The squiggles on your bike computer map will warn you about what’s to come. The road also becomes more exposed, making summer rides a hot and sweaty affair.
‘The Col du Lein is just relentless,’ says Rumpf. ‘There is no flat. It is up, up, up the whole time, with some very steep pitches.’
When grinding up the final section, past fields of cattle and colourful wildflowers, you will ride on compacted gravel, although it’s not a problem for a road bike, and if anything it adds to the gritty atmosphere. This climb is a world away from Verbier.
The summit is marked by a simple sign, surrounded by tall trees and scattered rocks, but just below the top you can soak up views of the forested peaks in the region. Valais is rich in birch, pine, alder and larch, but by now your legs will feel more like heavy English oak.
In the loop
The final stretch of the ride involves a pretty and precarious 12km descent into the valley, followed by a short, flat spin back to Le Châble. The descent takes you through the mountain villages of Levron and Cries and on towards the 500-year-old bell tower of Vollèges. But the higher sections are far from smooth, so proceed with caution.
‘The challenge is to stay upright,’ says Rumpf with a perfectly straight face. ‘This is not the place to try to beat your speed records.’
The languorous valley road, cradled between soft forested slopes, feels almost too tranquil after the dramatic ups and downs of the Croix de Coeur and Col du Lein, but it offers a chance to reflect on the unique nature of the route. Despite being only a shade over 70km, this loop packs in an amazing mix of landscapes, from meaty climbs to tricky descents, glamorous ski resorts to ancient hamlets, and sparse high-altitude meadows to colourful fruit-filled valleys.
It’s hard to know why this region has remained off the cycling radar for so long. Perhaps the area has been overshadowed by its flamboyant neighbours in France and Italy. Or perhaps the Swiss preferred to keep the secret to themselves. Either way, the global cycling community will discover its charms soon enough.
‘This is a place that not many cyclists know,’ says Rumpf. ‘But the Giro is going to show it to the world.’
How we did it
Travel
You can fly from London to Geneva – the closest airport for this area – in just 1 hour and 40 minutes. Geneva is 155km from Le Châble, which can be reached by an airport transfer or by the regional train. It is also possible to take the Eurostar from London to Paris, and then take the TGV services to Geneva and Martigny, from where you can get a train connection to Le Châble.
Accommodation
Martigny, Verbier and Le Châble all make excellent bases for rides in the area. The Martigny Boutique Hotel, Les Sapins Bleus B&B in Verbier and Hotel De La Poste in Le Châble all promote themselves as cyclist-friendly choices, but there are many options available, depending on your personal preferences.
More information
There are lots of cycling route suggestions on the Valais tourism website (valais.ch). Switchback (switchback.alpsinsight.com) is also an excellent site, run by our photographer Alain Rumpf (aswisswithapulse.com), which showcases dozens of road and gravel routes in the area.
• This article originally appeared in issue 139 of Cyclist magazine. Click here to subscribe
Tags: Best Bike Rides
