Tour Type
Cycling Camps
Riding Level
Active
Location
Villars-sur-Ollon
Duration
6 days | 5 nights
Length
Up to 310 km
Climb
Up to 1,000 m
Winter riding in Switzerland? Yes it is possible and we have designed two fantastic training camps to ensure you get maximum cycle training plus some time to pursuit winter activities.
Sounds bizarre right? But seriously, Grand Tours Project’s home is situated in western Canton Vaud which is also home to the UCI. Nearby is the mighty Rhone River and temperate Lac Leman – both with extensive cycling routes. Our training camps aim to offer a combination of indoor and outdoor cycling as well as the latest advice on bike configurations and winter bike maintenance, fitness assessments, riding in cold weather and the best cycle apparel, so much more.
On top of that, you will have one day of the camp to pursue other winter activities such as downhill or randonnée skiing, cross country skiing, fat bike riding in the snow, snow shoeing and anything else that the Villars-Gryon-Diablerets Resort can offer.
The camps will take place in mid January and beginning of March 2023. Three whole days will be dedicated to cycle training – one day will be at the UCI and the other two days will be outdoor riding and great skiing!. The fourth day is a winter activity day. Thrown into the mix, the opportunity to chill out at the Villars Wellness Spa at the end of each day.
At the end, you will be capable and confident to take on winter riding… and ready for your epic spring and summer rides.
Make it Private
Tour Highlights
We will greet our international guests at Geneve Aeroport at a predetermined time and those arriving by train, we will collect you at Aigle Gare. We’ll drive you to your hotel in Villars-sur-Ollon. We’ll help you assemble your bike and then meet up as a group for drinks, introductions and discuss the training outline for the next 4 days…as well as the appropriate winter riding kit.
After a delicious breakfast, we’ll transfer you to UCI with your bikes. If the weather is warm enough, there is the option to also ride to the UCI – it is all downhill!
Depending upon the number of participants, we’ll split into groups for a professional bike fittings and advice on adjustments; bike maintenance; and your fitness assessments. After lunch we have booked the velodrome for you to experience the thrill of whizzing around a world championship facility – specific velodrome bikes are provided.
At the end of the day, we’ll transfer you back to the hotel and you can relax at the Villars Wellness Spa.
Before breakfast, we will have a gym and stretching session, where you will learn the important cyclist exercises – warm up, workout, cool down, stretch and resting your body. After breakfast, we’ll ride beside the Rhone River towards Lausanne, passing through Montreux and Vevey, before gliding along the edge of Lac Leman and the UNESCO Lavaux vineyards – mountains, lake and vineyards! Taking advantage of the hilly terrain, we will teach you some technical and metabolic climbing exercises. There is an option of 700 m climbing to Villars, emulating the “Tour de Romandie” climbing time trial. Over dinner Uri will discuss the different riding techniques on different terrain.
After breakfast, if the weather is kind, we’ll rug up and ride down to Bex, practicing our descending techniques discussed the previous evening. Then it’s winding routes through the winter vineyards and orchards to Sion beside the Rhone River. After lunch, we will head back to Martigny and race the planned UCI World Championship Time Trial Course of 2020, in reverse. The focus will be on specific time trial techniques, team structure, riding in flat terrain and possibly against the wind. We will take an opportunity to teach you what to do in an “emergency moment” when the echelon is in race mode. If you feel up to it, you can ride back to Villars or you can opt for the transfer.
You are in a Swiss ski resort and today is the opportunity to spend a day of doing your favourite winter activity – downhill skiing, sledging, snowboarding, randonnée skiing, cross country skiing…or perhaps you would like to try something new. We can arrange it for you.
For those who would like to ride one more day, we will be providing you with several options and our team will be ready to support you.
The Villars Wellness Spa is available and on our last evening, you will be taken to dinner at a classic Swiss Mountain restaurant.
Already the cycle training camp is completed. After breakfast, we will transfer you to the train or airport for your homebound or next journey. We can arrange an extension of your stay for the weekend if you wish.
We hope that the training camp was constructive and fun, and that you are incentivised to continue riding throughout the colder months. There will be GTP training camps for spring both here and in the warmer climes.
We hope to see you again soon.
The following is also included:
Grand Tours Project has joined the global B Corp movement.
After a rigorous assessment and verification process regarding a multitude of social and environmental issues, Grand Tours Project was awarded B Corp certification in May 2022.
What is B Corp?
“Certified B Corporations are businesses that meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose. B Corps are accelerating a global culture shift to redefine success in business and build a more inclusive and sustainable economy.”
Grand Tours Project supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
We are assessing our impacts, designing methods of measurement, and setting achievable short-term and long-term goals that will help Grand Tours Project become a sustainable business.
We are sure that this process will be a steep learning curve and hope that you will support and critique our work as we undertake this journey.
Grand Tours Project – Certified B Corporation – B Lab Global
