Stage 19 • MODANE > ALPE-D’HUEZ • 109.5km

The gateway between Savoie and Italy, and between the Haute Maurienne and the Haute-Alpes, Modane, at 1,000 metres, has, since the 1992 relaxing of border controls, had to accept the challenge of the tourism economy while continuing to develop other projects such as particle physics research at its underground laboratories and the rail link between Lyon and Turin, set for completion by 2020. At the heart of the Vanoise national park, just four hours from Paris by TGV and served by the A43 motorway, Modane has still kept elements of its past such as its military forts – evidence of its annexation from Savoie to become part of Italy before becoming part of France in 1860 – and the fifteenth-century Charmaix chapel nestled on the mountainside. Modane has a rich heritage based on a well-preserved natural environment, at the heart of which is its ski resort, Valfréjus – home to new forms of winter sports such as skwalling – a hybrid of skiing and snowboarding – and speed riding, where skiing meets paragliding... At the heart of the biggest area in the world in which to ride your bike – as long as you don't mind hills – and with 300 days of sunshine a year, Modane-Valfréjus is a true mountain of activity.

Stage-town for the first time

3 500 inhabitants

www.modane-valfrejus.com

Both a winter and summer resort, Alpe d'Huez – nicknamed 'the island of the sun' – is at the heart of the Oisans massif, in Isère, just an hour away from Grenoble, two hours from Lyon and two and a half from Geneva. Perched at an altitude of 1,860 metres, on a south-facing plateau, the resort certainly lives up to its nickname, averaging 300 days of sun per year. Topping out at 3,300 metres, the panoramic viewpoint up at the Pic Blanc is quite something, giving views over one fifth of French territory, and from where you can see Mont Blanc, Mont Ventoux, the Massif Central, Switzerland and Italy. With so much space – 10,000 hectares of it – it's the perfect area for a variety of outdoor activities: hiking, horse riding, mountain biking, paragliding... And all summer, the resort plays host to cycling events such as Alpe d’HuZes, La Marmotte, the Mégavalanche, and the Étape du Tour-Mondovélo, as well as triathlons and the supermotard French championships.

Featuring 21 hairpin bends, Alpe-d'Huez is one of the Tour de France's best-loved climbs, featuring regularly on the route. Each corner has a sign, counting down the riders over the 14 kilometres to the summit.

26 times stage-town

1345 inhabitants

www.alpedhuez-mairie.fr