This summer, Aska Velo is heading to Alpe d'Huez just weeks after the Tour de France has ripped through those same roads. Luxury cycling tour group Aska Velo is the sister company to all3sports and Podium Multisport, and this week-long trip isn’t built for sightseeing cyclists. It’s built for riders who watch every mountain stage, know every climb by name and want to feel those roads under their own wheels.
Alpe d’Huez isn’t a climb you casually add to a bucket list. It’s a benchmark. Twenty-one switchbacks stacked into 13.8 kilometers, averaging over 8 percent, with pitches that demand respect even from strong riders. Every corner has a name. Every corner has history. When the Tour hits it in 2026, the peloton will launch from Le Bourg d’Oisans, crowds screaming inches from their handlebars, legs on the edge of detonation.
When you ride it weeks later, it’s quieter. But no less serious.
The magic of post-Tour riding is that the road still remembers. You know exactly where the race detonated. You know which bends saw attacks and which broke contenders. The pavement hasn’t cooled yet. You’re not reenacting history from decades ago. You’re riding through fresh legend.
And it’s not just Alpe d’Huez. The surrounding terrain is a full-on alpine playground, stitched together by some of the most iconic climbs in cycling. Routes in the region connect heavy hitters like the Col du Galibier, the Col de la Croix de Fer and the savage backdoor route via the Col de Sarenne.
That’s why elite cyclists love this timing. Post-Tour, the Alps strip the experience down to fundamentals. No crowds to hide in. No race tape. No spectacle buffer. Just power numbers, breathing rhythm and the quiet negotiation between brain and legs that happens above tree line. A cycling trip here doesn’t dull the edge. It sharpens it.
Aska Velo’s approach is built for riders who want to go deep without worrying about logistics. Routes are dialed. Support is where it needs to be. Transfers are handled. Meals matter. That means riders can push hard during the day, knowing recovery, nutrition and tomorrow’s ride are already sorted. It’s the difference between managing stress and managing effort.
Off the bike, the vibe stays unapologetically cyclist-first. Early espresso. Sumptuous dinners that drift into heated debates about gearing choices and whether that last climb was harder than expected. Stories from the Tour stage that just passed through town. Just people who genuinely care about riding bikes well.
There’s an awesome flex to riding Alpe d’Huez right after the Tour. The chalk might still be faintly visible on the tarmac. Locals are still talking about the race. You’re riding the same lines, the same corners, the same brutal gradients that the best riders in the world just suffered through. That connection is real. You feel it in your legs and in your head
Summer 2026 isn’t just another European cycling trip. It’s a chance to ride at the exact moment when the Tour’s energy is still hanging in the air. For athletes who live for climbing, who train all year for days like these, and who want more than a postcard experience, Alpe d’Huez after the Tour is as good as it gets.
Email Matt at matt@teampodium.com or call us at 404.892.3400 for more info and to reserve your spot.
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