Alpine Break

I have just come up with a great possibility for one of the segments Top Gear do where they race a car by one route against someone skiing/climbing/riding/running by another route.

We often pop over to Italy for ice cream and coffee because it is much nicer than the stuff you get here in France. You could do a race from France to Italy for ice cream’s.

You would start the race at Maurin at the head of the Ubaye valley in France. Then the car driver could whizz down the narrow lanes to Saint-Paul-sur-Ubaye, turn north and head over the windy col de Vars to Guillestre (where we live) then head east through the spectacular Guil Gorge into the heart of the Queyras, past the impressive Vauban fort at Chateau-Ville-Vielle then up through Molines and towards the highest frontier pass in Europe, the 2744m high Col Agnel, first passed on the Tour de France this year, before dropping down to Chianale (where we go for ice cream), carrying on down the valley to Casteldelfino the car would then head back up into the hills towards Sant’Anna.

This route for the car would be 111km along some of undoubtedly the best driving roads in Europe. Well the best if you like windy alpine passes and spectacular scenery, coupled with real – if I mess up here I will be dead – type of terrain.

During this time I think that a good mountain biker could ride the direct route through the hills and over the border before screaming down to the predestined ice cream stop.

Filed under: News on October 14th, 2008