Rider’s Rides – Chris, James, Glyn, Tour of Mont Blanc, July 2026
There are a few club members setting off on big adventures in 2026. We’ll be taking a look at their challenges and aspirations to maybe inspire you to set your own…
The Tour du Mont Blanc is often described as the toughest one-day amateur road races in the world. Riders circumnavigate the Mont Blanc massif across three countries in a single effort, with the vertical gain approaching the height of Mount Everest.
The gradients are rarely extreme in percentage terms, but the climbs are long, often 15–25km at sustained 7–9%. Over 330 km, that sustained load creates deep muscular fatigue.
This event demands exceptional fuelling precision, sustainable threshold power, climbing stamina and mental control across 12–15 hours. There is no easy section. It is continuous Alpine stress.
Chris, James and Glyn will be taking on this challenge on July 11th, for each of them the toughest cycling challenge they have or probably will ever face! In preparation they have been training with different approaches, James using an AI based coach, “Coach Cat” to great effect, Glyn doing what he knows best and gradually building up the mileage and domestique duties, Chris adding mileage with pre-club rides and intensity with Zwift, laps and KOM attempts!
Notably, Glyn completed Trans Wales, proving to himself that he could manage the distance and duration on a hilly route, James & Chris completed the Tour of the Peak sportive over the Derbyshire Peak District and they all cycled to Aberystwyth for chips at sunset before a wild camp and ride home the following day.
