Probably the  most iconic of all Tour de France climbs, the Col du Galibier has seen countless epic battles over it's 18 kilometres. The terrain is sometimes bleak, sometimes ethereal, but always challenging. If you wish to take a break, you can stop off at the Pantani memorial about 5km from the top. 

   At 1km to go we take a left turn just before the tunnel entrance to climb to the summit at 2,646m. Once the obligatory photos are captured, we descend down the far side for around 500m to a café for lunch.

   From here, we experience one of the longest descents in cycling at around 45km. There are a couple of short rises but the experience is guaranteed to be truly memorable and a reward for all the uphill endeavour.