Road Cycling Holiday The Swiss Alps

A long day with an easy start and a sting in the tail. 

First up is a 16km ride down from Adelboden to the beautiful Thunersee.  Towards the bottom of the decent is a short climb up to Aeschi that helps the warmup before completing the descent to the lake. 

From here we make our way round to one of the jewels of the Bernese Oberland, Interlaken, and along Brienzersee to the foot of the first major climb of the trip, the 18km Sustenspass that tops out at 2209 meters.

We will then descend down in to the valley at Wassen before the 5km climb to Andermatt which will be our home for the next 2 days.

Day two takes in 3 famous Swiss classics, The Furka Pass, The Nufenen Pass and the cobbled surface of the mighty St Gotthard Pass. 

This circuit, famous for its views and its climbs starts with a ride down the valley to the foot of the Furka Pass. This 13km climbs takes us to 2436 meters and famously featured in the Bond film Goldfinger. 

On the descent we go round the equally famous Belvedere Hotel hairpin and passed the start of the Grimsel Pass (we’ll save that for tomorrow) on our way to the foot of the second climb of the day the 15km, 2478m Nufenen Pass. 

The views from the top are terrific so it is well worth stopping to take them in and take some fuel on board before the 24km descent to the start of the outstanding St Gotthard Pass, 2106m. 

The real cycling experience of the 14km St Gotthard Pass are the cobbled hairpins of the Tremola Road with views across to the road tunnels of the new road on the other side of the valley to take your mind off the vibrations. The rewards at the top are yet more stunning views and a 13km descent back to our hotel.

Today starts with our second ascent of the excellent Furka Pass giving us access to the dramatic Grimsel Pass with its spectacular granite landscape and the Grosse Scheidegg beyond.  So, if you missed the James Bond photo opportunity yesterday, you’ll get another chance today. 

After the summit of the Furka Pass there is a 10km descent to the start of the Grimsel Pass which at 6km from this side is our shortest climb of the trip.  At the top of the pass we will ride past a sequence of lakes that provide hydro power and then enjoy almost 30km of descending to the start of the Grosse Scheidegg climb. 

This is widely regarded as one of the most beautiful climbs in Switzerland with towering peaks appearing all around you as you climb higher and higher. The reasonable overall average gradient of 7.5% is deceptive as there is a flat section halfway up separating the steep start and a steep finish. This is one to dig deep for. 

At the top, the Wetterhorn looks down on as you look towards The Eiger.  As this road is only open to the tourist bus it is very quiet but watch out for the bus coming up towards you on the fabulous, but narrow descent into the well-known skiing town of Grindelwald.

The final day of the ride starts with an 11km descent into the valley where a left turn will take us to the breathtaking valley of Lauterbrunnen, the base-jumping capital of Switzerland where we will have a coffee and take in the views. 

We will then back track down the valley and onwards to Interlaken for the start of our circuit of Thunersee. This starts with a steep 8km climb and continues towards Thun with amazing views down to the lake at the mountains beyond. 

After lunch in Thun, we will continue round the lake before heading up the valley to Frutigen and the start of the final climb back up to Adelboden. 

At 16km the climbing is steady once the initial ramp out of Frutigen has been dealt with, but it steadily builds to a demanding finish that concludes right outside the Cambrian Hotel.

Sustens Pass.  2259m, 28km @ 5.9%

Furka Pass (x2).  2437m, 12km @7.3%

Nufenen Pass.  2482m, 4km @ 8.3%

St Gotthard Pass.  2109m, 13km @7.3%

Grimsel Pass. 2170m, 6km @ 6.9%

Grosse Schiedegg. 1966m, 16km @7.9%

Adelboden. 1350m, 16km @ 3.5%