You don't have to cross the Alps from end to end to feel their full power.
With 500 km and 300 km formats, GRAAALPS offers an intense and spectacular immersion in the most iconic features of the mountain range: balcony passes, high-altitude gravel trails, suspended valleys, and panoramic views of the highest peaks.

Here, every climb counts. Every pass tells a story. And every kilometer reminds you that riding in the Alps is above all about terrain, pace, and respect for the land.

GRAAALPS 2025 — Photo: Robin Issartel (@robinissartel)

A word about the creators of the routes:

Behind every GRAAALPS route, there are hours of scouting, miles traveled, doubts, adjustments... and above all, Fabien and Nathalie.

Fabien and Nathalie on their work tool ;)

Whatever the season, you'll find them on a bike!

Nathalie Monnier is a hyperactive and passionate woman from Valais, always on the move, always curious. Road, gravel, bikepacking: whatever the medium, what drives her is exploration. Finding the right pass, the right trail, the forgotten road. The ones that tell a story and make you want to go further.

Together with Fabien—her husband, partner in crime, and best riding buddy—they form the Mim’s. An inseparable duo on the bike and in the field. Together, they imagine, map out, ride, and scout each GRAAALPS route, sometimes several times over several months. It's a long-term endeavor, requiring patience, fieldwork, and intuition to find the right balance between commitment, beauty, and consistency.

But above all, Fabien and Nathalie don't talk about GRAAALPS from the outside. They took part in the first edition. They lived it. And they are finishers. They know the long hours, the fatigue, the doubts, the choices to be made when your legs or your mind give up. They know exactly what you're going to go through, because they've been there themselves.

This dual perspective—that of the creators and that of the participants—is at the heart of their approach. Each itinerary is designed by riders, experienced before being offered, tested, adjusted, and sometimes reevaluated.

Beyond GRAAALPS, Nathalie and Fabien also work together on the Race Across Switzerland routes , with the same high standards, the same knowledge of the terrain, and the same respect for adventure.

It is this artisanal, human, and sincere approach that gives GRAAALPS its unique character: authentic, committed, and deeply rooted in the reality of the field.

500 km — The Tour du Mont-Blanc Gravel. One mountain range, three countries, one perfect loop.

516 km – 14,500 m elevation gain – 70% road / 30% gravel

**ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE 500KM OF THE GRAAALPS**

The Tour du Mont Blanc Gravel for the 2026 edition, which will be the third edition of GRAAALPS.
**Distance**
≈ **500 km**
**Elevation gain**
≈ **15,000 m D+**
**Surface**
≈ **70% road / 30% gravel**
**Basecamp camp: Etroubles** , 230 km
**Gravel type**
Alpine trails, military roads, high-altitude paths
**Recommended tire size**
Minimum **42 mm**
Ideal **45 mm** for comfort and effort management at altitude
**Format:** Crans Montana **Loop**
**Departure/Arrival: Crans-Montana** (Switzerland)
**Countries visited**
🇨🇭 Switzerland · 🇮🇹 Italy · 🇫🇷 France
**Highlights of the course**
Star of Hérens
Tyson 2000
Heart Cross
Great St. Bernard Pass
Tour du Mont-Blanc gravel
(Little Saint Bernard · Roselend · Chamonix)

The 500 km route encapsulates everything the Alps have to offer. It's a quest, but in a controlled, logical, pure loop. We're talking about the gravel version of the Tour du Mont-Blanc, an immersion in a mountain range where each valley tells a story.

Participant at the start of the GRAAALPS 2025 edition - Photo: Edouard Hanotte (@edhanot)

Act I — The Valais warm-up

These climbs are a signature feature of the GRAAALPS. They wake up the body. They test the legs. They open up panoramic views of the highest peaks in Valais. The first part of the route takes you around Valais, the heart of the Alps, warming up for the Tour du Mont Blanc. The Croix de Coeur will be the gateway to this second part of the itinerary.

Act II — Great Saint Bernard Pass

The climb stretches on for a long time, almost insidiously. It seems gentle at first—steady, predictable—then, little by little, it wears you down. The scenery changes with each switchback: the valley recedes, the walls close in, the air grows colder, crisper.

You feel like you are leaving something behind to enter somewhere else. The Great Saint Bernard Pass is not just a mountain pass: it is a border. A gateway between two worlds.

At the summit, the silence commands respect. The view opens up, stark and magnificent. And, in the transition, Italy appears—rougher, more vertical, wilder. We shift into a different rhythm, a different light, a different way of experiencing the mountains.

Act III — Tour du Mont-Blanc gravel: Petit Saint-Bernard, Roselend, Chamonix

Here, the Alps change their appearance. Everything becomes more mineral, more wild. The Mont Blanc massif imposes itself as a constant presence: sometimes in the distance, sometimes just above the road, as if watching your every pedal stroke.

The Petit Saint-Bernard Pass marks a turning point. The wind picks up, the horizon opens up, and the landscape takes on an almost "classic" alpine dimension: endless passes, suspended plateaus, long traverses where you feel tiny.

Then comes the climb up Roselend—a true monument. It cannot be described: it must be experienced. The slopes follow one after another, never steep, but relentless. And, around a bend, the scenery changes abruptly. The lake appears, deep blue, nestled between vertiginous walls and high-altitude meadows. Conversations stop. We drive slowly, almost respectfully.

This is one of the most iconic passages of this tour of Mont Blanc: a moment suspended in time, where time slows down and you realize why you came—for these images that will remain etched in your memory long after you cross the finish line.

View of the Roselend dam, in the heart of the Alps - Photo: Edouard Hanotte (@edhanot)

Act IV — Route des Diligences: history at the end of the wheels

Back in Switzerland... and there, an old road, an almost forgotten route, a magical, raw, simple passage. The kind of area you look for on all the maps. The hairpin bends are endless and the history is palpable...

On a course like this, equipment is not optional. Tires with a minimum width of 45 mm are essential to absorb the shocks of the Alpine trails. The drivetrain must be chosen with care: a ratio of 0.8 is essential for tackling the high passes and uneven terrain without breaking down. You need brakes, plenty of water, reliable lighting, and a sturdy repair kit. This kind of crossing requires preparation, respect, and planning.

Participant in the heart of the Alps during the GRAAALPS 2025 edition - Photo: Edouard Hanotte (@edhanot)

300 km — Valais in all its splendor. The most intense of short immersions

277 km — 7,785 elevation gain — 65% road / 35% gravel

The 300 km is the "pure" version. A concentrated immersion. No detours.

Valais becomes a total playground: steep valleys, villages clinging to the slopes, endless passes, and alpine trails winding above the forests.

No borders. Few transitions. Just the Alps. The real ones. The ones that test your patience, your management skills, your mind.

Act I — Hérens, Thyon 2000, Croix-de-Cœur: the Alpine triptych

Right from the start, we get straight to the point.

A series of climbs, each with its own character:

the raw authenticity of the Hérens Valley,
the long, almost meditative climb to Thyon 2000,
then the Croix-de-Cœur, suspended between sky and valley, on the border between road and high mountain.

The atmosphere changes, as does the light. Here, you understand what it really means to ride in the Alps: nothing comes for free, but everything is earned.

Act II — Champex-Lac & Forclaz

Champex is a breath of fresh air.
A postcard setting in the midst of exertion. The calm lake, the thick forests... almost like a Canadian interlude. Then La Forclaz arrives.

More direct. More straightforward. No fuss.
She doesn't argue: she takes what's left in her legs—and a little in her head too.

You come out of it changed: tired, but strangely stronger.

Participants in the 2025 edition arriving in Crans-Montana - Photo: Edouard Hanotte (@edhanot)

Act III — Route des Diligences: the final signature

The trace softens—but not really.

The Route des Diligences is a piece of history. An ancient road that climbs gently, winds its way through the mountains and reveals, bend after bend, an almost timeless landscape.

A simple, raw, authentic passage.
The kind of place you dream of finding, then regret leaving.

The switchbacks seem endless. The mountain continues to tell its story—before the final climb to Crans-Montana.

Podium for GRAAALPS 2025 participants - Photo: Edouard Hanotte (@edhanot)

Want to relive 2025? Click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4uCDCwaOOw

Find out more about the route and GRAAALPS 2026: https://www.raceacrossseries.com/en/graaalps-2026

GRAAALPS — the quest for the Alps, the 500 and 300 km

500 km — The Tour du Mont-Blanc Gravel. One mountain range, three countries, one perfect loop.