STAGE 2 :
ANNECY – SERRE CHEVALIER

STAGE 2 – Wednesday, June 12, 2019: ANNECY – COURCHEVEL – SERRE CHEVALIER

From Lake Annecy, it is finally under a radiant sun that this second stage of the Rally Megève-Saint-Tropez – House of Bedding has taken a route in the buttress of the Aravis massif and marked our return on the Route des Grandes Alps. The competitors then returned on a course that will take them all day to the peaks of the most legendary Alpine passes with first the Forclaz pass before tackling the rise of the mythical Cormet Roselend and its panoramic view the lake and the little church overlooking it.

A CP was planned at the top of the pass before a narrower descent to Bourg-Saint-Maurice which was only a formality before starting the climb to Courchevel 1850, where was organized, as usual, a fun test of type gymkhana on the Altiport.
After lunch the competitors went down again in the valley of Moutiers to join the starting point of the Col de la Madeleine which it was necessary, partly, to travel in convoy to palliate a partial closure because of work of maintenance after its recent opening. Its 35 km of climbing and its passage at 2000m offered on an incredible sight on the Maurienne massifs facing it, land of eternal snows.

A more rolling route in the valley towards St-Michel Maurienne with the objective of climbing then three successive passes where we had appointments impressive snow walls. For enthusiasts, this was an incredible triptych with the Col du Telegraphe, the Col du Galibier and its more than 2600m with breathtaking views of the mountains of the Ecrins and snow-capped peaks culminating at more than 3900m, then the Col du Lautaret to start the descent to Serre Chevalier and join the Grand Hotel Nuxe to enjoy a well deserved rest after having climbed nearly 10000m of altitude in the day!

This stage sounded like a highlight of this 5th edition, thanks to the opening of these high mountain passes that were not all accessible to us in previous years.
Now that the final standings are beginning to take shape, we are looking forward to seeing you tomorrow for the final stage, which will mark the big winners once they arrive in Saint-Tropez.

Classement général / Final ranking