GravelMan Series Annecy 2026

In July, to kick off your holidays on a positive note, hop on your bike and come get your first sunburn of the year at the GravelMan Series Annecy 🥵.

For the first time this year, the GravelMan circuit is meeting you in the east of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, in the hills of Haute-Savoie 🏔️. A mountainous edition that’s shaping up to be even more wild and panoramic than its sister events 🤩. The organizers are even setting the tone by rating the difficulty level at 5/5 😵. It has to be said that Annecy, and the surrounding small towns like Sallanches, Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, Albertville or Aix-les-Bains aren’t exactly known for flat, featureless scenery 😬. To help you get the clearest picture, let’s shed some light 🏮.

GravelMan Series courses are already no piece of cake 🍰, so just imagine what happens when you mix Annecy and the GravelMan Series circuits: clearly not a great match (at least for your muscles 😂). In terms of altitude, the town already sits at 400 m above sea level, which gives you a little idea of what awaits. For this Annecy edition, the organizers have worked on 5 distances, doable either in gravel format or on a road bike 🚴: 60 km and 1,000 mD+, 120 km and 2,000 mD+, 200 km and 2,500 mD+, 350 km and 4,500 mD+, and finally the colossal 500 km and 6,500 mD+ 💥. So yes, we usually say there’s something for every level, but here it’s really heavy stuff 😰. Even the 60 km isn’t taken lightly. Its 1,000 mD+ might take you through forests, mountains and turquoise lakes, but you won’t forget the difficulty of the course for all that 👀. You can be sure you’ll sweat and end up with your legs cut in half 🪚. For those who enjoy extreme challenges, the 500 km route is tailor-made. In terms of elevation gain, it’s simply 600 meters more than Mount Kilimanjaro, in Tanzania 🇹🇿. Unfortunately for you, you won’t have the cool air of the peaks to refresh yourself 🧊, since you’ll be alternating between climbs and descents 📈.

After the effort comes the comfort, and you’ll have earned it. Give your bike a quick rinse 💦, stash it carefully in a corner, and go discover the rest of the region using your legs 🦵. First, in Annecy, you can treat yourself to a little pedal-boat ride on the lake ⛵️, to decompress from the previous day’s trauma 😮‍💨. Once the aquatic stroll is over, wander the rues of the old town and let yourself be surprised as you follow the small canals that run through the town 🌇. When you’re done with the bridges, the local castles and parks, all that’s left is to choose the next part of your journey ➡️. If you want to keep going with swims, Lake Bourget and Lake Aiguebelette are waiting for you. You can even cross the border and discover the splendid Lake Geneva, bordering the lovely Swiss city of Geneva 🇨🇭. If, on the other hand, you want to get lost in the mountains and go in search of the Dahu 🐐, then set your course for the Aravis range or the Bauges massif 🪨. You’ll find enough hiking there for several whole weeks 😳.

So whether you’re coming for nature, for the sporting challenge or simply to discover the city, the GravelMan Series Annecy is a necessary step toward achieving your goal 🤪.