CyclistBig Ride: Blessed with riches in NiceHistorians claim Nice was named after Nike, the Greek goddess of victory, following a military triumph over the local Ligurian tribes. But sitting on my seafront terrace, watching the evening sun settle over a yacht-dotted bay, a much simpler explanation suggests itself: Nice is just nice.Flanked by the celebrity stomping grounds of Cannes to the west and Monaco to the east, Nice carries a similar air of affluence from the moment you step off the plane. Where most arrivals halls are lined with coach-transfer desks and car-rental kiosks, here they appear almost outnumbered by companies offering private helicopter transfers along the Riviera.In this millionaires playground, my rented 2014 Renault Kangoo stands out among the Porsches and Ferraris, but my journey here isnt important. Its where Im going that matters. Because while this part of France is best known for its coastline, the Maritime Alps loom close behind, and with them come climbs that have helped shape professional cycling since the earliest days of the sport.Coasting on the coastI crawl out of bed and wrestle myself into some kit. Id like to say I slept well but the truth is I was kept up by the roar of supercar engines until the small hours. Its an unexpected downside of staying in a wealth-soaked city but also provides a ready-made excuse should I get dropped by my riding partner on the first climb of the day.Im on my way to meet him now. His name is Gabriel and he works for clothing brand Caf du Cycliste. Thats about as much as I know about him, aside from that hes a local and has agreed to show me around his cycling patch.I cruise along the bike path past the marina as the sun comes up and yachts, each one considerably larger than my house, slip past. The Caf du Cycliste shop comes into focus, and Gabriel emerges with a custom-painted Basso Diamante, complete with checkerboard-patterned fork.Nice bike, I offer a textbook cycling icebreaker that has never failed me.Thanks, he replies, as they always do. We have a fleet of them inside. Basso took some persuading with the checkered fork, but it gets a lot of compliments.We compare routes on our head units. The plan was to hit the Col de Braus, Col de la Madone and Col dze in a clockwise loop, but Gabriels London cabbie-level knowledge tells him there might be a better way to do it.Lets go the other way, he says. We climb Col dze first while its quiet. Its a fast descent later on and gets busy. Then we drop into Menton, climb Madone, descend to Peille, up Braus, over Col de lOrme, then back into town via Lucram.OK, Im sold. With that, we set about getting away from civilisation and into the mountains. Its 7.30 on a Sunday morning but already the city is beginning to wake from its slumber. We weave through cars and buses on a long, straight stretch of road heading inland, briefly intersecting a road used for Stage 21 of the 2024 Tour de France.Paris was being prepared for the Olympics that year, so an individual time-trial replaced the usual ceremonial procession into the capital. The route ran from Monaco to Nice, with Tadej Pogaar taking the stage and sealing overall victory by more than six minutes. Im well aware that Pogi lives just up the road in Monaco.Have you ever seen him out and about? I ask Gabriel. He laughs and tells me a story about when he was running late for work, riding full gas and lugging a backpack.I overtook a bunch of pros on my way into town, he tells me. It was only after I passed them that I realised one of them was Pogaar. Which means you could say I dropped him, he smiles.Article continues belowCruising along Nice harbour. One turn later and youre heading into the mountains.Andrew GrantAndrew GrantRacing the sun up the Col dze the first climb of the day.Andrew GrantGrinding up one of the hairpins on the Madone, a 14.5km climb with a steady gradient of 6-7%.Andrew GrantAndrew GrantAndrew GrantThe Madone starts off straight before winding its way up to the summit over its second half.Andrew GrantAndrew GrantEnjoying a drink and some company at the top of the Madone.Andrew GrantAndrew GrantAndrew GrantOnce on the climb its 10km at around a 7% average gradient to reach the hairpins.Andrew GrantThe hairpins on the Col de Braus are as stunning as any, and arent far off Alpe dHuez in terms of difficulty.Andrew GrantThe views back down the Col de Braus are worth the effort of climbing it.Andrew GrantPicking up speed on the descent to Lucram.Andrew GrantPausing at the memorial to French cyclist Ren Vietto, a controversial but beloved figure in his homeland.Andrew GrantAndrew GrantThe view over Beaulieu-sur-Mer Cove is another not to be missed.Andrew GrantAndrew Grant Related Posts Big Ride: Nice, the Tours second city Classic climb: Col de la Madone, the climb loved by pros and ignored by the Tour Gravel Big Ride: Via del Sale, the Salt Road Nice and ze does itIts not long before we find ourselves at the foot of the Col dze, a mainstay of Paris-Nice, the first European stage race of the WorldTour each year. This is one of the brilliant things about this part of the world the mountains begin as soon as you venture inland, even just a little, meaning you can ride iconic climbs right out of the city.At 10km, the Col dze isnt a true whopper but its not to be taken lightly. A relatively steady gradient of 6.5% means it suits big-engine riders rather than explosive climbers. Sean Kelly made the climb his personal property during the 1980s, using its exposed slopes to crush his GC rivals as he won Paris-Nice seven times in succession.Apparently the Col dze is also notorious for exposing errors in pacing something Im currently finding out first-hand. By the 5km mark Im gassed, just in time for another 8% kicker. We drop the pace slightly and I keep stomping on the pedals. The views help.The second half of the climb traces the outline of the shore, serving up panoramic views of ze Bay with Monaco in the distance. The sea sits far below like a sheet of blue glass, catching the morning sun. Next to me, the stone walls lining the road hold the nights cool as the surrounding air grows warmer and cicadas gradually chirp into life.Col officially bagged, its only a short ride into the town of La Turbie, just north of Monaco, which Im reliably informed is home to the best boulangerie in the area. Gabriel tells me its a firm favourite with the local cyclists: If you ride bikes around here, you know this place, he says.Its a calorie-depleted cyclists oasis, so I peruse the rows of multicoloured sweet treats, elaborate sandwiches and puffed-up pastries looking for the perfect post-climb replenishment. Eventually I settle controversially, some might say on a nut tart.We sit in the sun for a while, exchanging stories, eating our baked goods and checking out bikes as one by one the number of passing cyclists steadily builds. Pastries finished, we grab our own bikes and begin the 10km descent back down to the coast.Menton is the next town along the coast from Monaco and the last before the Italian border. Pro cyclists fly past in multicoloured flashes along the seafront quicker than I can make out who they are. Chances are theyre all heading to the same place: the Col de la Madone.Col de LanceDespite having never featured in the Tour, the Madone is a climb most cyclists will have heard of. Its steady gradient and 14.5km length make it perfect for sustained efforts, resulting in it being a popular training ground for those who make a living winning races. It was famously a favourite of Lance Armstrong, who used it to measure his form, fixating on a 31-minute benchmark that he reportedly broke shortly before his first Tour victory in 1999.In terms of gradient, the climb maintains a relatively consistent 6-7% from bottom to top, with little respite, so good pacing is paramount. I mutter something to Gabriel about taking it a bit easier up this one, but its not long before Im riding at threshold.The road is fairly straight to begin with, before snapping into a series of irregular twists and turns about halfway through. Its around this point I feel like I should back off the pace, but there are a number of other cyclists testing themselves on the climb and my ego wont let me be the first to crack, so I grind on to the top.We stop briefly next to the summit sign for a drink and a quick photo op with a friendly dog before hitting the 12km descent towards the final and biggest climb of the day.Just BrausingThe Col de Braus should still be fresh in the minds of pro cycling fans. After all, it was only two years ago that the climb served as the opening for the penultimate day of the Tour de France one last chance for climbers to animate and GC contenders to attack.Prior to 2024, the Col de Braus hadnt featured in the Tour since 1961, but it played a pivotal role in the events formative years. First used in 1910, the year the high mountains were introduced to the race, its inclusion helped to establish the idea that long, sustained climbs could be key in shaping the outcome of stages.Riding through the tightly stacked hairpins and looking down at the valley below, its hard to comprehend why this epic road hasnt become a mainstay. Visually, it could go toe to toe with Alpe dHuez, and in terms of difficulty its not a million miles away either.The climb officially starts in LEscarne, 63km into the ride, although weve been ascending for the past 7km to get to the start. Once on the climb proper it requires another 10km at around 7% average, with ramps touching 12% in places. The payback is some of the most dramatic views in the region.About 5km into the climb, the road starts to zig and zag, culminating in the most perfect set of eight hairpins to grace a hillside. Beyond the hairpins, with about 1.5km to the summit, the road veers off to the right. Im not usually one for stopping on climbs but I make an exception here. Theres a low wall to sit on next to a metal statue of local hero Ren Vietto (see box on p64) where we can look back at the stacked turns we just rode through. The tarmac folds back on itself again and again, pale in the sunlight against the surrounding greenery. We stare at it for a while and then push on to the top.The descent back into Nice is a biggie. For 40km we zip down mountainsides and through valleys. Picturesque villages come and go in the blink of an eye, thicker and faster until houses become tower blocks and I find myself weaving through city traffic once again.Back on the seafront in Nice, restorative coffee in hand, I can reflect on a fantastic, sunlit day in the saddle. Im more convinced than ever that this might just be the most appropriately named place in the world.Viettos mountainThe Col de Braus houses two memorials to one of Frances most celebrated cycling sonsIn 1934 Ren Vietto was riding his first Tour de France as a domestique, although his prowess in the mountains meant he had won three stages by the end of Stage 9 and become a new hero for French fans. On Stage 16 Viettos team leader, Antonin Magne, broke a wheel and so took Viettos wheel, leaving him at the roadside.A photographer took a picture of Vietto sitting despondently in tears with his wheel-less bike, which became one of the enduring images of the Tour. The image earned Vietto the adoration of the French public and spawned the myth of the debutant who abandoned his own chances of a Tour victory for his team leader. After the final stage, while Magne collected the yellow jersey, banners in the crowd declared Vietto the moral winner of the Tour.The truth was a bit more prosaic. Vietto never had any real chance of winning the GC, being an hour down on the race leader, and he still won that years King of the Mountains classification. He was also notoriously rude about Magne and went on to become a tyrannical team leader in his own right. Legend has it that when Vietto lost a toe to sepsis in 1947 he forced his domestique, Apo Lazarids, to cut off one of his own toes as well, with his only justification being, Because I say so.Still, the truth should never get in the way of a good story, so a stone memorial to Vietto stands at the top of the Col de Braus, in the region where he was born. A little further down the climb, a metal sculpture shows Vietto as he was in that photo still sitting by the roadside waiting for a wheel.How we did itTravelCyclist flew direct to Nice, which is served from a number of UK airports. There are good transport links from the airport into the city, including the tramway, which is generally the cheapest and most efficient way to get around town.For a greener alternative, it is possible to get the Eurostar from London to Paris and then the train to Marseille and on to Nice, but expect it to take between ten and 14 hours.AccommodationLe Saint Paul was our hotel for two nights either side of the ride, located on the seafront just a short walk from the marina. Room prices start from around 100, which is remarkable value given the grandeur of the building, the quality of the food and the proximity to the local bars and restaurants. Go to lesaintpaul-hotel.fr.ThanksAn enormous thank you to Beatrice and Rabiha from Provence-Alpes-Cte dAzur Tourisme (provence-alpes-cotedazur.com) for going out of their way to organise our stay in France. And to Gabriel, Dylan and the team at Caf du Cycliste (cafeducycliste.com) for showing us the local sights and providing us with some great kit for the trip.The post Big Ride: Blessed with riches in Nice appeared first on Cyclist.