Semnoz (road bike)

So, you're in Sevrier and want to ride a road bike.

But sometimes, you just don't want to - or cannot afford to - go riding for the whole day. Maybe you're working remotely and your meetings start at 9AM. Or perhaps you only have three hours to spend, and you don't want to waste them looking at maps or hitting dead ends.

No problem. Check out the Semnoz loop.

Here are the numbers:

• Distance: 45 km
• Elevation: 1200 m
• Duration: 2.5 h

Time estimate obviously depends on fitness, motivation, weather, traffic, descending prowess... (My PB is 01:53 and it can certainly be done faster, but it can also be done a lot slower. 🙂)

The Leschaux loop

Let me introduce the Leschaux loop first, because it is a subset of the Semnoz loop. Depending on your exact path to (Col de) Leschaux, this loop is 24-30 km long and the elevation is a neat 500-550 vertical meters. See the maps below.

You can take any combination of these three parallel roads, in either direction. However, I recommend taking the main road, Route du Col de Leschaux.

This is my favorite for both the climb and the descent. The road has a steady incline with wide, cambered, predictable turns and a well maintained surface. When climbing, it gives you the opportunity to comfortably settle into your aerobic pace. When descending, it's steep enough that you don't have to pedal but flat enough that you can stay off the brakes on most straights. A solid portion of the road goes through the woods, which is great during the summer days. Just beware the increased traffic at peak times.

The Semnoz loop

The Semnoz loop is the big one. You will approach the first 500 vertical meters to Leschaux as a warm-up. Continuing from there, you will be grinding up a few long straights with switchbacks, then at 1300 m AMSL you will finally enter a more interesting area, although you will lose the view of the opposite side of the valley (Entrevernes). At Croisée du Villard, you will get about a kilometer of surprisingly flat ground to relax on, before you get back to grind out the final 300 vertical meters. (At this point, if you've been maintaining a "sporty" pace, you should start feeling some delicious burning in your legs...)

Soon, the woods will clear and you'll be right in front of the peak with the last 100 vertical meters to go. Conveniently, this last stretch is also one of the steepest ones, so shift up and get out of that saddle! 🙂 When you reach the hairpin, the hard part is over. You'll pass a parking spot and soon, you'll be at the top. Take a break and soak in the views.

At this point, it's worth noting that it's possible to do this whole loop in both directions, of course. However, I strongly recommend doing it as described here, i.e. clockwise, Sevrier-Leschaux-Semnoz-Annecy-Sevrier.

The reason is that the segment from Semnoz to Leschaux has worse asphalt, the turns are less predictable and there are often rocks on the road. (Also, the switchbacks are just plain boring to descend, all you do is mash the brakes before the hairpins. 🙂) So it's better to take this road on the way up.

On the other hand, the second half (Semnoz to Annecy) is a great segment to descend. It's worth going there in dry weather and no traffic. You will be rewarded with plenty of clear, predictable turns to carve out, and there are also plenty of straights where you can tuck into your drop bars and...

That said, please be cautious and responsible on the downhills. There are three places where you have to be especially careful:

1. Maison du Semnoz (parking lot exit)
2. Intersection with Quintal road
3. La Grande Jeanne zoo (there is a blind right-hand turn where there are often people on the road)

After having arrived to Annecy, you can either take the Boulevard de la Corniche, or you can descend all the way to the lake shore and then take the Voie Verte cycling path. Choice is yours.

If you like this guide, reach out at hi@lanfonnet.com and perhaps we can go for a ride together. Cheers!