Have you decided on your cycling goal for 2025?
Is it too late to say ‘Happy New Year!’ ?! Quite possibly! Nonetheless, we’re relieved to have made it through cold and dark January and many of you will be training, having set yourselves goals for the year ahead. What’s your cycling goal for 2025? To be fitter? Faster? To conquer some classic climbs ridden by the pros? Or to come on one of our epic road cycling holidays?!
Most of us need a challenge on the horizon to motivate us. Do you need motivation to keep turning the pedals during winter here in the Northern Hemisphere? Or an incentive to burn off the excesses of Christmas, or to stop yourself from going to seed? It might be some or all of the above!
We’ve got 23 incredible itineraries for road cycling tours this year, stretching from April through to October. There’s something for everyone; flexible paced tours with multiple routes to choose from each day, through to various set cycling challenges that need to be completed within a fixed time. Read on for this month’s inspo if you need a cycling challenge to motivate you through winter …
Raids: the ultimate cycling challenge
A Raid (or randonnée) is a set cycling challenge, usually linear and long-distance, requiring a cyclist to have a carnet (or brevet) stamped at specified intervals along the route. They typically require completion within a set period of days or hours. If you want serious motivation in 2025, look no further than one of our fully-supported Raids! Despite other challenges on the cycling calendar, Raids still prove popular with cyclists – once you’ve done one, you’ll want to do them all! This month, we’re shining a light on just four of our Raids …
Raid Pyrenees
An unforgettable, life affirming trip! I loved how it was broken down each day too with coffee stops, lunch, an afternoon break etc – made it much more enjoyable and manageable – F. Elkins, September 2024.
This is our most popular Raid and often how cyclists first get to know Marmot Tours. The challenge comprises traversing the Pyrenees from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean in under 100 hours – no mean feat! We’ve got availability remaining on only three of our departures this year:
7 – 13 June
21 – 27 June
13 – 19 September
Check out the itinerary webpage by clicking the link here, and let us know if you and maybe a group of cycling mates want to join us. You’ll be pleased to know that our team are experts at answering all your queries, such as:
- Am I fit enough and will it be too hard for me?
- What support do the guides offer?
- Can I ride at my own pace?
Just click ENQUIRE NOW from the tour’s webpage, or call us on +44 (0)1373 830409 and we’ll be able to help you with any concerns or questions.
Raid Corsica
If you’d rather tackle a cycling challenge earlier in the year, then check out our absolutely stunning tour, Raid Corsica, which has spaces on our departure
7 May – 4 June.
Excellent – the second Raid I’ve done (Pyrenean was the first) and the support and overall experience was brilliant. The vans are a genius bit of kit, so well stocked and have everything you could possibly need – A. Hughes, September 2024.
It isn’t easy to get across quite how spectacular this tour really is. Corsica is a mountainous and breathtakingly beautiful island. While many cyclists look no further than the Alps or Pyrenees when researching where to cycle, we’d strongly recommend Corsica as your next cycling destination. It is seriously underrated, though we don’t want everyone to know, or it’ll become overrun – a tricky balance! If you need further persuasion, many of our long-standing guides say Corsica is their favourite cycling destination, and they know what they’re talking about!
The Club des Cinglés du Mont Ventoux Challenge
Attempt to climb Mont Ventoux by three different ways in a day! This is a short trip so it’s ideal if you can’t take much time away from home. It’s also perfect for testing your mettle with the potential to earn heaps of kudos! It’s a fantastic 2.5 days of cycling, where we pick the best weather day for the challenge. You’ll be able to enjoy a warm-up ride on your arrival day, the challenge day itself, PLUS a day of cycling around the foothills of Ventoux in beautiful Provence. We’ve got availability on two of our departures this year:
17 – 20 May, and
4 – 7 October.
Raid Alpine
Last and by no means least, we present to you the ultimate classic: Raid Alpine. A truly epic journey from the shore of Lake Geneva to the Côte d’Azur in Nice, cycling along the spine of the Alps. The infamous climbs you’ll experience on this trip are legendary. Think Iseran, Télégraphe, Galibier, Izoard, Bonette and more. You’ll ride through picturesque Alpine meadows, cruise down epic descents, and pit yourself against some serious climbs – and our guides will be there to keep you smiling throughout it all!
Raid Alpine was the hardest thing I’ve done on a bike, yet I enjoyed it immensely. Without the brilliant guides, 2 support vans, experience, and leadership of [Marmot guide’s name] I would not have completed it. Exceptional. – J. Pout, June 2024.
We’ve availability on only one of our departures:
19 – 26 July.
Take a look at the full itinerary on the Raid Alpine trip webpage here, and let us know if you’d like to know more. By clicking ENQUIRE NOW your email will land straight in our team’s inbox and they’ll usually get back to you within 24 hours (Monday – Friday) to help you with any queries.
The best group cycling challenges!
How about coming with a group of your cycling buddies and introducing some healthy competition on one of our Raids?! The four tours above have enough space to take group bookings, but these spaces won’t hang around forever, so get in touch if you’d like to know more about any of them. We can pencil in your name and we’ll even hold your place for a few days while you check out flight prices and get your ducks in a row, before asking you to make a deposit.
NOTE: Call us biased, but you DO NOT want to attempt these challenges self-guided! Our incomparable guides offer the very best support available in cycling holidays, in our humble opinion. With our bespoke vans, they are maestros at encouraging you, lifting you up, and putting a smile on your face. That’s on top of the ‘serious’ stuff they take care of: first aid and mechanical support, snack and water supplies, carrying your day bag (and transporting your luggage between hotels), drying your laundry, extra route support in addition to the GPS files and our bespoke App that you’ll be using, and being expert dinner conversationalists at the end of every day!
Having done a lot of unsupported riding previously I didn’t think I would benefit from support or trip planning. However I have just had the best 4.5 days of riding ever with Marmot. Great to ride with likeminded riders, with stress free logistics and happy vibes – T. Brutton-Chambers, July 2023.
Quite simply, why would you want to go on holiday with anyone else?!
Swiss Alps x Epic Road Rides
Do you subscribe to or follow Epic Road Rides on social media? They’re a great resource for cyclists who aren’t already familiar with an awesome road cycling tour operator (ahem), or even if you want to know more about incredible cycling destinations or other cycling industry content.
Back in December, we ran a feature with them, focussing on cycling in the Swiss Alps, which you can check out here if you haven’t seen it already.
Our Swiss Alps road cycling holiday is an absolute stunner of a trip. Two of our departures are already SOLD OUT but there’s still space on three of our tours:
5 – 11 July
12 – 18 July
27 July – 2nd August.
You’ll revel in the jaw-dropping beauty of the Swiss Alps, with its sheer escarpments, deep valleys, and glaciers around every corner. Tough climbs, thrilling descents, cobbles, switchbacks, and relatively quiet roads – it’s got it all.
Interested? Check out the full details by clicking this link to the tour page, and hit ENQUIRE NOW to reach our team.
Are you limited to traveling in the school summer holidays?
We sometimes get requests from teachers asking us to ensure we run tours during the UK school summer holidays. Well, we make sure we always have holidays running throughout this period and this year, one of these is our Alpine Classic Cols tour which has availability left on two departures in the summer:
3 – 30 August, and
30 August – 6 September.
You’ll be blown away by the breathtaking beauty of the Alps in the summer. A bonus for this trip is that e-bike hire is available locally (subject to availability). This might appeal to you if you have a cycling partner or friends who’d like to join this tour, and who would feel more confident cycling with an e-bike. As with all our flexible pace tours, there are multiple routes to choose from each day, and you can mix and match these daily, depending on how your legs are feeling.
My first experience of Alpine climbs. The route introduced the climbs well by tackling the Cormet de Roseland before the iconic climbs of Iseran, Télégraphe and Galibier. The half day including Alpe d’Huez was ideally timed on day 4. Having the wonderful Lacets du Montvernier as part of the challenge route motivated many to do this route on the final day. Its relatively lower height gain (compared to other challenge routes) meant it was a great way to finish. – D. Rowley, July 2024.
Interested? Have a look at the tour webpage here and let us know. We can pencil in your name while you check out flight prices (or try to persuade others to join you!).
Cycling holidays for groups
If you and a group of mates have been mulling over whether or not to organise a group tour this year, then you’re in the right place! At this time of year, we typically don’t have many tours left with a greater number of spaces available for group bookings, and this year it’s these trips:
Cycling in Slovenia and climbing Monte Zoncolan
An absolutely spectacular tour! The mountainous region where Slovenia, Austria, and Italy meet is a delight for cyclists. Check out this superb itinerary with two to three routes to choose from each day and let us know if you and possibly a group of friends might be interested in joining us. We have availability on our tour running from
14 – 21 June.
Superb riding. What a lovely country. Slovenia was quiet (little car traffic) – excellent climbs and amazing descents … Marmot have pitched their holidays perfectly, offering dedicated support but not trying to nanny, allowing me to enjoy my holiday just as I like it. – S. Luther, July 2023.
Exploring the best of the Dolomites on a 4-day cycling mini-break
Did you see the last issue of Cyclist magazine in which their Big Ride feature focussed on the Passo di Giau? Well, you’ll be able to tick off this Giro classic yourself on our Dolomites mini-break – another short tour if you’re time-limited. Experience the beautiful Sellaronda circuit, some hidden gems picked out by us, Giro classics, and the magnificent cycling on offer around the highest mountain in the Dolomites, the Marmolada.
We’ve got spaces available on our tour running
4 – 9 September.
Cycling in the Picos of Northern Spain
If you’re interested in a late summer/early autumn holiday, how about our stunning Picos and Angliru flexible pace tour, with availability from
28 September – 5 October.
You’ll be spoilt for choice on this trip! The routes are varied, there are multiple optional Vuelta classics on offer – Lagos de Covadonga, Gamoniteiro, and the brutal Angliru, to name a few – and the landscape is sensational. Take a look at the trip webpage and let us know if you’re keen.
I’ve been on a few now and this was one of my faves – but they all are! I expected to do the challenge routes but opted for the shorter routes, long lunches, coffee breaks, and a more relaxing holiday and it was great. Routes were also fantastic – mainly off the beaten track, good surfaces, good climbs, and incredible views – T. Read, May 2024.
Do you often ride in a group or are you new to group riding? Either way, you might want to check out our blog penned by Marmot guide Tom Mutton: How to Ride Safely in a Group. It’s got some great tips, especially if this is something you feel less confident about. It’s also helpful to know in advance of your group cycling holiday – if you’ve made the excellent decision to book one with us!
