Team SD Worx has signed a partnership with Brides-les-Bains. The charming town in the French Alps is known for its thermal baths and is an ideal base for an altitude training session. Demi Vollering, Lotte Kopecky, Lonneke Uneken, Niamh Fisher-Black, Blanka Vas and Anna Shackley will prepare themselves here for the Giro Donne and Tour de France Femmes. The team stays here in Les 3 Vallées at an altitude of over 2000 metres.
Brides-les-Bains is located at the foot of the popular Les 3 Vallées area and is known for its thermal water, spa, health cures and healthy food. The Alpine village now also presents itself strongly as a friendly cycling destination for men and women.
Brides-les-Bains is also called the cycling basecamp in Les 3 Vallées, because many climbs start from here. Thus, you start here the climbs to Courchevel, Meribel and Val Thorens and you can climb the Col de la Loze from two sides. The foot of the Col de la Madeleine and the climb to Valmorel are also just around the corner.
The famous car-free Col de la Loze is the spearhead of the renewed cycling strategy of Brides-les-Bains. On this 2304 metres high ‘new’ col, Tadej Pogacar and Primoz Roglic fought a bitter duel in the 2020 Tour de France. And Brides-les-Bains organizes here its own cyclosportive Col de la Loze Challenge annually in July. The third edition will take place this year on July 17.
In addition to their training sessions, the riders of Team SD Worx will also visit the thermal baths of Brides-les-Bains to enjoy a relaxing massage. There will also be a tour with hydrogen e-bikes, which is part of the area’s environmentally friendly strategy. Team SD Worx has been the best team in the UCI ranking in the women’s peloton for many years.
“Ahead of the two most important tours of the year, the Giro Donne and the Tour de France Femmes, this is an important altitude training stage”, Anna van der Breggen points out. The Olympic champion and two-time world champion on the road has been Team SD Worx’s sports director since this year.
“High altitude training courses are an increasingly important part of the preparation for the big races”, Van der Breggen continues. “Thanks to Brides-les-Bains we can stay above 2000 metres in Les 3 Vallées, while from the valley you can take on several long climbs. This is ideal for us, as we are staying here for three weeks and then the variety in the training routes is welcome. With the Col de la Loze, which is specially built for cyclists and where you won’t find any car traffic, we are at the foot of an ideal col for some training. Furthermore, we can use the thermal baths in Brides-les-Bains, which provides a good moment of relaxation on rest days.”
Team Sd Worx will stay in Brides-les-Bains until 21 June.
Photos: Michel Cossin / Agence Zoom.fr