Mercan'Tour Bonette

Mercan'Tour Bonette is a high-altitude road cycling event starting in Valberg, in the Alpes-Maritimes of southern France. It is held around mid-June in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, with routes built around the Mercantour National Park and the mountain roads leading toward the Bonette. Riders can choose between an 80 km course and a much longer 192 km option, so the day can be either a hard mountain ride or a full-distance alpine test. The shorter route also comes in a non-racing hiking format, with 2,400 metres of climbing over the Col de la Sinne and La Couillole. The event is Europe’s highest sporting hike, and the setting backs that up: high passes, forests, lakes, ponds, and long climbs through the Mercantour landscape. It draws road cyclists who want altitude, mountain scenery, and a shared day on serious Alpine terrain rather than a flat speed course.