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Forested green slopes falling to a valley town, with grey rock peaks and snow patches behind
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Megavalanche Alpe d'Huez course map

A mass start on the Pic Blanc glacier, then 21 km of snow, rock, pasture and forest down to Allemond, about 2,600 m lower.

July 9 to 11, 2027 Alpe d'Huez, Isère, France

The Megavalanche is the mass-start downhill marathon held at Alpe d'Huez since 1995, run by UCC Sport Event. Hundreds of riders line up together on the snow at the top of Pic Blanc, 3,330 m up, and race down through rock, alpine pasture and forest to the finish at Allemond in the valley.

Before the finals come Friday's qualifying heats, which decide the group you start in. The map shows both lines as the organizer drew them for 2026; the 2027 rules will say if anything changes.

Download the map before race week. GPS puts you on it without a signal, so you can check the line during practice, or find your way to Fontaine de Poutran to watch.

This is an unofficial guide: Goat Maps isn't affiliated with Megavalanche Alpe d'Huez. Check the official site before you enter or race.

Megavalanche course map

Every course on the Goat Maps topo map, from start to finish. Each course has a map of its own further down.

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Megavalanche courses

CourseDistanceClimbingStartTime limit
Megavalanche21.1 km (13.1 mi)
Qualifying heat9.1 km (5.7 mi)

Megavalanche Megavalanche

From the snow at the top of Pic Blanc down to the finish in Allemond.

Distance
21.1 km (13.1 mi)

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The organizer's 2026 map has one race line for Saturday and Sunday, and every final rides it. By the provisional 2027 program, the E-Bike, Ladies, Challengers and Affinity finals go on Saturday, and the Megavalanche and Amateurs on Sunday.

You start in lines of 20 to 30 riders, in the order of the letter you won in qualifying, beside the top of the Pic Blanc 3 lift. It starts on snow, then rock, pasture and forest take you down to Allemond. The 2026 map measures 21.1 km with 2,642 m of descent and only 96 m of climbing. The Fontaine de Poutran fan zone comes at about km 11.

Snow-covered peaks seen from high up at Alpe d'Huez
Tommy Cornilleau / Unsplash

Megavalanche Qualifying heat

Friday's 9.1 km seeding run, from the Alpette-Rousses gondola down to Alpe d'Huez.

Distance
9.1 km (5.7 mi)

Take this course offline

Download its map in Goat Maps and you can find your way without a signal.

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Everyone races from the glacier. The Friday heats only sort you into a start group. The 2026 rules planned 10 heats, ideally of no more than 150 men each, and sent the top 24 of each heat to the Megavalanche, 25th to 58th to the Challengers, 59th to 92nd to the Amateurs, and the rest to Affinity, which is timed one rider at a time. The winner of each men's heat on a bike without a motor earned a place on the Golden Line, in front of Sunday's first start line. Ladies race the Megavalanche in their own group. The 2027 rules will set that year's split.

The 2026 heat ran 9.1 km from 2,786 m down to the Village Expo at 1,858 m, past Fontaine de Poutran at about km 7. If you don't finish your heat, you start in Affinity.

A rocky trail through summer grass and shrubs above a green valley, with snowy peaks beyond
Richard de Ruijter / Unsplash

Entry

Entry is online, and the organizer's page says 2027 registration opens soon. In 2026 it cost from €105 plus a compulsory lift pass, with 2,200 places: 2,000 for mountain bikes and 200 for e-bikes. Entry closed when the race filled or seven full days before qualifying. After that, late entries cost more and depended on places left.

You need a licence from a UCI-affiliated federation, or a medical certificate for competition less than 12 months old, and you must be 15 or older. Entries can't be transferred. If you didn't take the cancellation insurance when you registered, there's no refund.

Getting to Alpe d'Huez

A green meadow and a house below steep wooded mountains at Allemond
yelr / Unsplash

Alpe d'Huez is 59 km from Grenoble. The last part is the D211 from Le Bourg-d'Oisans, 13.8 km with 21 hairpins. The race office, where you collect your number and lift pass, is at the Village Expo in the resort.

The finish is at Allemond, down in the valley. On the organizer's map, the Eau d'Olle Express lift runs from Allemond up to Oz-en-Oisans, and the Alpette and Poutran gondolas carry on up from there. For a bed, the organizer suggests Alpe d'Huez to be close to the Village Expo, Allemond to be near the finish and the Eau d'Olle Express, or Oz-en-Oisans in between.

Protection, bikes and weather

Snow-covered peaks seen from high up at Alpe d'Huez
Tommy Cornilleau / Unsplash

A full-face helmet, knee pads, long gloves and back protection (a rucksack with built-in protection counts) are compulsory, and you wear them for the whole run. Elbow pads are strongly recommended. It has to be a mountain bike, studded tyres are banned, and you can't change bikes during the race. Riders who qualify for the A line also carry a GPS beacon and an on-board camera.

July in Alpe d'Huez averages highs of 17.7°C and lows of 8.7°C (1991 to 2020 normals), but that's the resort: the start is far higher, on snow. The rules recommend carrying a phone. The emergency numbers are on your frame plate, or call 112 or 15.

Megavalanche GPS coordinates

Each place on the map is here in decimal degrees, latitude first. Paste them into any map app or add them as waypoints in Goat Maps.

  • Pic Blanc glacier (start)

    3,330 m (10,925 ft)

    45.12556, 6.12849

  • Allemond (finish)

    730 m (2,395 ft)

    45.12626, 6.03754

  • Top of the Alpette-Rousses gondola (qualifying start)

    2,786 m (9,140 ft)

    45.12848, 6.10689

  • Village Expo, Alpe d'Huez (qualifying finish)

    1,858 m (6,096 ft)

    45.09581, 6.06998

  • Fontaine de Poutran fan zone

    45.10884, 6.06944

Megavalanche FAQ

When is the Megavalanche 2027?

July 9 to 11, 2027, by the organizer's page. The program is provisional: qualifying heats and kids' races on Friday, the E-Bike, Ladies, Challengers and Affinity finals on Saturday, and the Megavalanche and Amateurs on Sunday. Exact times come later.

How long is the Megavalanche?

About 21 km, from the start at 3,330 m on Pic Blanc to Allemond, roughly 2,600 m lower. The organizer's 2026 map measures 21.1 km and 2,642 m of descent.

Do you have to qualify for the Megavalanche?

No: everyone races from the glacier. The Friday heats decide whether you start in the Megavalanche, Challengers, Amateurs or Affinity group. Under the 2026 rules, the top 24 of each heat made the Megavalanche group.

Can you race the Megavalanche on an e-bike?

Yes. In 2026 there were 200 e-bike places, and every e-bike rode the same race with two classifications: UCI E-Bike for UCI-approved motors up to 750 W peak, and E-Bike Open for other motors or anything over 750 W.

Where can you watch the Megavalanche?

The organizer lists Pic Blanc, the mid-station, Fontaine de Poutran and the finish at Allemond as the usual spots. Its 2026 map marked a fan zone at Fontaine de Poutran, with a 1.5 km access route for spectators from the resort. Access for 2027 will be in the official program.

How old do you have to be to ride the Megavalanche?

15 or older: in 2026 that meant born in 2011 or before. Younger riders have the Mega Kid, which runs on its own course on Friday.

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Updated . An unofficial guide, from the organizer's published information. Coordinates from the organizer's course and OpenStreetMap contributors. Photos from Unsplash. Organize a race? We help with course files.