If you’ve been searching for an excuse to ride yourself into a deep, existential hole while crossing international borders, we have some excellent news. The Randonnée du Mont Blanc is returning for its second edition on July 25, 2026.
Organized by Epicdays.cc, the event challenges riders to circumnavigate the highest peak in Western Europe. The organizers are heavily leaning into the romance of the experience, billing it as a “continuous voyage of discovery” complete with silent descents and crisp early morning air. But once you strip away the romance, you’re looking at a 330-kilometer death march packing 9,000 meters of elevation gain across Italy, Switzerland, and France.
Choose Your Flavor of Suffering
The Randonnée is offering two distinct distances, and importantly, both are available in road or off-road variants so the gravel and mountain bike crowds can get in on the punishment.
The main 330-kilometer route is a relentless highlight reel of legendary Alpine topography. You’ll be dragging yourself up the Little St Bernard Pass, the Col du Roselend, the Col de la Forclaz, and the massive Great St Bernard Pass before finally looping back into Courmayeur.
If 9,000 meters of climbing sounds like a bit much for a single weekend, there is a 100-kilometer “Express” route. Just be warned: with 3,000 meters of vertical gain packed into that shorter distance, the Express option is still going to kick your teeth in so hard that your saddle will have bite marks.
No Clocks, Just Vibes and Ditch Naps
True to the current ultra-endurance zeitgeist, this is a strictly unsupported affair. There are no timing chips, no leaderboards, and zero feed stations. You are entirely responsible for your own logistics, which means carrying your own layers and figuring out how to scavenge a stale baguette from a French petrol station at three in the morning.
Because there are no rankings, your only physical reward is a diploma handed to you at the finish line by the organizer, Andy Serighelli. Last year, the front of the pack absolutely blitzed the course in under 24 hours, while the lanterne rouge rolled in five days later. Ride whatever pace keeps you from hallucinating on a descent.
The organizers are throwing in a dedicated photography team on the mountain, and they have integrated Komoot live-tracking so your loved ones can watch exactly which Alpine ditch you have chosen for a quick nap.
Everything kicks off with a welcome party in Courmayeur on July 24. Registration is currently open at €98, which is honestly a bargain for this volume of premium, high-altitude suffering, but that price is set to increase in a few days.
