L’Ardéchoise

L’Ardéchoise is a mass-participation cyclosportive and cycling festival in the mountains of the Ardèche, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of south-eastern France, with its base in Saint-Félicien. The official website gives the 2027 edition as Wednesday 9 to Saturday 12 June 2027, and, going by the 2026 pattern, the main one-day cyclosportive routes should fall on the Saturday, 12 June 2027 (the 2027 programme is not yet published). Rather than a single course, it offers dozens of routes ridden over one to four days, from short youth circuits to formulas of up to four days. The organisers call it the first gathering of cyclo riders in Europe on mountain roads, with about 13,800 riders a year on average over the past 20 years (13,137 in 2026), and say it has run since 1990.

Routes and distances

The 2027 route list has not been published yet, so the figures below are those of the 2026 edition, whose Saturday programme offered six cyclosportive and six cyclotouriste options.

The Ardéchoise cyclosportive covers 230 km with 4,585 m of climbing over 10 ascents, through the Cévennes foothills and over the Col de la Barricaude, which the organisers rank among the most enchanting cols of the Massif Central.

The AVM covers 285 km with 5,750 m of climbing over 15 ascents, the longest single-day route in the 2026 programme. The Sucs covers 241 km with 4,660 m and 15 ascents.

The Volcanique covers 186 km with 3,495 m and 10 ascents, including Mont Gerbier-de-Jonc, where the Loire rises. The Boutières covers 134 km with 2,470 m and 6 ascents through the upper Eyrieux valley.

The Monts d’Ardèche, new in 2026, covers 167 km with 3,140 m and 6 ascents. It leaves Saint-Félicien for the Col du Buisson, then runs through Lamastre, Le Cheylard, Dornas, Saint-Martial, Saint-Agrève and Lalouvesc, before returning to Saint-Félicien.

Cyclotouriste versions of several of these courses, plus a shorter 85 km Doux route, run on the same Saturday, and the 2026 listing also includes Ardèche Verte routes of 66 to 130 km. Multi-day formats of two, three and four days link the same loops into longer tours.

The headline Ardéchoise cyclosportive is a serious day, with the work accumulated over ten ascents rather than concentrated in one monster pass. The official page does not list the ten climbs or their order, nor gradients, so plan your pacing from the roadbook. The Boutières loop is the most popular Saturday choice according to the organisers: about 95% of its roads are reserved for the event, and it hosted the European mediofondo championships in 2024 and 2025.

Practical notes: the official pages consulted do not state start times, time limits or feed-station locations; these are in the programme, roadbook and regulation documents on the official site. The organisers publish a roadbook for each route and a map of Saturday’s closed roads. Official GPX files could not be confirmed: routes link to downloadable files on Google Drive, and the Monts d’Ardèche page also links an OpenRunner route. Check the regulations for the rules that apply to the Ardèche Verte routes.

Registration

The 2027 registration has not been opened on the pages we could read. For 2026, entry was online through the organiser’s registration platform, with 1, 2, 3 or 4-day formulas and a youth formula; online sign-up closed on Sunday 7 June 2026 and on-site registration opened on the Tuesday before the event at the gymnasium in Saint-Félicien.

Riders must supply a medical certificate or licence copy, and the organisers send accreditation letters from mid-April. Prices were not published on the pages we read.

Full details are on the official website.

Why ride it

L’Ardéchoise is as much a festival as a race: riders choose how many days to ride, from one to four, and link different routes across several days if they wish. The routes cross the Ardèche ridges, the Cévennes and the volcanic landscape of the Mont Gerbier-de-Jonc area, according to the organisers. Its scale is unusual, with 54 listed routes on the 2026 site and a long record of mass participation. The base in Saint-Félicien keeps everything in one village.

Where to stay

We do not yet have a certified cycling-friendly hotel near Saint-Félicien. The organisers publish an accommodation page on their official website, which is the best starting point; book early, as the event fills the area for several days. You can also browse more cycling-friendly accommodation.