The Verticals - five ascents, one community.

Around Lake Annecy, a series of events brought together cyclists this summer who came to share much more than just an effort.

Some landscapes call for climbing. Around Lake Annecy, roads naturally rise towards ridges, passes, and viewpoints where one's breath is suspended. It is in this terrain that Les Verticales was born — five ascents, five weeks, a simple idea: climb together.

The event, jointly organized by Mercier and Onze42, did not aim to reinvent hill climb racing. Instead, it sought to rediscover something older: the raw pleasure of the climb, the intensity of a shared effort, the camaraderie of a finish line where people lingered.

Five Ascents, Five Meet-ups

The program was built around climbs well-known to local cyclists: the Col de Leschaux via Saint-Eustache, the Forclaz via Talloires, Entrevernes, Leschaux via Sévrier, and finally the Semnoz via Annecy — seventeen kilometers at an average of 7.2%, the highlight of this first edition.

Each stage offered three rankings — Men, Women, Mixed Duo — but the stopwatch was merely a pretext. What unfolded on these roads was more about gathering than competition.

A Fan Zone on the Mountainside

From the second stage, at the Col de la Forclaz, it became clear: every participant needed to feel the intensity of major races. In the final few hundred meters of the climb, a fan zone took shape — smoke bombs, megaphones, wild volunteers, encouragement shouted with each passing cyclist.

The idea caught on. Over the weeks, participants took over: homemade signs, costumes, roads marked with chalk, improvised fireworks. At times, the atmosphere evoked a mountain stage of the Tour de France — less crowd, more authenticity.

From First Pass to Elite Rider

Over a hundred participants took part. Among them were profiles that seemed to have nothing in common: the cyclist discovering their first mountain pass, the experienced climber testing their form, the duo who came to share the effort. Everyone found their place, everyone found their challenge, and everyone left with something more than just a time on the clock: the feeling of having participated in something that resonated with them.

Le Semnoz, Altitude Epilogue

The last stage will undoubtedly be the most memorable. Le Semnoz via Annecy: a demanding climb, a final turn with a view of the lake, a fan zone set up where the gaze carries far.

Forty-five minutes for the fastest. Nearly two hours for others. Then a long descent, the cold on their shoulders, and a reunion by the water — barbecues, cold beers, conversations that stretched on.

What Remains

Ultimately, this first edition confirmed an intuition. The most beautiful cycling events are not measured solely in watts or seconds gained. They are measured by encounters, smiles, shouts of encouragement on the climb, and memories shared long after leaving the road.

Les Verticales was not a race. It was a gathering. And like all true gatherings, we are already hoping for the next one.