Le Pilgrimage Gravel 2026: Sharing the Journey
Photo: Yorit Kluitman
RIDE REPORT - 6–11 September 2026
Le Pilgrimage is a journey through the mountains, shaped by the trails, the food and the people you meet along the way. It is about taking time to stop, sharing a table, noticing where you are and letting the experience unfold at its own pace. This fourth edition once again showed how much of the journey happens in the moments between the climbs.
For the fourth time, about fifty pilgrims gathered in Puy-Saint-Vincent from around ten different countries to share some of the best trails, food and company the Écrins area has to offer. Le Pilgrimage sold out within 24 hours, but what makes the event stand out is the contrast between demanding days in the mountains and the comfort of Hotel Saint Roch, where everyone returns to the same table at the end of the day.
Le Pilgrimage is deliberately not a race. There is no ranking, no timing and no prize for being first. It is not about speed, watts, calories or shaving minutes off the day. The focus is on the experience itself: the places you stop, the people you meet, the food you share and the time you spend in the landscape.
The event kicks off with a communal dinner where all pilgrims gather at long tables, sitting next to total strangers, chatting mostly about their set-up, previous rides or what they expect. Over the next four days, the route repeatedly creates reasons to stop and spend time together. Sometimes that means sitting down for fondue at a checkpoint, sometimes following a paper map to a hidden cabin, stopping at a bakery or simply returning to the same table at basecamp at the end of the day.
Les Pilgrims:
Pavel Berezyuk, Job Bokmans, Ward Boogert, Bruce Burkhalter, Rene Buitenhek, Marie-Louise Calame (DNF), Coen Coffeng (DNF), Ralph Cullen (DNS), Lucie Denis (DNF), Steffen Dirkwinkel, Matthieu Distaso (DNF), Juliet Elliott, Jeroen Engels, Rombout Frieling, Björn Fries, Ronald Geleynse, Jasper Gils, Nick Goebel, Rob Grift, Justin Hawkins, Nicolas Hoffschir, Sergey Ignatov, Sam Klontz, Martijn Korpershoek, Izabela Kulas (DNS), Anna Lindell, Federico Martini, Andrew McCarthy, Rianda Molenaar, Norbert Münch, Thomas Paganon (DNF), Giulia Polita, Tony Reed, Tom Rijnders, Richard Schouten, Allan Shaw (DNS), Pavel Suslin, Heike Sturm, Hubert van Dam (DNF), Wouter van Beek, Bram van der Geest, Larendo van Gennip, Rudi van Houts, Martijn van Strien (DNF), Jasper Van Zanten, Germ Van Vliet, Rob uit de Bosch.
Stage 1: Starting close to home
Photo: Cyril Chermin
Day one is all about getting to know the area and each other, so route designer and founder Simon Rosmolen keeps the route quite close to basecamp, following the Durance Valley, taking on the Réotier climb and finishing with the Pousterle climb, which is practically the backyard of the hotel.
After just 38 kilometres, the riders reach the first checkpoint where, besides their first stamp, they also find a long lunch table in the middle of an alpine meadow with cheese fondue, white wine, and local cheeses and sausages. Riders are invited to relax, sit down, enjoy the food and amazing views instead of just rushing on. The checkpoints are designed to slow riders down.
There is even a bonus challenge in the shape of a printed map that takes riders further up to an isolated cabin where patron Saint Roch has left a message and some more local delicacies for them. That night, the volume at the dinner table is already notably higher than on the first night.
Stage 2: Back to Fort Janus
Photo: Yorit Kluitman
After a hearty breakfast buffet, the riders line up on the local ski slope with another highlight in their sights: Fort Janus. This defensive structure from the last century is now just a crumbling ruin with breathtaking 360º views of the surrounding valleys in both France and Italy. Along the way, they first tackle another climb above Saint-Martin-de-Queyrières before descending towards Briançon and our favourite bakery, where riders happily stop to sample the croissants, pains aux raisins and baguettes. Most fill up their bags or jerseys for the long climb ahead to the fort.
Most riders need at least 1.5 hours to reach the summit, where the organisers await them with crêpes with Nutella, local génépi and a well-deserved second stamp. And, not to forget, time to simply stand still and take in the almost absurd view across the French-Italian borderlands from 2,500 metres.
Stage 3A: INTO PIEMONTE
Photo: Gijs Ferkranus
After two glorious sunny days, the queen stage starts with an overcast sky and the promise of rain. Besides the weather, the route also looks more challenging as the organisers try to build up during the event. This also means the riders have to find and book their own accommodation and dinner as the route dives into the Piemonte area.
To get there, they have to ascend the Col de Bousson, an ancient smugglers' route with the border at the summit. Most riders climb in pouring rain and are happy to find lighter skies on the Italian side of the border when they descend into a valley where time seems to have stood still.
Photo: Yorit Kluitman
Most riders opt to enjoy lunch in the rifugio before they hit the ski town of Sestrière and climb further up to the infamous Strada dell'Assietta. This high alpine military road is now home to adventurers in all shapes and sizes. Tremendous views open up high above the valleys, and this year the riders only ride about 15 kilometres of this gravel road before enjoying one of the best descents of the journey, flowing through the woods for many kilometres down to Bardonecchia.
There, the call of pizza is answered by almost all riders but one. Tom Rijnders chooses to bivvy out on the climb towards the Colle del Sommeiller, a climb that somehow manages to scare and inspire at the same time.
Stage 3B: The highest point of the journey
Photo: Yorit Kluitman
The final chapter of the journey is a rightful crescendo to remember. The dead-end gravel climb up to nearly 3,000 metres passes wild pastures and steep rock faces, along a trail that gets rougher and rougher the closer you get to the summit. It might not be particularly steep, but climbing for 24 kilometres is never easy, especially when the temperature at the top is a meagre four degrees Celsius.
Almost all riders make it to the small shelter at the top, where Saint Roch, or San Rocco on this side of the border, has left a final message and some food for the riders, asking them to reflect on their ride and share what they will remember from these four days of riding in the Alps.
Photo: Yorit Kluitman
What remains is a long descent back down the Sommeiller towards Rifugio Scarfiotti. There, on a plateau partway down the mountain, the third and final stamp is waiting, together with a traditional Italian buffet prepared by Daisy, the rifugista, and her welcoming team at the refuge. The meal proves to be a welcome refuel, because the ride back to basecamp turns out to be tougher than it looked on paper.
The distance itself is manageable, but the weather has other plans. A local hailstorm with thunder and lightning circles around Briançon and follows some of the riders almost all the way back up to Puy-Saint-Vincent.
The final arrivals
By the end of the day, most pilgrims are already back at basecamp. But some of the most memorable scenes come just before dinner, when the final two riders appear at the hotel. All the pilgrims who had already finished are waiting to welcome Anne and Bruce home. The biggest applause of the week is reserved for those arriving last, in recognition of their effort and for completing their own pilgrimage.
And perhaps those last riders have, in some ways, experienced the route most fully. They have spent the longest time outside, the longest time on the trail, and maybe the longest time simply being present in the journey.
With everyone safely back at basecamp, the pilgrims gather for one final dinner. Later that night, in the bar of Hotel Saint Roch, none of the riders feels much urge to head to bed early. New friendships are celebrated, stories shared, and Instagram handles and phone numbers exchanged.
Within just four days, fifty strangers have shared an experience that will stay with them. Not just the routes and places along the way, but also the conversations, helping each other and sharing this journey.
FIVE YEARS OF LE PILGRIMAGE
Next year, Le Pilgrimage turns five. Alongside a new basecamp edition, there will also be a new multi-day bikepacking edition. The format will be different, but the ingredients will remain the same: a shared dinner before departure, one long multi-day route with checkpoints designed to slow riders down, and one big final dinner where everyone comes back together to share the stories of the road.
Le Pilgrimage Gravel is organised by Anne Pekelharing, Simon Rosmolen, Cyril Chermin and Nils van der Heide.
Merci to everyone who was part of the quatrième edition of Le Pilgrimage. And a big thank you to those who helped make it possible: our partners Hotel Saint Roch, Opinel and Massacan, and our media team, Gijs Ferkranus, Thomas Silva and Yorit Kluitman.
Le Pilgrimage 2027
A new chapter is coming. Le Pilgrimage Bikepacking will be revealed at the end of October, with the first edition taking place at the end of August 2027. A new multi-day journey built around the same ingredients: shared food, long-distance riding, checkpoints designed to slow you down, and one big table at the end.
The fifth edition of Le Pilgrimage Gravel will also return in 2027.
Sign up for the newsletter below to receive the Bikepacking launch, 2027 dates and registration information for both events.
