Our Story
We started on two skis
Now we’re bringing the same approach to two wheels
Where it began
In 1998, we set out to make ski instruction more personalised and less intimidating. We were fed up with ski schools acting as if guests should be grateful for the time to teach them. Instructors had no patience and just one way to coach. If it didn’t work for you, that was your fault, not the instructor’s, who had grown up skiing and couldn’t understand why anyone would feel it was any different to walking.
Our team loved skiing, but many of them hadn’t grown up in the mountains. Getting qualified to teach in France took real effort. As we worked to get qualified, we learned so much about coaching and development. We discovered that, to help people get better, you couldn’t just shout a set of instructions at them. You needed to understand different teaching methods. You had to be able to work on a psychological and emotional level. And most of all, you had to make it enjoyable and understand their goals.
Our approach worked
28 years later, we have over 12,000 reviews on Feefo alone, and have never dropped below an average rating of 4.9 out of 5 stars.
Coaching is what we do. Our aim is to help guests improve during our programmes and see them in the future on a more challenging trip where they can have a great experience and adventure, feel safe, improve again and leave better than when they arrived.
From the snow to the road
When the snow melts, our Alpine playgrounds become a cyclist’s dream. Big climbs, epic views and flowing descents. What started as a great way to keep fit in the summer turned into a passion, then for some, a profession. The first snowfall in the Alps is now a bittersweet moment. It means winter is nearly back, but it also means we’re probably going to be stuck on Zwift for the next few months.
As we honed our skills, the team made mistakes. Bonking on big climbs. Getting a little overexcited on descents. Going too hard, too early. And of course, leaving the house with no way to repair a puncture.
We searched for ways to improve. Coaches offered detailed written training plans, and bike fitters optimised our position in a lab environment. We booked cycling camps. Most were led by hyper-talented riders whose idea of coaching was to set a challenging pace for others to maintain. We rode some great routes on these trips. But always left a little confused. The guides weren’t taking the opportunity to fix even basic technique or bike fit issues that would have made an instant improvement to the participants’ efficiency.
Or you could book guided routes, where the only real difference to following a route on Strava was having a van to pick you up if everything went wrong. We couldn’t find anyone who was there when you needed them. A reliable partner who could take all the theory and training and help you put it into practice. Helping you build confidence when away from your comfort zone.
We realised that our coaching approach on skis was exactly the approach many people needed to improve on a bike. In skiing, fitness and equipment alone aren’t enough. You need coaching on technique, on the mountain, in real conditions. Cycling is no different.
How we do it now
We still ride stunning routes in the world’s best cycling destinations with full vehicle support. But we do it in a way that gives you the skills to replicate it without us. We never gatekeep information or routes. We make sure you’re prepared for every day, taking you through the planning process and giving you an insight into how we make decisions and the information we use.
On the road, we look at your technical and tactical approach, making you a more capable cyclist, from quick bike fit wins to line choice and technique for descents and pacing strategies for each climb. Helping you push yourself while staying composed. Because many people learn to ride bikes as kids, they think it’s easy. But most people don’t even know how a bike travelling at speed actually turns.
We learnt the hard way. So you don’t have to.
More about us
How our coaching philosophy shapes every trip, and the people who lead them.