• Organiser of the Haute Route, the toughest and highest cyclosportive in the world, is pleased to announce today an exceptional course for the 2nd edition taking place from the 19th to 25th August 2012, covering 780 km and 21,000 meters of ascent and featuring seven world-famous cities and mountain resorts: Geneva, Megève, Courchevel, Alpe d'Huez, Risoul, Auron and Nice.

• 19 mythical Alpine cols will challenge cyclists over the 7 timed stages, including Madeleine, Glandon, Izoard, Cime de la Bonette and the famous climb to Alpe d'Huez for an epic individual time trial. The Haute Route will continue to highlight the cols and ascents that have created the legend of cycling.

• Registration is now open on the official website (http://www.hauteroute.org). The organisers have limited the number of paid entries to only 500 participants, in order to preserve the exclusive and intimate nature of the event, and ensure an outstanding quality of services is available to all the riders. The individual entry fee is €1200 with a special offer available to teams, the 9th entry for each 8 paid registrations is free of charge.

The 2012 event will build on the huge success of the inaugural edition of the Haute Route, which was held in August this year. 97% of the 300 cyclists from 27 different countries that took part in the race confirmed that it was a superb adventure and 41% believed it to be one of the top three experiences, if not the best experience of their lives. Organiser OC ThirdPole has announced that the start and finish of the 2nd edition remain unchanged starting from the Jardin Anglais in Geneva on Sunday, 19th August and finishing on the famous Promenade des Anglais in Nice, France on Saturday 25th August.

The Haute Route concept will be the same, with the most challenging and mythical Alpine cols pushing the riders to their limits. Next August 500 cyclists will cross the Alps from the Lake Geneva to the Mediterranean, in seven timed stages, each featuring some of the most legendary cols in the world. However, the course for the 2nd edition will evolve with three new host venues in the line-up and 11 new climbs. Rémi Duchemin, CEO of OC ThirdPole, commented: "We wanted a redesigned course in order to renew the interest of the riders, but also to integrate new world-famous icons of cycling such as Courchevel and Alpe d'Huez where we will stay two days. The Alps are full of spectacular scenery and legendary mountain cols, and France is known around the world as a cycling paradise. To restrict the Haute Route to the same course each year would be a mistake."

The course of the 2012 Haute Route has evolved from the solid basis of the first edition and includes different formats (classic stages, marathon stages, time trial) with a daily average of 110km and two to three climbs. Jean-Francois Alcan, Race Director, said: "In order that the riders continue to improve during the week, the two least demanding stages are planned at the beginning and the time trial remains in place on the fourth day. The other stages will be longer and involve more challenging ascents, forcing riders to stay focused until the last day."

This course is outstanding for amateur cyclists: 780km (a slight increase from the first edition of 730km), 19 mythical Alpine cols, 21,000 meters of ascent and five summit finishes. However, the Haute Route is not targeted at professional or elite riders - it is, in fact, the opposite: _"All riders are amateurs and even if the race leaders perform similar times to the professionals, do not forget that for 13% of participants in 2011 the Haute Route was their first cycling event and that 50% had only been participating in cyclosportives for less than five years,"_ said Benjamin Chandelier, the new Event Director.

Below is a summary of the seven stages of the Haute Route 2012:
• Stage 1: Sunday 19th August: Geneva - Megève (120km, 2700m+)
• Stage 2: Monday 20th August: Megève - Courchevel (105km, 2700 m+)
• Stage 3: Tuesday 21st August: Courchevel - Alpe d'Huez (136km, 4700 m+)
• Stage 4: Wednesday 22nd August: Alpe d'Huez Time Trial (14km, 1000 m+)
• Stage 5: Thursday 23rd August: Alpe d'Huez - Risoul (136km, 3700 m+)
• Stage 6: Friday 24th August: Risoul - Auron (98km, 3200 m+)
• Stage 7: Saturday 25th August: Auron - Nice (171km, 2900 m+)

This amazing course is based, once again, on the international reputation and the excellent travel connections of Geneva and Nice, as well as the continued support of Megève and Auron that will host the Haute Route for the second consecutive year.  Three new prestigious mountain resorts, each with a strong cycling heritage, will offer riders a well deserved rest: Courchevel with an arrival at 1850m and a start from the foot of the Olympic ski jump, Alpe d'Huez that will be climbed twice (by Villard Reculas during the third stage and for a time trial from Bourg d'Oisans the next day), and Risoul whose affinity with cycling is well established. Rémi Duchemin said: "All the host venues featured in the Haute Route 2012 have a special history with cycling, they regularly host the major professional cycling races or organise beautiful one-day cyclosportives throughout the summer months. I am delighted that hundreds of participants from five different continents will discover or rediscover all these legendary cycling kingdoms." For more information, click HERE.

The world-famous Alpine Cols remain at the heart of the Haute Route that features the Colombiere, the Madeleine, the Glandon, the Izoard and the Cime de la Bonnette. OC ThirdPole wanted to increase the number of summit finishes (Courchevel, Alpe d'Huez twice, Risoul and Auron) and highlight some less famous cols that are well worth a visit, such as the Col de Romme on the first day, the Col de Sarenne on the fifth day and the Col de la Couillole in the last stage. "There are so many wonderful cycling possibilities in the French Alps and I am proud of this course, as 60% of the climbs did not feature in the 2011 program. This illustrates the extraordinary potential of these mountain roads," said Jean-Francois Alcan.

OC ThirdPole have ranked all 19 cols and ascents of the Haute Route in three separate categories, depending on their length and degree of difficulty. The 2012 course includes eight climbs defined as 1st Class (the longest and most difficult), six categorized as 2nd Class, and five as 3rd Class. For more information, click HERE.

The announcement of the course of the 2012 Haute Route is also an opportunity for the organiser to confirm some changes that will occur following feedback received from the first edition. The main change concerns the simplification of the sporting categories, with the Duo category being removed, and the Team category being open from three riders. "There will be an individual ranking (Solo) and a team ranking (Team), and each participant will be part of both,” clarified Benjamin Chandelier. “Each team will be of three to nine riders and we will provide a free entry (excluding accommodation) to the 9th registered rider of a team based on 8 pre-paid registrations. Competitors who do not want to create their own team, or have not found a team to join before the start of the event, will be grouped by us to create a team with no obligation to participate as an active member in that group if they do not wish to." For more information, click HERE.

Registration is open from 13:30 CET (GMT+1) today on the official website of the Haute Route (http://www.hauteroute.org). The entry fee for the 2012 Haute Route is €1200 (excluding optional accommodation) and includes many quality services (Haute Route cycling kit, official travel bag with wheels, transport of luggage and bike covers to Nice, mechanical assistance, live tracking during the seven days, hot meals and massages at the finish, etc). 2011 participants had the opportunity to register for the 2nd edition in advance and 97 have already been allocated race numbers.

Discover HERE all the services included in the entry fee.

For more information:
• Official website: www.hauteroute.org
• Twitter (# hauteroute): twitter.com / haute_route
• Facebook: facebook.com / CyclingHauteRoute