Event Previews & Reviews from Les 2 Alpes

December is when the lifts are opening and the Christmas holidays are on the horizon.

The Les Deux Alpes Défi Vertical, or Vertical Challenge is a new event this year for those who like to ski uphill.

Les Deux Alpes’ unusual trail running challenge returned for its sixth and perhaps its toughest instalment this weekend. Heavy snow, high winds and avalanche risk meant that courses had to be altered. Some competitors had a shorter run and others a longer one but all had a difficult time trying to race through deep snow.

For the past four winters, Rise Festival has brought high-altitude partying to Les Deux Alpes before Christmas. This year promises to be no exception. Only a few tickets are left for the six-day event which begins on December 15th.

So far we've seen not only some fantastic racing, stunning scenery and nail-biting sprints from the 2016 Tour de France, but we've witnessed several unusual crashes, the yellow jersey literally running up Mont Ventoux and more than one incident of an over-enthusiastic fan causing disruption.

Follow the training of our British Olympic hopefuls as they prepare for the Winter Olympics 2014 in Sochi.

A race of superlatives. The descent from 3400 meters to 900 meters is both physical and invigorating and one of the highlights of the Summer calendar.

Fête de la Musique is the celebration that takes place every summer solstice on 21st June in cities, towns and villages across France.

This year’s Mondial VTT was blessed with sunshine and clear blue skies. Once again the resort of Les Deux Alpes played host to the international mountain bike festival which had stalls from all the major brands.

Le Tour de France 2016 kicked off last Saturday with stage one and the 'Grand Depart' being hosted by the stunning island community of Le Mont Saint Michel.

As always there is a full programme of events running from the start to the end of the season. Many of these will be familiar to regular visitors, and you might even have planned your holiday around one of them.

Stage 17 of the Tour de France 2016 took the riders from Bern, the capital of Switzerland, to Finaut-Emosson on the Swiss-French border, just around the corner from Chamonix-Mont-Blanc.

As the best freeriders in the world gather in Revelstoke this weekend for the first stop on the all-new Swatch Freeride World Tour by The North Face, we were fortunate to be able to have a sit down with a free skiing legend, holder of the world record for the highest cliff jump and super nice guy - Fred Syversen.

The Mountain of Hell is back for its 20th edition, this time with a Clash of the Titans theme, on June 28th-30th 2019. The event attracts around 700 riders each year and has been hugely popular since its debut in 1999.