Annecy-Le Grand-Bornand

A lap of Annecy-Le Grand-Bornand

1. Climb onto the village terrace

Leave the stadium heading west along the valley floor, then swing north onto the slightly higher village terrace. This opening rise is only the first effort of the lap. Settle into the bends without spending all your sprint before the course turns back east.

2. Pass the chalets and church

Follow the terrace east past the village buildings and crowds. The church tower helps you recognise this stretch before the course drops across the valley floor beyond the stadium’s eastern end. Carry momentum out of the village: the next section leads into the main climb.

3. Take on the pasture slope

The long climb turns south and works up the open hillside, with fans beside the racing ribbon. This is the lap’s hardest sustained uphill effort. Use sprint in measured bursts rather than emptying your stamina at the foot; there is still ground to cover before the forest edge.

4. Cross the upper slope and side valley

At the top, turn west along the edge of the spruce woods. A side valley cuts into the hillside, putting a dip and another rise into the traverse. Keep enough pace to climb out of that hollow before committing to the longer descent through the western pastures.

5. Sweep downhill and roll back in

Long bends carry you down the western slope, with another crowd section beside the descent. Look through the turns as gravity builds speed. The route then rolls east along the foot of the hillside and curls back into the stadium; on shooting laps, use the approach to ease your effort before taking the mat.

What to look out for

The village church

A bulb-shaped bell tower rises beside the terrace section. The church is also floodlit after dark, giving an evening lap a clear landmark above the valley stadium.

Chalets beside the course

The village’s ochre chalets sit along the northern terrace, clear of the racing line. This built-up stretch gives the opening part of the lap a different feel from the open climb across the valley.

Pastures below the spruce

Barns dot the meadow ground while woods occupy the higher slope. The course takes you between these settings, climbing through open pasture before tracing the forest edge.

French fans on the route

Crowds gather along the village section, the long pasture climb and the western descent. Their positions mark three different tasks: find your rhythm, sustain the uphill effort, then steer through the fast bends.

At the shooting range

The range sits on the valley floor, with light configured base wind and noticeable gust variation. The wind draws a new base strength and direction for each shooting stage, so check the flags and wind display on every visit. Recent exertion adds aiming sway; sprinting into the range can cost accuracy even after the climbing is behind you. Five targets stand 50 metres away, and every miss adds a 150-metre penalty loop beside the stadium.

Snow, weather and light

Choose thin, normal or deep snow cover, any of the six weather presets, and day or evening racing. Grand-Bornand favours thin cover when that setting is random. It exposes grass and earth away from the white groomed course; deep cover loads the roofs and trees with more snow. Evening lighting picks out the stadium and village church. These are game atmosphere settings on the same route, rather than a claim about conditions at the real venue.

Take it into your next race

• Save sprint for the long southern climb; the village terrace is an opening rise, not the main test.
• Keep momentum through the upper side-valley dip, then steer early into the western downhill bends.
• Ease your effort on the rolling return and read the range wind again before each shooting stage.

Open race setup and select Annecy-Le Grand-Bornand to try this venue in sprint or mass start.