A fleet of fifty women completed an eight-hundred-kilometre, self-supported ride through the Alps last week, timing their arrival to coincide with the Grand Du00e9part of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift in Lausanne.
The inaugural GRL PCK Rally saw participants cover the distance over seven days, tackling roughly 10,000 metres of climbing en route from Munich to the Swiss shore of Lake Geneva. Riders carried their own kit and provisions throughout, camping and navigating the route largely unsupported, in keeping with the ethos of bikepacking rather than a fully backed sportive.
Organisers designed the event specifically to funnel riders towards the start of women’s cycling’s biggest race, using the journey itself as both training ground and statement of intent. The route wove through a mix of high alpine passes and valley roads, testing endurance, navigation and self-sufficiency in equal measure before delivering the group to the Grand Du00e9part celebrations.
For readers weighing up their own adventures, the Rally is a reminder that bikepacking and elite road racing needn’t sit in separate worlds. Amateur riders increasingly use grassroots multi-day challenges like this one to mark, and physically connect with, major moments on the professional calendar – turning spectating into genuine participation. It also underlines the growing appetite among women cyclists for long-distance, self-supported riding, an area that has traditionally been male-dominated in bikepacking circles.
With the Tour de France Femmes now firmly established on the summer calendar, expect more such linked events in coming seasons, giving everyday cyclists a tangible way to engage with the sport’s showpiece races beyond simply watching from the roadside.
Sam Allcock is a digital PR entrepreneur and publisher with over two decades in SEO, content and media. He founded PR Fire, the pay-as-you-go press release distribution service, and has worked with brands including Red Bull, Nokia and Liverpool FC. He contributes to HuffPost, HubSpot and The London Economic, and owns a portfolio of news and media titles, of which On Track Magazine is one.
