CLUB WEEK DETAILS & ADMIN

***Please note that all times below are approximate.***

ARRIVAL SATURDAY
12:30 MEETING TIME for SHUTTLE from NICE CÔTE D’AZUR AIRPORT (NCE) to ARVIEUX
14:00-19:00 DRIVE from NCE AIRPORT to ARVIEUX
20:00 DINNER

SUNDAY through FRIDAY inclusive
STONE KING CLUB WEEK (SKCW) ride days (6 full days)

DEPARTURE SATURDAY
8:45-10:00 RETURN SHUTTLE to NICE AIRPORT (NCE)

Further information and instructions on travel is found in the relevant sections below and must be consulted carefully!

We provide shuttles from Nice Côte d’Azur Airport (NCE) to the start of the route on the arrival Saturday and from the end of SKCW to Nice Côte d’Azur Airport (NCE) on the departure Saturday.

If driving to SKCW, you will need to drive to Nice.

DRIVE to NICE AIRPORT

• Drive from where you’re based to NCE, arriving there by latest 11:00 on the arrival Saturday;
• Park your car at NCE (using one of the parking lots)** and join one of our transfers leaving NCE for the start of the route;
• On the departure Saturday, we shuttle you back to NCE to get your car. We can guarantee a return to NCE for 10:00.

** It is highly likely that the meeting point at NCE on your arrival Saturday will be Parking P8. Although we will not be able to confirm the meeting point for definite until shortly before your tour week, it is still worth bearing this in mind.

ACTION:

Please get in touch by latest end July 2025 with your plans to drive to SKCW.

We provide shuttles from Nice Côte d’Azur Airport (NCE) to the start of the route on the arrival Saturday and from the end of SKCW to Nice Côte d’Azur Airport (NCE) on the departure Saturday.

If flying to SKCW, we can accommodate flights:

• landing at NCE up until 11:00am on the arrival Saturday*;
• departing NCE as of noon on the departure Saturday** (i.e. drop-off at NCE as of 10:00am).

* we realise that 11:00am is very early and there may not be many flights that arrive by this cut-off time. However, it is important that the shuttles are able to depart on the long transfer from NCE as planned, so that the group is able to arrive in Arvieux by a reasonable time in the evening. Therefore, if your flight is unable to arrive at NCE by the cut-off time, you will need to book your flight to arrive the day before (and stay overnight at a hotel airport). In fact, for anyone flying, we highly encourage you to arrive at least a day before (please see note below on delayed luggage).

** we can return you to NCE for 10:00am on the departure Saturday, so please book a departing flight that you feel comfortable with bearing this in mind. We are unable to confidently get you to the airport for any time earlier than this, as it factors in the breakfast serving time at the final hotel, the loading time of the vehicles as well as the drive time between the final hotel and NCE (including potential traffic delays). 

Please ensure that you have read the above travel guidelines carefully. Feel free to forward your proposed flight itinerary to us if you would be more comfortable having a second set of eyes look it over. If you book a flight outside of these guidelines, you will need to organise a private transfer.

ACTION :

By latest end July 2025: once your flights have been confirmed, please send us the details. This should include full details: times, origin city, airline and flight number for both your outbound and homebound flights. It is usually easiest to simply forward us your booking confirmation!

SOME CONSIDERATIONS BEFORE BOOKING YOUR FLIGHT

1. DELAYED LUGGAGE

While not mandatory, we would seriously urge participants to consider arriving in Nice a couple of days in advance of the airport transfer. While especially true for those of you who are travelling great distances (often involving flight connections and increased chances for delayed luggage / bikes), we would encourage everyone who is flying to please consider this.

Please bear in mind that there have been several instances of bikes not arriving at the airport in years past. The earlier you arrive at NCE in advance of the airport transfer, the higher the chance that a delayed bike will arrive in time for the airport transfer. Once SKCW riding begins on Sunday and we begin to move from one location to another, it becomes impossible to give delivery information to an airline in a way that they will work with as airlines operate on a single destination basis for delayed luggage. Therefore any delay in their estimated delivery date / time will likely mean a delivery to a location that we have already left and ZERO possibility of returning to this location to pick it up. Please also bear in mind that if you need to wait at NCE for delayed luggage later than our transfer can accommodate, you will need to organise your own transfer (to wherever we happen to be once your luggage arrives). Also, there are no bike rental possibilities.

2. PRACTICAL REALITIES OF AIRPORT TRANSFERS

Including stops, it is a minimum 5 hour road journey from leaving NCE to arriving in Arvieux. Additionally, airport transfers are not able to immediately leave the airport as of the meeting time (departure of a given transfer will depend on the arrival times  — and potential delayed arrival times — of every person in that transfer, plus bike bags need to be dropped at a local storage facility before departure and there is always potential for unexpected traffic on the road, etc).

If you are arriving at NCE some days in advance of the shuttle, or departing NCE some days following the shuttle, you may be interested in organising accommodation at Nice airport.

It is highly likely (although not definite) that the meeting point at NCE on your arrival Saturday will be Parking P8. We will only be able to confirm the exact meeting point shortly before your tour week.

Below you will find the hotels that are closest to this meeting point. Bearing in mind that there is always a small possibility that the meeting point could be moved slightly, we would recommend making your decision on accommodation preference rather than the absolute closest walking distance to P8.

• Radisson Hotel Nice Aéroport (1 minute walk);
• Holiday Inn Express Nice Grand Arenas (5 minute walk);
• Sheraton Hotel Nice airport (8 minute walk);
• Novotel Nice Arénas Aéroport (8 minute walk);
• Okko Hotels Nice Aéroport (8 minute walk);
• Ibis Budget Nice Aéroport (9 minute walk);
• Campanile Nice Aéroport (10 minute walk);
• Hotel Ibis Styles (11 minute walk)

Please note that we require all participants to come directly to the airport meeting point to meet their transfer vehicle, we are unable to meet participants at their hotels. For details on travelling between a given hotel and the shuttle meeting point, please get in touch directly with the hotel.

WHATSAPP

We will set-up a WhatsApp group as a primary means of communication throughout each day of Club Week to send relevant logistics and course-related information to participants. 

We will send a test message shortly in advance of your Club Week. Please could we ask you to:

• ensure that you have downloaded the app by latest end July 2025 (if you do not yet already use it);
• add Ash (Club Week coordinator) as a contact to your phone (+33 6 50 09 38 85).
• if you use WhatsApp with a different mobile number than the one that you have already communicated to us, please let us know!

EUROPEAN SIM CARD

We appreciate that if you’re from outside of Europe, data roaming even just for a few days can severely affect your phone bill. We would obviously urge you to look into whether your operator does a short-term deal for roaming data in Europe (Italy and France).

If you are unable to sort out a deal for data in Europe this way, Bouygues Telecom offer a pay-as-you-go SIM card.

If your phone has eSIM capabilities, you can simply purchase the card directly from the link above, download the eSIM and it will be activated upon arriving in Europe. The eSIM offer is currently 60GB for €39,90 or 30GB for €29,90.

For those of you who will require a physical SIM, you can organise to have the physical SIM delivered to your address (if ordered well enough in advance). If it is not possible for the SIM to be delivered to your country, note that you can organise to pick the SIM up at the Safebag desk of Terminal 2 at Nice Airport (opening hours 06h00 to 17h30, Monday through Sunday). The physical SIM offer is currently 30GB for €29,90.

If you will be buying a European SIM, please let us know your new mobile number for the week (it is absolutely imperative that we have the correct mobile number for you leading into the start of your Club Week).

ACTION:

Please ensure that WhatsApp is installed and Ash (Club Week coordinator) is added as a contact (+33 6 50 09 38 85) by end July 2025. 

We will be staying in carefully selected hotels in the valley stopover villages. These will provide us with comfortable rooms, secure storage for our bikes, and tasty, plentiful meals. Hotel accommodation means that you will not need to bring your own sleeping bag or pillow (e.g. we will not be sleeping in any refuges / mountain huts).

We have informed the hotels about the dietary preferences / allergies that have been communicated to us on the Club Week Application Form. If your dietary preferences / allergies have changed since this time, please ensure that you let us know now and we can see if it is possible cater to them. It will be very difficult to make last minute accommodations.

As mentioned previously, it will generally be two people to a room at the various hotels throughout the week (although this can change depending on the hotel). To help us put together a rooming plan with each hotel, please could you let us know:

If you are participating in a group:

• with whom in your group will you share a room;
• would you prefer two single beds or 1 double bed.

If you are participating solo:

• if you generally go to bed before 10:30pm or after 10:30pm;
• if you are a light sleeper or a deep sleeper;
• if you are a known snorer.

Where necessary, we will do our best to match people with similar preferences together, but there are never any guarantees. As such, as mentioned in our gear list, we highly recommend that you bring earplugs with you. Silicon wax earplugs are the absolute best!

ACTION:

Please send us an email with a reply to the rooming questions above by latest end February 2025.

In terms of packing, we allow you to travel with up to the following set of luggage items (in terms of quantity):

• 1 x bike bag (must be emptied and will be stored at NCE for the duration of the tour week);
• 1 x holdall/duffle (clothes bag, max. weight 20kg), transported by our logistics staff;
• 1 x smaller bag (spares), transported by our logistics staff;
• [1 x trail pack / hip pack, transported by you on-bike.]

BIKE CHOICE

Fundamentally you need to have a bike which inspires confidence on Alpine terrain, over the course of a 6-day journey. We recommend against using a hardtail, even a robust “hardcore” hardtail with modern geometry. Our general recommendation would be for a modern full-suspension all-mountain/enduro bike with at least 140mm front travel and at least 130mm travel rear travel. You also need to ensure that your bike is well-prepped (see tips in the relevant section further below).

E-BIKES

We fully endorse the use of e-bikes on the Stone King itinerary. The realities of our busy lives mean that many people simply don’t have the time to be in an optimum state of physical fitness and e-bikes help compensate for this, allowing more people to enjoy the full adventure. Electrical assistance really comes into its own if you will not be at your peak of fitness when the ride commences yet are keen on completing the official Stone King route in its entirety. If nothing else, a motor simply takes a bit of pressure off you, and whilst arguably they are one and the same thing, we see it as more of a time compensation tool than a fitness compensation tool.

If you plan to use an e-bike, please prepare yourself and your bike/gear accordingly. Ensure that you bring all of your periphery equipment for off-bike charging.

A FEW FURTHER NOTES ON E-BIKES:

1: Even with an e-bike there will be a small amount of hike-a-bike portage involved in the Stone King itinerary, if you want to do the full thing. But given the facts that there will be less portage than with an acoustic bike, AND that the on-bike ascents will be easier than with an acoustic bike, the Stone King itinerary is still far, far easier on an e-bike.

2: You will not be allowed to fly with an e-bike (battery), so the motorised option is obviously restricted to either (a) those driving to NCE and/or (b) those with a removable battery that have the possibility of shipping the battery ahead to France (please get in touch if this is something that you would like to consider).

BIKE PREP

It’s essential that your bike be appropriately set up for the Stone King tour and be in full working order before you arrive. Follow the link below to see our bike prep recommendations :

https://stonekingrally.org/bikeprep

GEAR

A 6-day tour like Stone King requires a carefully curated set of on-bike and off-bike gear. Follow the link below to see our comprehensive list of recommended items with which you should bring to the start :

https://stonekingrally.org/gear

NOTES:

(1) Bike Tech: our staff present on the tour will provide a basic level of technical assistance where needed and when requested. We will have a wide range of tools (work stand, typical toolbox kit, bleed kits for SRAM and Shimano brakes, and floor pump). However, we will not have a dedicated mechanic with us on the tour, and therefore maintenance and repair tasks are expected to happen “collaboratively”.

(2) Lack of Bike Shops: the route passes through very remote areas in both Italy and France. We cannot stress enough that there is zero access to shops that sell bike-related parts, and this extends to us as an operator; we do not run a mobile shop out of our tour vehicles. Therefore, please ensure that you come with everything that you think you could possibly need for your bike.

ROUTE

The route is pretty tough. The combination of big vertical (up and down) and a packed shuttle schedule means that some of the days aren’t only hard, but they’re also long, time-wise. For reference, overall stats for the 2024 Stone King race week are approximately as follows:

Distance: 280km
On-bike vertical ascent: 7000m
On-bike vertical descent: 22000m

For 2025, we are preparing an all-time classic Stone King route which will be somewhat different (it will be a combination of the 2022, 2023 & 2024 race routes) but the stats will be similar.

PHYSICAL PREPARATION

There will be certain route shortcut options available in certain places, but we believe that everyone should train with the intention of completing the full route. If you will be riding a normal (“acoustic”) bike for Stone King, you must have a reasonably high level of physical fitness. We urge you to train seriously to build both speed and stamina over the next months, not forgetting to allow yourself a good 7-10 days of tapering rest before our ride commences. We are not fitness gurus and therefore do not have a recommended fitness regime for you to follow. However, what we can suggest is that you simply get as much time as possible on your bike between now and the tour, get out on as many long weekend rides that involve full days out on the bike as possible, especially involving some hike-a-bike.

BIKE TECH SUPPORT

The staff present on the tour will provide a basic level of technical assistance where needed and when requested. We will have a fairly wide range of tools and limited range of bleed kits (for the more common brake brands… ask if unsure). However, we will not have a dedicated mechanic with us on the trip, and therefore maintenance and repair tasks are expected to happen “collaboratively”.

As mentioned above, the route passes through very remote areas in both Italy and France. There is almost zero access to shops that sell bike-related parts. Therefore, please ensure that you bring all bike-related spare parts that you think you could possibly need.

LUNCH

We provide varied and plentiful lunch buffet spreads in the middle of each day of riding. Bear in mind that the days are long, and you will therefore be on the hill for several hours before and after lunch. We provide snacks for these stretches but as peoples’ tastes vary greatly, it may be worth bringing a bunch of your own preferred energy bars or trail snacks as a supplement. Mini drinkable magnesium shots can be a saviour for those long, gruelling climbs.

SHUTTLE ORGANISATION

We will use shuttle vehicles to transport you and your bike up 2-3 different roads every day; this is what facilitates the route’s huge difference between on-bike ascent and on-bike descent.

Generally, our three shuttle vehicles will be filled on a first-come-first-served basis and travel to the same elevated point. However, given the discussion about the route, occasional shortcut variants, fitness and motor/non-motor, we very occasionally organise the shuttle vehicles according to which participants are riding which variant.

Komoot is Stone King’s official routing partner. Komoot is an awesome mobile app for route planning and navigation, geared toward recording and sharing outdoor adventures. As an SKCW participant with the Komoot app on your phone you’ll have full access to the official Stone King Collections which contain:

• • Each of the route’s “on-bike” segments (“on-bike” segments are separated by shuttles) for the 6 days,
  • Anecdotal geo-touristic info about the areas through which you’ll ride, including several specific POIs per day.

At a base level, navigation is carried out by following visual prompts (i.e. directional changes) through arrows on a map in the app, however Komoot can also be paired with your bike-mounted GPS device or your GPS watch so that you can follow prompts on the fly (and save your phone’s battery). Komoot also offers audible prompts which, whilst perhaps not suitable in every on-bike setting (e.g. riding in a group) is still a potentially helpful feature, so it’s worth packing a set of Airpods if you think you’d at least like to try out this feature. The icing on the cake is that, to coincide with Stone King 2025 Club Week, Komoot is offering each SKCW participant a voucher for Komoot Premium. Premium allows you to do a load of cool things, most notably in the case of SKCW, use the sport-specific maps, create personal Collections and download the SKCW tours to your phone and navigate them using offline maps. This is a good level of reassurance to have in some of the patchy-to-zero network areas which you’ll be riding through.

WHAT’S THE SETUP PROCEDURE?

1. 1. If you don’t already have Komoot, go to the App Store or Google Play, download the app and create an account.
   2. We will email you a personal Komoot Premium voucher code and a link to redeem the voucher in advance of your Stone King Club Week.
   3. Redeem your voucher at the link provided in the email, this will have your account automatically follow the Stone King account.
   4. Watch the pre-recorded SKR x Komoot webinar and generally familiarise yourself with Komoot. This was originally intended for race participants, but almost all of it is also relevant to navigation for the tour.

INFO STRUCTURE

In Komoot, each of Stone King’s 6 days is represented by an individual “Collection”.
Each Collection consists of one or more “Tours” which make up that Day’s itinerary.
A “Tour” is defined as an on-bike segment separated by shuttles.

MAP PACKS

For full off-line functionality, you will also need to download the appropriate Komoot mapping regions which, for the Stone King itinerary, are as follows:

• • Haute-Alpes
  • Alpes-Maritimes
  • Cuneo
  • Ligurien (Liguria)

NAVIGATION OPTIONS

Initialising navigation and visually following a route on the Komoot app is intuitive and self-explanatory.

An obvious but somewhat cumbersome option for viewing is to have your phone suitably mounted to your handlebar, with the display always on. If you don’t wish to handlebar mount your phone and/or are concerned about battery life, you can carry your phone in your pocket and can consider one or both of the following options which Komoot offers, allowing your phone to default to standby:

• • Komoot’s verbal directions;
  • Pair Komoot with your GPS-dedicated device (following a procedure such as this).

Very important: If you choose to navigate with the Komoot app, please ensure that “Auto Replan” feature is disabled (the easiest way is in-nav, click on the speaker symbol and ensure that the Auto Replan slider is to the left). Disabling Auto Replan will ensure that if you go off-course, the app will always endeavour to bring you back onto the intended itinerary rather than suggest its own way which is extremely likely to be inferior and/or physically harder!!

For more detailed info and instructions on navigating with Komoot, please visit here.

Detailed further Komoot-related instructions will be given in person on the evening before your tour commences!

ACTION:

• By end July 2025, install Komoot app, create account and redeem your Komoot Premium voucher.
• On the arrival Saturday in Arvieux:
  1. Download relevant map regions to your phone
  2. Disable the “Auto Replan” feature

Insurance cover is essential in order to participate in SKCW. The appropriate level of accident insurance:

• includes air rescue / emergency medical evacuation from the point of injury to the closest medical facility; and
• includes (or doesn’t specifically exclude) mountain biking (downhill).

Please enquire whether it is an absolute prerequisite to contact the insurance provider in advance of organising any medical evacuation in an emergency situation; this is not always practicable given the immediacy of care that can be required and the potential lack of cell reception in the remote environment through which the Stone King route passes.

Please note that it won’t be possible for us to read through the fine print of each individual’s proposed insurance coverage to ascertain whether it is fitting for our event. It remains your responsibility to ensure that the coverage is adequate. However, if you have a specific question about a proposed insurance, please feel free to get in touch and we will answer to the best of our ability. Alternatively, you can contact the insurance company to inquire directly about the specific points mentioned above.

Here are a few possibilities that appear to cover the points listed. You will need to get in touch directly to verify that the coverage is indeed sufficient for your country of residence. However, by no means do you need to purchase insurance from the suggestions below. 

NOTE: as mentioned in our terms & conditions, we have a very strict cancellation policy (see details below). We therefore urge you to consider purchasing travel insurance that will cover the refund of your fee in the event that something arises preventing you from participating in SKCW. Please therefore consider an insurance that includes trip cancellation coverage (or purchasing a separate insurance that offers this).

European residents:

Assur Sport

UK residents:

Sports Cover Direct
Dogtag UK 
Assur Sport

Canada residents:

TuGo Insurance (be sure to add Sports & Activities optional upgrade)
World Nomads

USA & Rest of World residents:

World Nomads

ACTION:

Please send us a copy of your accident / injury insurance (must show your name and date of coverage) by latest end July 2025.

STONE KING CLUB WEEK entries are:

• • non-transferable (e.g. you cannot privately sell your entry to another person); and
  • non-deferrable (e.g. you cannot defer your entry to another year).

It is understood that unforeseen circumstances may arise between the date you pay for SKCW and the date of the event itself, barring your ability to participate. In such a case, your entry fee is refundable if:

(1) we are contacted via email by latest 19 July 2025; AND
(2) we are able to fill your spot with someone from our waiting list (or, if this is not possible, someone suitable that you recommend).

Given the intense nature of this event, it is imperative that each person participating has an appropriate amount of time to train (including those on the waiting list who later accept a place). Therefore, please note that as it gets closer to the cancellation deadline, it will become increasingly difficult to find a person to fill your place. If you are in any way uncomfortable about the possibility of paying for SKCW and then later losing money through forced cancellation, we urge you to contact your travel insurer as soon as possible (certain travel insurance policies cover refund of entry fees in case of inability to participate). As a first mode of enquiry, please consider contacting your credit card company to learn their policy of trip cancellation coverage.