We recommend downloading these onto a smartphone before you set off, so that they are accessible offline, allowing you to plan your walks with complete peace of mind.
A 50-kilometre-long cycle path!
Since spring 2021, you can now cycle along the banks of the Canal de Berry, discovering landscapes that invite you to relax and get away from it all over a total distance of 50 km.
This section, linking the towns of Montluçon and Saint-Amand-Montrond via Épineuil-Le-Fleuriel and Vallon-en-Sully, also allows you to enjoy the beauty of engineering structures of unrivalled splendour.
La Vagabonde is a cycling adventure covering over 500 kilometres. Starting from Montluçon in the Allier, this route will take you to Montech in the Tarn-et-Garonne, passing through the Creuse, the Corrèze and the Lot. Set off to explore a variety of landscapes, from Lake Vassivière to the plains of the Tarn, via the Millevaches plateau, the Dordogne valley and the Causses du Quercy Regional Nature Park. Along the way, you’ll encounter a wealth of heritage sites: the Cité internationale de la Tapisserie in Aubusson, Rocamadour, Cahors, Montauban… and more. Plenty to keep you busy with cultural visits all along the route. Over a ten-stage route, marvel at these sometimes little-known landscapes that are just waiting to welcome you. With a mix of greenways and shared-use paths with little traffic, this route is aimed at experienced cyclists.
To encourage cycling in the urban area, Montluçon Communauté has recently published a map highlighting two specific aspects: – cycling within the city centre and in the surrounding towns and rural areas, to ensure a network of cycle routes and appropriate services. – a selection of routes in and around Montluçon designed to encourage people to explore the wider area, aimed at both experienced cyclists – whether local residents or tourists.
Users can therefore find:
cycle paths and cycle lanes
cycling routes across the urban area, detailing distances for each discipline: mountain biking
cycle touring
cycle routes and greenways
roads
electric bike (e-bike) hire points on the Maelis network
bike repair shops
establishments displaying the ‘Accueil vélo’ logo
major European and national cycle routes passing through the Allier department.
Take a look at the map of national cycle routes and greenways at the Montluçon junction to improve your knowledge of the network and plan your routes through the heart of our region as effectively as possible: Cycle routes and greenways at the Montluçon junction.
Montluçon Bike Park
The more daring among you can try their hand at the bike park.
Opened in September 2014, this new track on Rue Ernest Montusès offers a purpose-built area for this activity, which combines a sense of balance with spectacular action.
A facility entirely dedicated to cycling (mountain biking, BMX, dirt biking), catering for all levels from beginners to experts across a 3-hectare site. Activities include the Baby Park (from 2 years old), Ludik Park (from 6 years old), a pump track, dirt track, slope style and a cross-country track. There are also trial areas and a BMX race track.On site: bike maintenance station, bike wash (tokens to be purchased at the Nerdre complex, €0.50 each), tyre inflation and repair point. A communal area with a kiosk, picnic tables and toilet facilities. Car park with 50 spaces. Free entry. Rue Ernest Montusès – Nerdre – 03100 Montluçon Telephone: 04 70 03 85 70 (COSEC de Nerdre) 06 32 49 69 43 Email:guillaume.lamy03@laposte.net(Cycling instructor) Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Pro2Roo/
Having been committed for many years to promoting its walking and mountain-biking routes, the Tourist Office has taken a further step forward by being awarded the ‘Accueil Vélo’ label in 2020 and having it renewed in 2024.
This nationally recognised label guarantees a warm welcome, services and specific facilities tailored to the needs of cycling tourists along cycle routes in France.
The ‘Accueil Vélo’ label helps to reassure cycling visitors, particularly those from abroad, about the quality of the services available to them, with the aim of making their cycling trip easier. The small green logo in the shape of a cyclist allows certified establishments to be quickly identified and encourages cycling customers to choose these venues, which are located within 5 km of cycle routes (included in a departmental, regional or national plan), including mountain bike routes and signposted local loops.
WHY BECOME AN ‘ACCUEIL VÉLO’ ESTABLISHMENT?
By becoming an ‘Accueil Vélo’ establishment, we are signalling our commitment to meeting the expectations of an ever-growing audience who favour holidays centred on sustainable and active travel.
Through this firm commitment, we pledge, at our tourist information offices in Montluçon, Cérilly and Hérisson, to: – providing you with repair kits in the event of a breakdown. – providing you with information materials to encourage you to use the cycle network. – providing you with a list of bike hire companies and repair shops located within the vicinity of our area of operation. – providing you with dedicated cycle parking facilities in the immediate vicinity of our Tourist Information Centres.
C Vélo in Montluçon – Hire an electric bike now by visiting the Espace Maelis. 1 day, 1 week, 1 month or 3 months? Choose the length of your hire to suit your needs and enjoy the benefits of cycling, whilst doing your bit for the environment. In person at Espace Maelis or by phone on 04 70 05 02 67. Find out more in the CVélo brochure, available for direct download, or on the CVélo Montluçon website.
Getaway to La Voreille – Electric mountain bike hire for adults and children by the day or half-day. Hire of equipment and related accessories (child seats, etc.). La Voreille – 03420 MAZIRAT. Tel.: 06 24 74 44 60 – escapadealavoreille.fr
Aux Baboteurs – Near the Berry Canal. Bike hire, e-bikes, cargo bikes and tandems. Open from 15 June to 15 September – out of season by appointment. 3 rue Jean Jaurès – 03190 VALLON-EN-SULLY. Tel.: 06 01 82 31 80 or 04 70 05 55 56 – www.auxbaboteurs.org
Tronçais Mountain Bikes – Near the Saint-Bonnet-Tronçais lake. Mountain bike hire, as well as traditional and electric bikes, pedal-powered or electric ‘rosalies’ and bicycle rickshaws (pousse-pousse). Open all year round. 2 rue du Petit Paris – 03360 SAINT-BONNET-TRONÇAIS Tel: 04 70 06 12 93
AC Cycles 45 Avenue Albert Thomas – 03100 MONTLUÇON Tel.: 04 70 29 62 70 Facebook page:AC Cycles
Brulhet Cycles
Rue Nicolas Rambourg – 03100 MONTLUÇON Tel.: 04 70 05 74 22 Facebook page:Brulhet Cycles
Cycles Gallégo 46 bis Avenue Albert Thomas – 03100 MONTLUÇON Tel.: 04 70 05 04 70 Facebook page:Cycles Gallégo
Decathlon Montluçon Rue Nicolas Rambourg – 03100 MONTLUÇON Tel: 04 70 08 11 60 Facebook page:Decathlon Montluçon
L’Univers du 2 Roues 7, Les Brandes Sud – 03600 MALICORNE Tel: 04 70 64 47 50
Spotlight on
Our cycling champions
They are a source of pride for cycling enthusiasts and fans alike, thanks to their international reputation, and help to promote a positive image of our region through their humility, courage and exemplary behaviour.
We simply had to pay tribute to our beloved champions, Julian Alaphilippe and Florian Vachon!
Born on 11 June 1992 in Saint-Amand-Montrond, Julian Alaphilippe has risen through the ranks at breakneck speed. After a promising start in cyclo-cross, he went on to make a name for himself on the road, starting out at around the age of 7 or 8 with the Entente cycliste Montmarault-Montluçon.
Now a professional with the Belgian Deceuninck-Quick Step team and a classics specialist, his notable victories include the 2019 Milan–San Remo, the 2018 Clásica de San Sebastián, the 2018 and 2019 Flèche Wallonne, and the 2019 Strade Bianche. He also finished second in Liège–Bastogne–Liège in 2015 and the Tour of Lombardy in 2017, third in Milan–San Remo in 2017, and second in the 2020 edition.
In stage races, he notably won the 2016 Tour of California and the 2018 Tour of Britain. His honours also include a stage win in the Vuelta a España and four stage wins in the Tour de France, as well as the 2018 King of the Mountains classification. He finished the 2019 Tour de France in fifth place, having worn the yellow jersey for 14 stages, and was awarded the Supercombatif prize. He was ranked world number one from 24 March 2019 to 15 September 2019. He once again wore the yellow jersey for two days during the 2020 edition of the Tour de France and claimed a stage victory. That same year, he achieved the pinnacle of his career and, by his own admission, the dream he had set himself, by claiming the world championship title at the Imola circuit in Italy, 23 years after the last Frenchman to be crowned, Laurent Brochard. In 2021, he cemented his place among the peloton’s elite with a third victory at the Flèche Wallonne and another stage win at the Tour de France, capped by yet another yellow jersey. He repeated the feat on 26 September 2021, clinching a second consecutive world road cycling championship title, thereby becoming the first Frenchman to be crowned world champion twice – and in consecutive years at that.
Born on 2 January 1985 in Montluçon, Florian Vachon is a professional cyclist with the Arkéa-Samsic team. A professional since 2008, he has competed in the Tour de France six times, finishing the race on each occasion.
A member of the Entente Cycliste Montmarault Montluçon during his amateur days, Florian Vachon began his professional career in 2008 with the Roubaix Lille Métropole team.
An exemplary team rider, he has distinguished himself brilliantly on the roads of France and Navarre, where his talents as a model and dedicated team-mate have worked wonders.
He also has a number of prestigious victories to his name, such as the Tour du Finistère in 2010, the Classic Loire-Atlantique and Paris–Bourges in 2012, as well as a stage of the Critérium International that same year. He also won the Classic Sud Ardèche in 2014, and finished second in the Four Days of Dunkirk in 2012, as well as in the Tour de l’Ain in 2015.
He is embarking on his final season in 2020. At the age of 35, the Montluçon native will leave the peloton on Sunday 20 September, at the Grand Prix d’Isbergues, after thirteen years of loyal service.
