Every great climb has a place where it all begins

At Alpe d'Huez, we created that space ourselves.

For two days, at the foot of its twenty-one legendary hairpin bends, Wilier brought together brand ambassadors, friends, and riders from across Europe. More than just a gathering, it was a retreat aimed at placing them at the very heart of the world’s greatest cycling race. In doing so, we aimed to share that experience with everyone who couldn’t be there.

Some had ridden all the way to Alpe d'Huez. Others had set off before dawn to experience the Tour de France from the roadside. Some had planned the journey months — different stories, different languages—one shared reason for being there.

Road, gravel, mountain bike. Different disciplines, yet one glance at the bikes lined up side by side was enough to understand they all spoke the same language. That idea became the foundation of Wilier BaseCamp: not a hospitality lounge, but a base camp before the climb — a place to pause, meet fellow riders, and set off again. And when the race reached the mountain, that same spirit carried to the roadside, where everyone shared the experience.

Over the course of those two days, the kilometers kept adding up beneath the wheels: more than 250 kilometers ridden, over 6,000 meters of climbing, and almost twenty hours in the saddle. Yet those numbers alone could never define the experience.

Before the twenty-one hairpins became an amphitheater of flags, flares, and cheering crowds, there was Paul's Ride — a moment that perfectly embodied the spirit of BaseCamp. Not a race, but a shared ride that reflected why everyone had come together in the first place.

Then came the anticipation. The playful rituals of those waiting for the peloton: chants echoing across the mountain, cowbells ringing through the air, improvised flags, conversations with strangers who, for a single afternoon, felt like lifelong riding companions.

The Tour de France is not made by the riders alone. It is also shaped by the thousands of people who, year after year, turn a mountain into a place of pilgrimage. A place where strangers become part of the same story, united by a shared passion for the sport.

And then came the riders. Among them, the Groupama-FDJ United riders stopped to greet those who had been waiting for hours on those hairpins. 

Twenty-one hairpins. Each with a name, a story, and a champion who has passed through it as the crowds roared from the roadside. On one of those bends, almost thirty years ago, a man aboard a Wilier set the fastest time ever recorded on this climb. A record that stood untouched for nearly three decades — until this year, when we witnessed it finally fall.

That is also why the first Wilier BaseCamp was born here. Because Alpe d'Huez is more than a climb. It is a place woven into cycling's collective memory — and one where, in a small but meaningful way, Wilier has written part of its own story.

To accompany this first edition, we created a dedicated Custom Goodies Box: a collection of mountain-inspired essentials, designed to help riders take on the climb, cheer the peloton, and bring home something that would keep the memory of those two days alive long after the journey back. More than a simple kit, it became the first symbol of a community coming together in the same place, driven by the same passion.

But this is only the beginning. Wilier BaseCamp was created to become a journey that will follow the brand to cycling's most iconic places. A series of experiences designed to bring our community to the heart of the sport's greatest races, transforming the places that shaped cycling into opportunities to meet, share stories, and experience them together.

Because being at the heart of cycling means far more than building bicycles capable of winning. It means being there. Sharing these places with the people who make them special. Experiencing the anticipation before the race arrives, the stories exchanged over a coffee, and the emotion that lingers long after the peloton has passed.

Climbs come to an end. The stories shared at the foot of a mountain never do.