P'tites Routes du Soleil, stage 3: Saint-Christophe-sur-Guiers → Villard-de-Lans
On stage 3 (Saint-Christophe-sur-Guiers → Villard-de-Lans, 96 km) the best month is September: 73% of days were dry with highs of 10–30 °C; the wind barely favours either direction (1.3 km/h on average; ERA5 2006–2025, 9:00–18:00).
← P'tites Routes du Soleil (Whole route)
Weather by month
| Month | Good days | Rain days ≥ 1 mm | Rain, mm | Avg high | Days ≥ 30 °C | Days < 10 °C | Daylight, h |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 9% | 28% | 123 | 4 °C | 0% | 91% | 9.1 † |
| February | 22% | 27% | 93 | 6 °C | 0% | 75% | 10.3 † |
| March | 42% | 32% | 116 | 10 °C | 0% | 49% | 11.8 |
| April | 56% | 36% | 103 | 14 °C | 0% | 20% | 13.4 |
| May | 54% | 45% | 159 | 17 °C | 0% | 7% | 14.8 |
| June | 56% | 41% | 120 | 22 °C | 4% | 0% | 15.6 |
| July | 63% | 30% | 105 | 24 °C | 9% | 0% | 15.3 |
| August | 65% | 26% | 97 | 24 °C | 10% | 0% | 14.1 |
| September | 73% | 27% | 102 | 20 °C | 0% | 2% | 12.5 |
| October | 70% | 23% | 107 | 15 °C | 0% | 12% | 10.8 † |
| November | 35% | 30% | 138 | 9 °C | 0% | 57% | 9.4 † |
| December | 11% | 32% | 146 | 5 °C | 0% | 87% | 8.8 † |
Best months are all months within 3 percentage points of the best one. † less than 11 hours of daylight — long stages get tight.
Wind by month
| Month | Wind Saint-Christophe-sur-Guiers → Villard-de-Lans, km/h | Headwind > 15 km/h, Saint-Christophe-sur-Guiers → Villard-de-Lans | Headwind > 15 km/h, Villard-de-Lans → Saint-Christophe-sur-Guiers | Better way |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | +1.3 | 0% | 0% | either |
| February | +1.2 | 0% | 0% | either |
| March | +1.2 | 0% | 1% | either |
| April | +1.2 | 0% | 1% | either |
| May | +1.1 | 0% | 0% | either |
| June | +1.0 | 0% | 0% | either |
| July | +1.5 | 0% | 0% | either |
| August | +1.4 | 0% | 0% | either |
| September | +1.3 | 0% | 0% | either |
| October | +0.6 | 0% | 0% | either |
| November | +0.8 | 0% | 0% | either |
| December | +0.8 | 0% | 0% | either |
Along the route (sections of about 25 km)
| km | Heading | Tailwind in September, km/h |
|---|---|---|
| 256–281 | S | +2.5 |
| 281–306 | SW | +1.2 |
| 306–331 | SW | +0.1 |
| 331–352 | SW | +1.3 |
Other stages
- Thonon-les-Bains → Rumilly 138 km
- Rumilly → Saint-Christophe-sur-Guiers 119 km
- Saint-Christophe-sur-Guiers → Villard-de-Lans 96 km
- Villard-de-Lans → near Veynes 120 km
How to read the numbers
Wind is the 10 m wind of a 25-km grid cell, daytime hours 9:00–18:00 local solar time; at saddle height in a sheltered valley it is weaker, on a coast or ridge stronger. A positive value is a tailwind. ERA5 slightly over-counts days with ≥ 1 mm of rain (by about 5–7 percentage points) and underestimates daily highs by 1–2 °C. Good day = less than 1 mm of rain between 9:00 and 18:00 (riding hours, local solar time) and a high between 10 and 30 °C; rain at night or in the evening does not spoil it.