Le Pilgrimage Gravel, one of our favourite partner events, is all of these things. For three years it has called brave travellers to explore the mountains on the border of France and Italy – and also to look inside themselves.

This year’s edition was particularly testing. Two day-long rides set the scene. The sun shone over the Fort de la Bretagne, the old Galibier road and the Vallée de la Clarée. The checkpoints were supplied with good food and camaradarie, and riders gathered over the dinner table at base camp each night to swap stories of the days exploits.

The final stage – a 232-kilometre two-day epic saw the clouds descend. After an overnight in the Italian town of Oulx, bad weather on the way back into France, passing by gravel climb to the Fort de l’Olive, pushed riders to their limit. At the check point, a fire, pancakes and génepi, a local spirit, to stoke the furnace for the final descent and climb.

Congratulations to the organisers for being vigilant, and supporting riders to make the right choices about the route options were right for them. Because a pilgrimage is about the journey, not the destination.