It was held over four or five days in early September and served as a preparation for the Tour de l'Avenir, thus attracting also international riders, especially the Spanish team.

The course ran straight across the French Alpes, starting in Nice, on the Côte d'Azur, and finishing in Bourg-en-Bresse, the capital of the Bresse region, north of Lyon, at the base of the Jura mountain range.

A lot of French riders used this tough race – from Nice, via Valloire (over the Galibier), to Combloux – as a preparation for the Tour de l'Avenir.

In 1999 Cyclisme Organisation took over the organizing of the event and in the 1999 edition for the first time the climb of the Grand Colombier was included.

The 1,534 metre high Grand Colombier has featured as a decisive climb in the stage race.