CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
A one-way ride of 181 km, Beaufort to Valloire - roughly 3 h 22 in the saddle. The highest point is 2,764 m. Cormet de Roselend and Col du Galibier are subject to seasonal closure - check it is open before you set off. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
The ground tilts up and stays tilted for 92 km. 797 m of it, taken steadily rather than in one wall — a steady rhythm suits this better than bursts. The height arrives whether you hurry or not.
Height already gained and held. The road stays near 2764 m for 135 km instead of surrendering it to the next valley. Exposed ground: wind matters more here than gradient. Nothing blocks it.
The Cormet de Roselend is the pass of cheese and water. It lies in the Beaufortain massif, between the town of Beaufort and the valley of the Isère, and for much of the climb you are riding through the pastures where the cows that make Beaufort cheese spend their summers, wearing bells and grazing on alpine flowers. The cheese, which is aged in the valley, is one of the most prized in France, and it is the reason this valley is prosperous and well kept. A wheel, with its distinctive concave edge, is sold in nearly every village.
Read the complete Col du Cormet de Roselend write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Col du Cormet de Roselend is where the day begins. Next is Col de l Iseran, climbing 797 m.
The Iseran is the roof of the Alps, as far as paved passes go. At 2,764 metres, it is the highest of the great Alpine passes, a shade above the Stelvio, and the road over it was opened in 1937 to link the Tarentaise valley with the Maurienne, a feat of engineering that took years of work in short summers. It goes through the heart of the Vanoise National Park, France's first, created in 1963 to protect the ibex, which had been almost wiped out by hunters, and the park's work has been a success, as there are thousands now.
Read the complete Col de l Iseran write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Col de l Iseran comes up about 72 km into the recorded legs. The road climbs 797 m on the way up to it, steadily. Reckon on about 5 °C colder than the valley, and more in the wind. Nothing on this route is higher. Next is Col du Galibier.
The Galibier is the big one, and it knows it. At 2,642 metres this is one of the high gates of the French Alps, the saddle where the Maurienne valley to the north hands you over to the Guisane and the Briançonnais to the south, and the road crosses it by way of a short tunnel under the actual crest, or, for those who want the proper view, by the final few hundred metres of open hairpin that go over the top. The summit marker stands on the old crest, with a monument to Henri Desgrange, the founder of the Tour de France, who first sent the race over this pass in 1911. Cyclists still turn up in swarms to touch the sign, so expect lycra and an unhurried pace.
Read the complete Col du Galibier write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
The route ends here after 181 km. Reckon on about 4 °C colder than the valley, and more in the wind.
Col du Cormet de Roselend → Col de l Iseran climbs about 797 m in 72 km. This is the part worth slowing down for - look through the bends and use the pull-offs.
Col de l Iseran → Col du Galibier is 109 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.