Col de l'Iseran
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| Col de l'Iseran | |
|---|---|
 Flags at the summit |
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| Elevation | 2,770 metres (9,088 feet) |
| Location | Savoie,  France |
| Range | Graian Alps |
| Coordinates | |
| Traversed by | D 902 road |
Col de l'Iseran (el. 2770 m.) is the highest paved road mountain pass in the Alps in the department of Savoie in France. It is part of the French Graian Alps, near the border with Italy. It is crossed by the D902.
The Col de l'Iseran is the highest pass in the Alps (although the Col de la Bonette (2802 m) is the highest paved road (end-to-end) but is only a scenic loop road with start and end only metres apart at the peak of the Col de Restefond (2680 m).
The pass is part of the Route des Grandes Alpes. It connects the valley of the Isère and the valley of the Arc River between Val-d'Isère in the north and Bonneval-sur-Arc in the south. The north side of the pass road is well built with a number of galleries and tunnels, with a maximum grade of 12 percent.
On the north, are the popular ski resorts of Tignes and Val-d'Isère.
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[edit] Details of the climb
From the north the road goes up and down and through tunnels past the lake of Tignes. Starting from Bourg-Saint-Maurice, the Col de l'Iseran is 48 km long. Over this distance, the climb is 1955 m. (an average percentage of 4.1%). The last part of the climb starts at Val-d'Isère: 15 km at a consistent average of 6% (climbing 895 m.)
From the south, the climb starts at Lanslebourg-Mont Cenis and is 32.9 km long. Over this distance, the climb is 1371 m. (an average percentage of 4.2%). The final part of the climb starts at Bonneval-sur-Arc: 13.4 km at an average of 7.3%. (climbing 977 m.) with several sections in excess of 10%.
[edit] The Tour de France
The Col d'Iseran was first used in the Tour de France in 1938 - the fist rider over the summit was Felicien Vervaecke, but on the descent he was passed by Gino Bartali who had taken the leader's yellow jersey from Vervaecke the previous day and retained it all the way to the finish in Paris.
The following year, in the 1939 tour, the first mountain time trial was introduced to the tour, over the Col d'Iseran from Bonneval-sur-Arc to Bourg-Saint-Maurice, which was won by Sylvere Maes by a margin of four minutes.
Since 1947 the pass has been used four times on the Tour de France. It was scheduled to be used in 1996, but was left out at the last minute due to bad weather. As a result of snow on both the Col de l'Iseran and the Col du Galibier, the scheduled 190 km stage from Val-d'Isère to Sestriere in Italy was truncated and reduced to a 46 km sprint from Le-Monetier-les-Bains which was claimed by Bjarne Riis, resulting in him taking the yellow jersey which he retained to the finish in Paris.
In 2007, Col d'Iseran was climbed on stage 9 of the Tour de France, starting from Val-d'Isère.
[edit] Appearances in Tour de France
| Year | Stage | Category | Leader at the summit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 9 | HC | Yaroslav Popovych |
| 1992 | 13 | HC | Claudio Chiappucci |
| 1963 | 16 | 1 | Fernando Manzaneque |
| 1959 | 18 | 1 | Adolf Christian |
| 1949 | 17 | 1 | Joseph Tacca |
| 1939 | 16b | ITT | Sylvere Maes |
| 1938 | 14 | Felicien Vervaecke |
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Profile from Bourg Saint Maurice on climbbybike.com
- Profile from Bonneval sur Arc on climbbybike.com
- Le col de l'Iseran dans le Tour de France (French)
