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Region: French Alps
Climbing effort: 499 cep
Elevation meters: 690
Steepest kilometer: 8.9%

Steepest 250 m: 9%
Foot: 1395 m    Top: 2085 m
Mean slope: 7.0%
Length: 9.9 km

From: Lanslebourg
Road conditions (2025): good
Other race bikers: 10-25 per hour
Motor vehicles: >180 per hour
Scenery and road: (2/5)
Restaurant or bar near top: yes

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Other climbs French Alps

The road over the Col du Mont Cenis connects France with Italy. Perhaps this fact, together with the fact that the climb is relatively easy, attracts cyclists. In any case, I encountered quite a few of them on the French side. I did not find the ride outstanding, however. There is a lot of traffic, and although the mountain scenery is certainly pleasant, this aspect is clearly below the average of climbs in the Alps. As a positive point, it should be mentioned that — apart from roughly the first kilometre — there is a fairly wide cycle lane for cyclists riding uphill. From a sporting point of view, the climb is not really hard. Over the first 3.5 kilometres after the start in Lanslebourg, the road has a constant gradient of 5–6%. The remaining 6.5 kilometres to the pass are a little steeper, mostly 7–8%, with only limited variation. At the summit there is a piece of artwork suggesting that Hannibal crossed the Alps here with his elephants, but this is probably not the case.