Region: French Alps
Climbing effort: 810 cep
Elevation meters: 1163
Steepest kilometer: 8.7%

Steepest 250 m: 10%
Foot: 813 m    Top: 1968 m
Mean slope: 6.0%
Length: 19.2 km

From: Bourg-St Maurice
Road conditions (2018): average
Other race bikers: 10-25 per hour
Motor vehicles: 60-180 per hour
Scenery and road: (4/5)
Restaurant or bar near top: no

PHOTOS    
W SIDE     Download gpx

         

Other climbs French Alps

This climb to the Cormet de Roselend competes with that from the other side (from Beaufort) in terms of scenic beauty. For me the highlight was the view of the Aiguille des Glaciers (3816 m), which suddenly pops up at the end of a side valley, on the right side of the road after about 13 of the more than 19 kilometers of the tour. Also worth mentioning is the spectacular section of ten hairpin bends, lying close to each other and encountered between kilometers 7 and 9 after the start. The ride begins at the roundabout just north of the train station of Bourg-St-Maurice. The first two kilometers have a moderate gradient (5-8%). After that the road follows a nearly straight valley that is steep on both sides and runs almost exactly north. Here cycling is still easy (1-5%). Next the hardest part of the ride begins, 5.5 kilometers with a slope of about 8%, including the passage of the ten hairpin bends mentioned earlier. A little further the valley opens so the surrounding mountain peaks become more and more visible. I found the last 3-4 kilometers to the pass quite hard. In the bare landscape it is difficult to tell how steep the road is. In addition, I had to bike against the wind, an unpleasant because invisible enemy. There were stalls with cheese, coffee, drinks and minerals near the pass.