Col d'Izoard () is a

mountain pass A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since many of the world's mountain ranges have presented formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both Human migration, human a ...

in the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...

in the department of

Hautes-Alpes Hautes-Alpes (; oc, Auts Aups; en, Upper Alps) is a department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of Southeastern France. It is located in the heart of the French Alps, after which it is named. Hautes-Alpes had a population of 141,220 ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. It is accessible in summer via the D902 road, connecting

Briançon Briançon (, ) is the sole Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Hautes-Alpes Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region in Southeastern France. It is the highest city in France at an a ...

on the north and the valley of the

Guil The Guil (french: le Guil) is a long river in the Hautes-Alpes ''département'', southeastern France. Its drainage basin is .Queyras The Queyras ( oc, Cairàs) is a valley located in the French Hautes-Alpes, of which the geographical extent is the basin of the river Guil, a tributary of the Durance. The Queyras is one of the oldest mountain ranges of the Alps, and it was one of ...

, which ends at

Guillestre Guillestre (; Vivaro-Alpine: ''Guilhèstra'') is a commune in the Hautes-Alpes department in southeastern France. Geography The village lies in the northwestern part of the commune, on the left bank of the Chagne, a stream, tributary of the Gu ...

in the south. There are forbidding and barren scree slopes with protruding pinnacles of weathered rock on the upper south side. Known as the Casse Déserte, this area has formed a dramatic backdrop to some key moments in the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...

, and often featured in iconic 1950s black-and-white photos of the race.

Cycle racing

Details of the climb

From the south, the climb starts at

from where it is in length, at an average gradient of 4.8%. The climb proper starts at the junction with the D947, near Chateau Queyras from where the ascent is long. Over this distance, the climb gains at an average of 6.9% and a maximum sustained gradient of 10%. The climb from Briançon, to the north-west, via Cervières to the col is in length, climbing at an average gradient of 5.8% and a maximum gradient of 8.9%. On both sides

mountain pass cycling milestones Mountain pass cycling milestones are signposts that provide cyclists with information about their current position with regard to the summit of the mountain pass. They always provide information for cyclists going uphill. Sometimes the signs are two ...

are placed every kilometre. They indicate the current height, the height of the summit, the distance to the summit, as well as the average slope in the following kilometre. In general, the col is closed from October to early June.

Tour de France

The Col d'Izoard is frequently on the route of the

, where it is frequently classified as an

Hors Categorie Khors, Хорсъ is a Slavic god of uncertain functions mentioned since the 12th century. Generally interpreted as a sun god, sometimes as a moon god. The meaning of the theonym is also unknown: most often his name has been combined with t ...

climb.

Warren Barguil Warren Barguil (; born 28 October 1991) is a French cyclist, who rides for UCI ProTeam . He is best known for winning two mountain stages and the mountains classification of the 2017 Tour de France. Career Early career Born in Hennebont, Britt ...

won the

2017 Tour de France The 2017 Tour de France was the 104th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours. The 21-race stage, stage race took place across , commencing with an individual time trial in Düsseldorf, Germany on 1 July ...

's Stage 18, becoming the first cyclist to win a Tour de France stage that finished on the Col d'Izoard - it has been on the route 34 times previously in the Tour de France since 1922 but never before had a stage finished there. Several of the Tour de France's more memorable moments have occurred on the Col d'Izoard, particularly the exploits of

Fausto Coppi Angelo Fausto Coppi (; 15 September 1919 – 2 January 1960) was an Italian cyclist, the dominant international cyclist of the years after the Second World War. His successes earned him the title ''Il Campionissimo'' ("Champion of Champions ...

Bernard Thévenet Bernard Thévenet (; born 10 January 1948) is a retired professional cyclist. His sporting career began with ACBB Paris. He is twice a winner of the Tour de France and known for ending the reign of five-times Tour champion Eddy Merckx, though bo ...

and

Louison Bobet Louis "Louison" Bobet (; 12 March 1925 - 13 March 1983) was a French professional road racing cyclist. He was the first great French rider of the post-war period and the first rider to win the Tour de France in three successive years, from 1953 t ...

. A small cycling museum is at the summit, along with a memorial to Coppi and Bobet. View from Col d'Izoard

Appearances in the Tour de France

References

External links

Col d'Izoard on Google Maps (Tour de France classic climbs)Cycling up to the Col d'Izoard: data, profile, map, photos and description
Col-d'Izoard-Queyras-DSC 0130