Col de Vizzavona ( co, Bocca di Vizzavona) is a mountain pass at the centre of the French island of Corsica.

Location

Col de Vizzavona is located between the two major peaks on Corsica: the

Monte d'Oro Monte d'Oro is a mountain in the department of Haute-Corse on the island of Corsica, France, one of the highest on the island. It is in the south of the Monte Rotondo massif, but is sometimes considered the summit of its own massif, the Monte d'Or ...

(altitude ), 3 km north-northwest, and the

Monte Renoso Monte Renoso ( co, Monti Rinosu) is a mountain in the departments of Haute-Corse and Corse-du-Sud on the island of Corsica, France. It is the highest peak in the Monte Renoso massif. Location The peak of Monte Renoso is on the boundary between t ...

(), 6 km south-southeast. The pass, located in the Regional Natural Park of Corsica, is traversed by the RN193 road and connects the Vecchio Valley with the

Gravona The Gravona is a river on the island of Corsica, France. It flows from the center of the island southwest to the Gulf of Ajaccio. Its entire course is in the Corse-du-Sud Department of France. It is long. The Gravona Valley conducts the main hi ...

river and with the

Gulf of Ajaccio Ajaccio (, , ; French: ; it, Aiaccio or ; co, Aiacciu , locally: ; la, Adiacium) is a French commune, prefecture of the department of Corse-du-Sud, and head office of the ''Collectivité territoriale de Corse'' (capital city of Corsica ...

Details of the climb

From the north-east, the climb commences at the village of Vivario from where the ascent is long. Over this distance, the road climbs at an average gradient of 4.1%, although there are several downhill sections. The final is at an average gradient of 6.5%; this was the route used in the

Tour de France 2013 The 2013 Tour de France was the 100th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It started on the island of Corsica on 30 June and finished on the Champs-Élysées in Paris on 21 July. The Tour consisted of twenty-one stage ...

. From the south-west, the climb starts at the junction with the D29 road, close to the small village of Ucciani. From here, the ascent is long climbing . The average gradient is 4.4%. En route, the road passes through the large village of

Bocognano Bocognano (; co, Bucugnà, ) is a commune located in the department of Corse-du-Sud, on the island of Corsica, France. The village, situated at the south-western side of the climb to the Col de Vizzavona, belongs to the micro of Celavo whi ...

Tour de France

In June 2013, the Col de Vizzavona was crossed by 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 ...

, which passed through the island for the first time in the event's 100-year history. Stage 2 of the race, between

Bastia Bastia (, , , ; co, Bastìa ) is a commune in the department of Haute-Corse, Corsica, France. It is located in the northeast of the island of Corsica at the base of Cap Corse. It also has the second-highest population of any commune on the is ...

and Ajaccio, crossed the Col de Vizzavona. The climb was ranked Category 2 in the "

King of the Mountains The King of the Mountains (KoM) is an award given to the best climbing specialist in a men's cycling road race; in women's cycle racing, Queen of the Mountains (QoM) is used. While the title may be given to the rider who achieves the highest ...

" competition, with Pierre Rolland being the first across the summit.

References

External links

Col de Vizzavona on "climbbybike" website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vizzavona Mountain passes of Haute-Corse Mountain passes of Corse-du-Sud