Col du Glandon () is a high

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

Dauphiné Alps The Dauphiné Alps (french: Alpes du Dauphiné) are a group of mountain ranges in Southeastern France, west of the main chain of the Alps. Mountain ranges within the Dauphiné Alps include the Massif des Écrins in Écrins National Park, Belledon ...

Savoie Savoie (; Arpitan: ''Savouè'' or ''Savouè-d'Avâl''; English: ''Savoy'' ) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, Southeastern France. Located in the French Alps, its prefecture is Chambéry. In 2019, Savoie had a population of ...

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 ...

, linking

Le Bourg-d'Oisans Le Bourg-d'Oisans () is a commune in the Isère department in southeastern France. It is located in the Oisans region of the French Alps. Le Bourg-d'Oisans is located in the valley of the Romanche river, on the road from Grenoble to Briançon, ...

La Chambre La Chambre (; frp, La Shanbra) is a commune in the Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France. See also *Communes of the Savoie department The following is a list of the 273 communes of the Savoie departme ...

. It is situated between the

Belledonne Belledonne (french: link=no, La chaine de Belledonne, ) is a mountain range (french: link=no, massif) in the Dauphiné Alps (part of the French Alps) in southeast France. The southern end of the range forms the eastern wall of the mountains th ...

, Grandes Rousses and Arvan-Villards

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...

s, west of the

Col de la Croix de Fer Col de la Croix de Fer ( en, Pass of the Iron Cross) (el. 2067 m.) is a high mountain pass in the French Alps linking Le Bourg-d'Oisans and Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne. Details of climb The approach from the northeast from Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne i ...

. The road over the Col du Glandon was opened in 1898, although it was not linked to the Col de la Croix de Fer until 1912. The pass is normally closed from the beginning of November to mid May. It is sometimes used 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 ...

cycle race, including on the 2013 Tour.

Details of the climb

From

(north-east) the climb follows the D927. The ascent is long, climbing at an average gradient of 6.9%. The gradient increases as the road approaches the summit, with the last two kilometres exceeding 10% with stretches at 12%. From

the route follows the D1091 through the

Romanche The Romanche () is a long mountain river in southeastern France. It is a right tributary of the Drac, which is itself a tributary of the Isère. Its drainage basin is .Barrage du Verney from where there is a further to the summit, which is reached shortly after the junction with the route to

. Over this distance, the height gained is ; the average gradient is thus 4.8%, although there are some downhill sections en route and a maximum uphill gradient of 11.1%. In the climb from La Chambre

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 distance to the summit, the current height, and the average slope in the following kilometre. Such signposting for cyclists has become common in most major mountain passes in the French Pyrenees and Alps.

Tour de France

The Col du Glandon was first crossed in the

1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country in ...

in conjunction with the

when the first rider over the summit was Edward Klabiński. The pass is often used in conjunction with the Col de la Croix de Fer when it is not categorized for 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 po ...

competition.

Categorized appearances in Tour de France

References

External links

Map, Elevation profile, photos for cycling Col du Glandon (www.cycling-challenge.com)

* ttp://www.grenoblecycling.com/Col-Glandon.htm Photos of the climb to Col du Glandon (www.grenoblecycling.com)br>Col du Glandon on Google Maps (Tour de France classic climbs)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Glandon Mountain passes of the Alps Mountain passes of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Landforms of Savoie Transport in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes