Col Agnel ( it, Colle dell'Agnello) 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

Cottian Alps The Cottian Alps (; french: Alpes Cottiennes ; it, Alpi Cozie ) are a mountain range in the southwestern part of the Alps. They form the border between France (Hautes-Alpes and Savoie) and Italy (Piedmont). The Fréjus Road Tunnel and Fréjus Rai ...

, west of

Monte Viso Monte Viso or Monviso (; oc, Vísol; Piedmontese: ''Brich Monviso'' or ''Viso'') is the highest mountain of the Cottian Alps. It is located in Italy close to the French border. Monte Viso is well known for its pyramid-like shape and, because it i ...

between

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 ...

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

which links the

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 ...

valley (

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 ...

) with

Pontechianale Pontechianale is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southwest of Turin and about northwest of Cuneo, on the border with France. Pontechianale borders the following municipalities: ...

in the

province of Cuneo Cuneo (Italian), or Coni (Piedmontese), is a province in the southwest of the Piedmont region of Italy. To the west it borders on the French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur ( departments of Alpes-Maritimes, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence and Haut ...

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

. At 2,744 m (9,003 ft), it is the third

highest paved road This is a list of the highest paved roads in Europe. It includes roads that are over long and whose culminating point is at least above sea level. This height approximately corresponds to that of the highest settlements in Europe and to the t ...

pass of the Alps, after Stelvio Pass and Col de l'Iseran. Despite being the highest international pass of the Alps, Col Agnel is somewhat unknown and not heavily used. It is one of the many passes suggested as the route taken by

Hannibal Hannibal (; xpu, 𐤇𐤍𐤁𐤏𐤋, ''Ḥannibaʿl''; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Puni ...

in his march, with elephants, to attack Rome at the start of the

Second Punic War The Second Punic War (218 to 201 BC) was the second of three wars fought between Carthage and Rome, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean in the 3rd century BC. For 17 years the two states struggled for supremacy, primarily in Ital ...

and a modern-era plaque, mounted on a rock on the French side, commemorates the event.

Cycling

From Château-Queyras (France), the climb is 20.5 km long at an average gradient of 6.6%. From

Casteldelfino Casteldelfino is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southwest of Turin and about northwest of Cuneo. Casteldelfino borders the following municipalities: Bellino, Elva, Oncino, P ...

(Italy), the climb is 22.4 km long at an average gradient of 6.5%.

Tour de France

The Col Agnel was crossed for the first time on 20 July 2008 during stage 15 of the

2008 Tour de France The 2008 Tour de France was the 95th running of the race. The event took place from 5 to 27 July. Starting in the French city of Brest, the tour entered Italy on the 15th stage and returned to France during the 16th, heading for Paris, its regu ...

. The Col Agnel was crossed for the Second Time on 21 July 2011 during Stage 18 of The

2011 Tour de France The 2011 Tour de France was the 98th edition of the race. It started on 2 July at the Passage du Gois and ended on the Champs-Élysées in Paris on 24 July. The cyclists competed in 21 stages over 23 days, covering a distance of . The route en ...

Giro d'Italia

The Col Agnel has been crossed twice during Giro d'Italia.

Notes

External links

Profile starting from Castedelfino on climbbybike.com

Profile starting from Guillestre on climbbybike.com

Cycling up to the Col Agnel: data, profile, map, photos and description
{{DEFAULTSORT:Agnel Mountain passes of the Alps Landforms of Hautes-Alpes Mountain passes of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Mountain passes of Piedmont Province of Cuneo France–Italy border crossings Transport in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur

Cycling

Tour de France

Giro d'Italia

See also

Notes

External links