Col du Lautaret () is a high mountain pass 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 regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. It marks the boundary between the valleys of 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 .tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drai ...

of the Durance which has its source at the col. The valleys are linked by national route 91 (

Grenoble lat, Gratianopolis , commune status = Prefecture and commune , image = Panorama grenoble.png , image size = , caption = From upper left: Panorama of the city, Grenoble’s cable cars, place Saint- ...

–

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 Brianç ...

–

Briançon Briançon (, ) is the sole subprefecture of the Hautes-Alpes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southeastern France. It is the highest city in France at an altitude of , based on the national definition as a community cont ...

). The Lautaret is one of the lowest points on the ridge line which separates the "north" (mainly in the

Rhône-Alpes Rhône-Alpes () was an administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it is part of the new region Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. It is located on the eastern border of the country, towards the south. The region was named after the river Rhône ...

région) and "south" (mainly in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur région) geographic areas of the French

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, Swi ...

. The Col has long been used as a communication route between Grenoble and Briançon, and as a step for reaching

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 ...

across the Alps through the

Col de Montgenèvre The Col de Montgenèvre (; elevation 1860 m.) is a high mountain pass in the Cottian Alps, in France 2 kilometres away from Italy. Description The pass takes its name from the village Montgenèvre (Hautes-Alpes), which lies in the vicinity ...

. The Col is open all year round and provides good views of La Meije to the south-west and the Grand Galibier to the north. It is also well known for its

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...

managed by the

Université Grenoble Alpes The Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA, French: meaning "''Grenoble Alps University''") is a public research university in Grenoble, France. Founded in 1339, it is the third largest university in France with about 60,000 students and over 3,000 resea ...

. The route to the south side of the

Col du Galibier The Col du Galibier (el. ) is a mountain pass in the southern region of the French Dauphiné Alps near Grenoble. It is the eighth highest paved road in the Alps, and recurrently the highest point of the Tour de France. It connects Saint-Mi ...

leaves from the Lautaret. RN91-Lautaret-France

Cycle racing

Details of the climbs

From the west, the climb starts at Les Clapier, near

, from where the climb is long, gaining in altitude, at an average gradient of 3.8%, with the steepest section being at 7.5% in the first kilometre. The eastern approach commences at

, from where there is to the summit, gaining in altitude, at an average gradient of 3.1%, with a maximum of 5.2%.

Tour de France

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 ...

first crossed over the Col du Lautaret in

1911 A notable ongoing event was the Comparison of the Amundsen and Scott Expeditions, race for the South Pole. Events January * January 1 – A decade after federation, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory ...

, when the leader over the summit was

Émile Georget Émile Georget (21 September 1881 – 16 October 1960) was a French road racing cyclist. Born in Bossay-sur-Claise, he was the younger brother of cyclist Léon Georget. He died at Châtellerault. Career achievements Tour de France Georget ...

. Since 1947, the Lautaret pass has been crossed over 40 times by the

, although most of these have not been classified 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 ...

" competition, usually when the pass is crossed on the descent from the

().

Appearances in Tour de France

Since 1947, the passages which have been categorized have been:

References

External links