Col de la Madeleine (el. 1,993 m.) 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

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

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 ...

in France which connects

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 ...

Maurienne Maurienne ( frp, Môrièna) is one of the provinces of France, provinces of Savoy, corresponding to the arrondissement of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne in France. It is also the original name of the capital of the province, now Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne. ...

with La Léchère in Tarentaise. The pass is closed from November to the beginning of June. It has been described as "beautiful, but heartbreaking".

Cycling

Details of the climb

The southern approach from La Chambre (via the D213) is 19.05 km. long, gaining 1,522 m. at an average gradient of 8%. Alternatively, the route via the D76 is 19.8 km. long, climbing 1,520 m. at an average of 7.7%. The northern approach can be accessed via Feissons-sur-Isère. From Feissons-sur-Isère (through La Léchère), the climb is 25.3 km. long, gaining 1,585 m. at an average gradient of 6.2%. For the 2012 Tour de France, the height at the summit is shown as 2,000 m., whereas in previous years it has been shown as 1,993 m. From Aigueblanche, the climb is 28.28 km. long, climbing 1,533 m. at an average of 5.4%. On both sides of the Col de la Madeleine

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.

Appearances in Tour de France

The pass was first included 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 ...

in 1969 and has since featured 25 times. It has been ranked ''

hors catégorie ''Hors catégorie'' (HC) is a French term used in stage bicycle races to designate a climb that is "beyond categorization". The term was originally used for those mountain roads where cars were not expected to be able to pass. The HC climb is the ...

'', every year since 1995.

References

External links

Col de la Madeleine and preview of Stage 11 of the 2012 Tour de FranceCol de la Madeleine cycling. Description, profiles and picturesCol de la Madeleine on Google Maps (Tour de France classic climbs)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Madeleine Climbs in cycle racing in France Mountain passes of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Mountain passes of the Alps