Col de la Bonette (el. ) 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 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, Sw ...

, near the border with

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 ...

. It is situated within the

Mercantour National Park Mercantour National Park (french: Parc national du Mercantour) a French national park located in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence and Alpes-Maritimes departments. Since it was created in 1979, the park has proven popular, with 800,000 visitors annual ...

on the border of the departments of Alpes-Maritimes and Alpes-de-Haute-Provence. The road over the col is the seventh highest paved road in the Alps.

Col de Restefond

The passage over the Col de la Bonette is often mistakenly referred to as the '' Col de Restefond'', and in the 2008 Tour de France the summit was referred to as the ''Cime de la Bonette-Restefond''. Stage 16 of the tour approached the summit from

Saint-Étienne-de-Tinée Saint-Étienne-de-Tinée (, literally ''Saint-Étienne of Tinée''; ; Vivaro-Alpine: ''Sant Estève d'en Tiniá'') is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France. It was part of the historic County of Nice until 1860. ...

(south-east), and after reaching the Col de la Bonette, took a loop round the

Cime de la Bonette Cime de la Bonette (el. ) is a mountain in the French Alps, near the border with Italy. It is situated within the Mercantour National Park on the border of the departments of Alpes-Maritimes and Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, between the Ubaye Valley an ...

reaching the summit of , which is the highest point reached by the Tour de France, before re-passing the Col de la Bonette. On the descent to

Jausiers Jausiers (; Vivaro-Alpine: ''Jausièr'') is a commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in southeastern France. Politics and administration Population See also * Ubaye Valley *Communes of the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department ...

, the actual Col de Restefond was then passed on the right approximately 1 km from the summit.

“Highest road in Europe”

The two kilometre long teardrop shaped loop around the

peak () from either side of the pass is the highest paved through route in the Alps. A signpost at the foot of the climb makes the claim "''Col de la Bonette – Restefond, 2802 m above sea level, highest road in Europe''". This claim is incorrect for various reasons. The actual Col de la Bonette rises to , but there are three Alpine road passes whose altitudes are higher:

Col de l'Iseran Col de l'Iseran (el. ) is a mountain pass in France, the highest paved pass in the Alps. A part of the Graian Alps, it is in the department of Savoie, near the border with Italy, and is crossed by the D902 roadway. The pass is part of the Route ...

(),

Stelvio Pass The Stelvio Pass ( it, Passo dello Stelvio , ''Giogo dello Stelvio'' ; german: Stilfser Joch; ) is a mountain pass in Northern Italy, northern Italy bordering Switzerland at an elevation of Height above mean sea level, above sea level. It is the L ...

() and

Col Agnel Col Agnel ( it, Colle dell'Agnello) is a mountain pass in the Cottian Alps, west of Monte Viso between France and Italy which links the Queyras valley (Hautes-Alpes) with Pontechianale in the province of Cuneo, Piedmont. At 2,744 m (9,003&nb ...

(). There is also the road to

Veleta (Sierra Nevada) Veleta (from the Arab word "Balata", meaning cliff) or Pico del Veleta is the second highest peak of the Iberian peninsula and the Sierra Nevada. Its height is given variously as , and . The mountain can be seen from the city of Granada. Vele ...

, Spain (near

Granada Granada (,, DIN 31635, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the fo ...

) which reaches but it is not a through road. The road around the

reaches an altitude of , but this is not a "

pass Pass, PASS, The Pass or Passed may refer to: Places * Pass, County Meath, a townland in Ireland * Pass, Poland, a village in Poland * Pass, an alternate term for a number of straits: see List of straits * Mountain pass, a lower place in a moun ...

", but merely a scenic loop. It is, however, the highest

asphalt Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term ...

ed road in France and is the highest through road in Europe.

Details of the climb

2014 Mountain pass cycling milestone - Cime de la Bonette Jausier 2

From the south, the climb starts at Saint-Etienne-de-Tinée and is long. Over this distance, the climb is (an average percentage of 6.4%). On the climb to the actual Col de la Bonette, there is one short section at over 10%, but on the loop around the

, the gradient reaches 15%. From the north, the climb starts at

and is long. Over this distance, the climb is (an average percentage of 6.6%), with the steepest sections at 9%. On both sides mountain pass cycling markers are placed every kilometre. They indicate the current height, the distance from the start, the distance to the summit, the average slope in the following kilometre, the number of the street, as well as the distances to villages and cities connected by the pass. They provide information for cyclists going up- and downhill.

Tour de France

The pass has featured 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 ...

four times (1962, 1964, 1993 and 2008). In 1962 and 1964, the race was led over the summit in both years by

Federico Bahamontes Federico Martín Bahamontes, born Alejandro Martín Bahamontes (; born 9 July 1928), is a Spanish former professional road racing cyclist. He won the 1959 Tour de France and a total of 11 Grand Tour stages between 1954-1965. He won a total of ...

, approaching from the south in 1962 and from the north in 1964.

Robert Millar Philippa York (born Robert Millar on 13 September 1958) is a Scottish journalist and former professional road racing cyclist. York, who competed when known as Robert Millar, is one of Britain's most successful cyclists. York won the "King of t ...

led over the summit (from the north) in 1993. In 2008

John-Lee Augustyn John-Lee Augustyn (born 10 August 1986) is a South African former professional road bicycle racer. His former teams include Team Sky, Barloworld and . Following a hip resurfacing operation in 2011, he moved to the UCI Professional Continental ...

led over the mountain (from the south), before falling on the descent to

Appearances in Tour de France

References

External links

Preview of Bonette Stage in 2008 Tour de France

Motorbiking in the Alps

Map of the Col de la Bonette and the Col de RestefondCol de la Bonette on Google Maps (Tour de France classic climbs)Cycling up to the Col de la Bonette: data, profile, map, photos and description
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bonette Mercantour National Park Mountain passes of the Alps Landforms of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence Landforms of Alpes-Maritimes Mountain passes of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Transport in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur