The Col de la République or Col de Grand Bois () is a mountain pass in the

Pilat massif Mont Pilat or the Pilat massif is a mountainous area in the east of the Massif Central of France. Name The origin of the name "Pilat" is uncertain. The word may have a Latin origin (''Mons Pileatus''). Another legend says that the body of Ponti ...

within the Pilat Regional Natural Park in the

Loire The Loire ( , , ; ; ; ; ) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône. It rises in the so ...

department of the

Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (; AURA) or ; or ; . is a Regions of France, region in southeast-central France created by the 2014 territorial reform of French regions; it resulted from the merger of Auvergne and Rhône-Alpes. The new region came into e ...

region in southern France. Located on the D1082 (ex-RN 82 ) in the commune of Saint-Genest-Malifaux, it connects

Saint-Étienne Saint-Étienne (; Franco-Provençal: ''Sant-Etiève''), also written St. Etienne, is a city and the prefecture of the Loire département, in eastern-central France, in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regi ...

with

Annonay Annonay (; ) is a Communes of France, commune and largest city in the north of the Ardèche department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of southeastern France. It is the most populous commune in the Ardèche department although it is not the ...

in the

Rhône valley The Rhône ( , ; Occitan: ''Ròse''; Arpitan: ''Rôno'') is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and Southeastern France before discharging into the Mediterranean Sea ( Gu ...

. The road was constructed in 1830 and the col has an altitude of 1,161 metres. It was the first climb on the first

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage cycle sport, bicycle race held primarily in France. It is the oldest and most prestigious of the three Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours, which include the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a ...

in 1903, but was the scene of notorious violence in

1904 Events January * January 7 – The distress signal ''CQD'' is established, only to be replaced 2 years later by ''SOS''. * January 8 – The Blackstone Library is dedicated, marking the beginning of the Chicago Public Library system. * ...

that involved fighting and officials firing gunshot warnings. It has been part of the route on 13 occasions.

History

The name 'La République' and that of the nearby hamlet of 'La République' derive from the attempt by members of the

Beguine The Beguines () and the Beghards () were Christianity, Christian laity, lay religious orders that were active in Western Europe, particularly in the Low Countries, in the 13th–16th centuries. Their members lived in monasticism, semi-monastic ...

religious sect to found an independent community there called the ''Republic of Jesus Christ''. The Beguines were well established in

Saint-Jean-Bonnefonds Saint-Jean-Bonnefonds () is a commune in the Loire department in central France. Population See also *Communes of the Loire department The following is a list of the 320 communes of the Loire department of France. The communes coopera ...

, but in November 1794 they moved 20 kilometres to the plateau to be ready for the arrival of the prophet

Elijah Elijah ( ) or Elias was a prophet and miracle worker who lived in the northern kingdom of Israel during the reign of King Ahab (9th century BC), according to the Books of Kings in the Hebrew Bible. In 1 Kings 18, Elijah defended the worsh ...

Cycling

Details of the climb

From

(north), the climb is 17 km long. Over this distance, it gains 644 m at an average of 3.8%. The maximum gradient is 6.3%. From the south, the climb starts at

Bourg-Argental Bourg-Argental (; ; ) is a commune in the Loire department in central France. Population See also *Communes of the Loire department The following is a list of the 320 communes of the Loire department of France. The communes cooperate i ...

; from here, the ascent is 12 km long, climbing 626 m at an average of 5.2%, with a maximum of 7.9%.

''Vélocio''

At the top is a monument in memory of

Paul de Vivie Paul de Vivie, who wrote as Vélocio
(28 April 1853

, who wrote under the pseudonym ''Vélocio'' and was important in the development of bicycle touring. The col de la République was his favourite morning ride.Peter Nye, ''The Cyclist's Sourcebook'', New York: Perigee, 1991,
p. 100
John Krausz, Vera van der Reis Krausz, and Paul Harris, ''The Bicycling Book: Transportation, Recreation, Sport'', New York: Dial, 1982,
p. 68
Every year since 1922 the volunteers of the 'Comité Vélocio de Saint-Étienne' have organized the ''Journée Vélocio'' (Vélocio Day-Trip), a 12.788 km climb of the col.

Tour de France

The col de la République was the first pass of over 1,000 metres crossed by the Tour de France, in 1903 during the second stage of the first Tour de France (Lyons - Marseilles via Saint-Étienne) when

Hippolyte Aucouturier Hippolyte Aucouturier (17 October 1876 – 22 April 1944) was a French professional road bicycle racer. Aucouturier, a professional between 1900 and 1908, won two stages at the first Tour de France in 1903 and won three stages and finished ...

was the first rider to reach the summit. The following year, in the

1904 Tour de France The 1904 Tour de France was the second Tour de France, held from 2 to 24 July. With a route similar to its previous edition, 1903 Tour de France winner Maurice Garin seemed to have repeated his win by a small margin over Lucien Pothier, while H ...

, it was the scene of some of the most notorious violence in the history of the tour when supporters of the regional favourite Antoine Fauré attacked his opponents. This caused the organizers to avoid the Loire department until the

1950 Tour de France The 1950 Tour de France was the 37th edition of the Tour de France, taking place from 13 July to 7 August. It consisted of 22 stages over . Gino Bartali, captain of the Italian team, threatened and assaulted on the Col d'Aspin by some French sup ...

. In 1905, the tour's organiser

Henri Desgrange Henri Desgrange (; 31 January 1865 – 16 August 1940) was a French cycle sport, bicycle racer and Sports journalism, sports journalist. He set twelve world track cycling records, including the hour record of on 11 May 1893. He was the first o ...

chose to ignore the col de la République, and focused instead on the introduction of the

Ballon d'Alsace The Ballon d'Alsace (; , ) (el. 1247 m.), sometimes also called the Alsatian Belchen to distinguish it from other mountains named " Belchen") is a mountain at the border of Alsace, Lorraine, and Franche-Comté. From its top, views include the ...

, because he saw that he had missed the opportunity of publicity previously. In the 1904 incident, Andre Fauré led the race and 200 fans tried to stop the rest of the cyclists from following him. Garin hurt his hand during the incident, and

Giovanni Gerbi Giovanni Gerbi (20 May 1885 – 6 May 1955) was an Italian road racing cyclist. He was nicknamed the "red devil", due to his red jersey and his "never-say-die" attitude. In 1905, he won the first Giro di Lombardia. In 1911, he finished third in ...

had to give up with broken fingers. The situation was only solved after race officials fired shots in the air. Further on, nails and broken glass had been spread along the road, which caused many flat tires. Because of this help, Fauré was the first on top of the col, but was over-taken by the favourites later. At the summit a sign post says :Col de la République :1er col à plus de 1000 mètres franchi par le tour de France cycliste le 5 juillet 1903 :(The 1st col higher than 1,000 metres traversed by the cycling Tour de France on 5 July 1903)

Appearances

The col has been used 13 times in the Tour de France, and the first rider to cross the summit on each occasion was:

References

External links

Details of the climbCol de la République on Google Maps (Tour de France classic climbs)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Republique, Col De La Landforms of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Landforms of Loire (department) Mountain passes of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Mountain passes of the Massif Central