Roundtrip Col d’Izoard
(96 km/2130 altimeters)
The route starts in Les Vigneaux and begins with a wonderfull descent, which abruptly ends after 13 kilometers at the beginning of La Rampes de Freissinières. It’s a short (2km) but heavy climb,with gradients between 8 and 15%. Next you descend via a quiet road, along the airfield to Saint Crepin.
After Guillestre we drive through the gorges of the Gui lto the start of the climb of the Col d’Izoard. The Gorge is beautiful, is deceptively flat but can cost a lot of energy in headwind. After the exit to the left, where the climb of the Col d’Izoard really starts, the first part is both metally and physically the hardest. The road seems endless flat and you can easily run out, while the real climbing begins only at the beginning of the forest. The altimeters are taken quickly through some shaded hairpins, after which the road goes down.
Pay attention! this is not the top of the climb, but the so-called Casse Déserte; there are still two tough kilometers to climb.The descent to Briançon is beautiful and quite clear. After Briançon we take the rural route through Villard-Saint-Pancrace and Villard-Meyer back to Les Vigneaux.
