The Col de Manse () is a mountain pass located in the

Massif des Écrins The mountains of the Massif des Écrins (; Écrins Massif) form the core of Écrins National Park in Hautes-Alpes and Isère in the French Alps.Gap in the

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 141,22 ...

department of France. The pass connects Gap with the high Champsaur valley and the ski resort of Orcières-Merlette. The road over the col is used occasionally by 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 consist ...

cycle race with the tour crossing the pass twice in

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment ...

Refuge Napoleon

At the summit there is a "Refuge Napoleon" — this is one of six such refuges built in the region in 1857–1858 with funds provided by Emperor Napoleon from his estate to provide shelter for travellers. Napoleon's will provided 50,000 Francs in gratitude for the welcome he had received from the local population on his return from Elba in 1815.

Details of the climb

From Gap, the climb is approached via the RN85 (

Route Napoléon The Route Napoléon is the route taken by Napoléon in 1815 on his return from Elba. It is now concurrent with sections of routes N85, D1085, D4085, and D6085. The route begins at Golfe-Juan, where Napoleon disembarked 1 March 1815, beginni ...

), which it leaves shortly before the Col Bayard to join the D944. From this direction, the climb is long gaining in height at an average gradient of 5.6%. This is the route used in Stage 16 of the 2013 Tour de France from

Vaison-la-Romaine Vaison-la-Romaine (; oc, Vaison) is a town in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. Vaison-la-Romaine is famous for its rich Roman ruins and mediaeval town and cathedral. It is also unusual in ...

to Gap. From the south-east the col can be reached from the village of La Bâtie-Neuve on the RN94, from where the climb is long climbing at an average of 4.9%. This is the route taken on Stage 18 of the 2013 Tour de France shortly after leaving Gap en route to

Alpe d'Huez L'Alpe d'Huez () is a ski resort in southeastern France at . It is a mountain pasture in the Central French Western Alps, in the commune of Huez, which is part of the department of Isère in the region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. It is part ...

Tour de France

The Col de Manse was first passed by the

on Stage 12 of the 1971 race when it was an uncategorized climb on the descent from Orcières-Merlette en route to

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fran ...

. It was crossed again twice in the following year when it was ranked as a Category 3 and Category 4 climb. In 1989, it was crossed on Stage 15, which was an

individual time trial An individual time trial (ITT) is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock (in French: ''contre la montre'' – literally "against the watch", in Italian: ''tappa a cronometro'' " stopwatch stage"). There are also trac ...

between Gap and Orcières-Merlette (). On

Stage 9 Stage or stages may refer to: Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage" * '' The Stage'', a weekly British theatre newspaper * S ...

of the 2003 race,

Joseba Beloki Joseba Beloki Dorronsoro (born 12 August 1973) is a Spanish former professional road bicycle racer. Tour successes Beloki turned professional in 1998 with , joined in 2000, and then in 2001. A strong climber in the high mountains and a top p ...

and

Lance Armstrong Lance Edward Armstrong ('' né'' Gunderson; born September 18, 1971) is an American former professional road racing cyclist. Regarded as a sports icon for winning the Tour de France seven consecutive times from 1999 to 2005 after recovering ...

were descending from the Cote de La Rochette when, after passing the Col de Manse, Beloki locked his wheel on the melting road surface, flying out of control, and falling on his head, shoulder, and hip. Armstrong, who was immediately behind Beloki, swerved off the road through a field, getting off his bike, hopping over a small embankment, and resuming the chase to the finish in Gap. The descent was used again on Stage 16 of the 2011 race. On the ascent,

Alberto Contador Alberto Contador Velasco (; born 6 December 1982) is a Spanish former Road bicycle racing, professional cyclist. He is one of the most successful riders of his era, winning the Tour de France twice (2007 Tour de France, 2007, 2009 Tour de France ...

made two attacks, the second of which was successful, with

Cadel Evans Cadel Lee Evans (; born 14 February 1977) is an Australian former professional racing cyclist, who competed professionally in both mountain biking and road bicycle racing. A four-time Olympian, Evans is one of three non-Europeans – along with ...

and

Samuel Sánchez Samuel "Samu" Sánchez González (born 5 February 1978) is a Spanish former professional road bicycle racer, who rode professionally in the sport between 2000 and 2017 for the and squads. He was the gold medal winner in the Cycling at the 2008 ...

joining him in taking a time advantage on the stage over the other riders in contention for high placings in the general classification, and more than a minute over Andy Schleck. Andy Schleck later criticized the use of such a technically testing descent so close to the finish of a stage. On Stage 16 of the

2015 Tour Fifteen or 15 may refer to: *15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16 *one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015 Music *Fifteen (band), a punk rock band Albums * ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005 * ''15'' (Ani Lorak album) ...

Warren Barguil Warren Barguil (; born 28 October 1991) is a French cyclist, who rides for UCI ProTeam . He is best known for winning two mountain stages and the mountains classification of the 2017 Tour de France. Career Early career Born in Hennebont, Britta ...

(

Team Giant-Alpecin Team DSM () is a Dutch professional cycling team at UCI WorldTeam level. The team is managed by Iwan Spekenbrink. History The team was founded in 2005 under the name "Shimano-Memory Corp", sponsored by Skil and Shimano, and was based in the N ...

) lost control approaching a hairpin bend on the descent of the Col de Manse and collided with

Geraint Thomas Geraint Howell Thomas, (; born 25 May 1986) is a Welsh professional Road bicycle racing, racing cyclist who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam , Wales and British Cycling, Great Britain. He is one of the few riders in the modern era to achieve s ...

, causing Thomas to crash head first into a

telegraph pole A utility pole is a column or post typically made out of wood used to support overhead power lines and various other public utilities, such as electrical cable, fiber optic cable, and related equipment such as transformers and street lights. It c ...

and fall into a ditch. However Thomas escaped serious injury, and was able to complete the stage and lost just 38 seconds to the leading group.

Appearances in Tour de France

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Manse Mountain passes of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Mountain passes of the Alps Landforms of Hautes-Alpes Transport in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes