Col De La Madeleine
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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 mountain ranges can present formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both Human migration, human and animal migration t ...
in the
Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...
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 o ...
in France which connects La Chambre in
Maurienne Maurienne (; ; ) is one of the 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. Location The Maurienne val ...
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 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 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
1969 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 2nd millennium, the 69th year of the 20th century, and the ...
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 th ...
'', every year since 1995.


See also

*
List of highest paved roads in Europe This is a list of the highest paved roads in Europe. It includes roads that are at least long and whose culminating point is at least above sea level. This height approximately corresponds to that of the highest settlements in Europe and to th ...
*
List of mountain passes This is a list of mountain passes. Africa Egypt * Halfaya Pass (near Libya) Lesotho * Moteng Pass * Mahlasela pass * Sani Pass Morocco * Tizi n'Tichka South Africa * Eastern Cape Passes * Western Cape Passes * Northern Cape Passes * K ...
* Souvenir Henri Desgrange


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