The Col de Manse () is a

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 ...

located in the

Massif des Écrins Massif des Écrins (; Écrins Massif) are a massif in the French Alps. They form the core of Écrins National Park in Hautes-Alpes and Isère.Gap in the

Hautes-Alpes Hautes-Alpes (; ; ) is a Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region of Southeastern France. It is located in the heart of the French Alps, after which it is named. Hautes-Alpes had a population ...

department of France. The pass connects Gap with the high Champsaur valley and the ski resort of

Orcières-Merlette Orcières-Merlette (), also known as Orcières Merlette 1850, is a ski resort near to Orcières, Hautes-Alpes, in the French Alps. It has been a summit finish for Tour de France stages on multiple occasions, most notably in 1971, when Luis Oc ...

. The road over the col is used occasionally by 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 ...

cycle race with the tour crossing the pass twice in

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

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 Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

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 Napoleon I 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 on 1 March 1815, begin ...

), which it leaves shortly before the

Col Bayard Col Bayard (1,246 m) is a mountain pass through the Dauphiné Alps in the department of Hautes-Alpes in France. It connects the communities of La Mure and Gap. See also * List of highest paved roads in Europe * List of mountain pass ...

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 (; ) is a town in the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region in southeastern France. Vaison-la-Romaine is famous for its rich Roman ruins and mediaeval town and ca ...

to Gap. From the south-east the col can be reached from the village of

La Bâtie-Neuve La Bâtie-Neuve (; ) is a commune in the Hautes-Alpes department in southeastern France. Location The village is away from La Bâtie-Vieille. It is close to Gap. Population See also *Communes of the Hautes-Alpes department The followi ...

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 Communes of France, commune of Huez, which is part of the Isère Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-R ...

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 (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

. 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 of the 2003 race,

Joseba Beloki Joseba Beloki Dorronsoro (born 12 August 1973) is a Spanish Basques, Basque 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 mount ...

and

Lance Armstrong Lance Edward Armstrong (''né'' Gunderson; born September 18, 1971) is an American former professional road bicycle racing, road racing cyclist. He achieved international fame for winning the Tour de France a record seven consecutive times fro ...

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 professional cyclist. He is one of the most successful riders of his era, winning the Tour de France twice (2007, 2009), the Giro d'Italia twice (2008, 2015), and the Vuelta ...

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 Raymond Schleck (; born 10 June 1985) is a Luxembourgish former professional road bicycle racer. He won the 2010 Tour de France, being awarded it retroactively in February 2012 after Alberto Contador's hearing at the Court of Arbitration fo ...

. 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,

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

( Team Giant-Alpecin) 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 racing cyclist who rides for UCI WorldTeam , Wales and Great Britain. He is one of the few riders in the modern era to achieve significant elite success as both a track and ...

, causing Thomas to crash head first into a

telegraph pole A utility pole, commonly referred to as a transmission pole, telephone pole, telecommunication pole, power pole, hydro pole, telegraph pole, or telegraph post, is a column or post used to support overhead power lines and various other public util ...

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