Col de Vizzavona ( co, Bocca di Vizzavona) is a mountain pass at the centre of the French island of Corsica.

Location

Col de Vizzavona is located between the two major peaks on Corsica: the Monte d'Oro (altitude ), 3 km north-northwest, and the Monte Renoso (), 6 km south-southeast. The pass, located in the Regional Natural Park of Corsica, is traversed by the RN193 road and connects the Vecchio Valley with the Gravona river and with the Gulf of Ajaccio.

Details of the climb

From the north-east, the climb commences at the village of

Vivario Vivario (; co, Vivariu) is a commune in the Haute-Corse department of France on the island of Corsica at the start of the climb to the Col de Vizzavona. Population Transport The town is served by a station on the Corsican Railways. ...

from where the ascent is long. Over this distance, the road climbs at an average gradient of 4.1%, although there are several downhill sections. The final is at an average gradient of 6.5%; this was the route used in the Tour de France 2013. From the south-west, the climb starts at the junction with the D29 road, close to the small village of Ucciani. From here, the ascent is long climbing . The average gradient is 4.4%. En route, the road passes through the large village of Bocognano.

Tour de France

In June 2013, the Col de Vizzavona was crossed 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 ...

, which passed through the island for the first time in the event's 100-year history.

Stage 2 ''Stage 2'' was a UK television anthology series produced by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). Thirteen episodes aired on BBC2 under ''Stage 2'' billing from 1971–73. They were all productions of classic plays shown previously ...

of the race, between

Bastia Bastia (, , , ; co, Bastìa ) is a communes of France, commune in the Departments of France, department of Haute-Corse, Corsica, France. It is located in the northeast of the island of Corsica at the base of Cap Corse. It also has the second-hi ...

and

Ajaccio Ajaccio (, , ; French: ; it, Aiaccio or ; co, Aiacciu , locally: ; la, Adiacium) is a French commune, prefecture of the department of Corse-du-Sud, and head office of the '' Collectivité territoriale de Corse'' (capital city of Corsic ...

, crossed the Col de Vizzavona. The climb was ranked Category 2 in the "

King of the Mountains The King of the Mountains (KoM) is an award given to the best climbing specialist in a men's cycling road race; in women's cycle racing, Queen of the Mountains (QoM) is used. While the title may be given to the rider who achieves the highest p ...

" competition, with Pierre Rolland being the first across the summit.

References

External links

Col de Vizzavona on "climbbybike" website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vizzavona Mountain passes of Haute-Corse Mountain passes of Corse-du-Sud