The Col du Grand Ballon (; elevation ) 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 ...

situated close to the summit of the

Grand Ballon The Grand Ballon () or Great Belchen ( ; ) is the highest mountain of the Vosges, located northwest of Mulhouse, France. It is also the highest point of the Grand-Est French region. Name ''Grand Ballon'' means "great ound-toppedmountain" ...

() in the

Vosges Mountains The Vosges ( , ; ; Franconian (linguistics), Franconian and ) is a range of medium mountains in Eastern France, near its France–Germany border, border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the bor ...

of France. It connects Cernay (

Haut-Rhin Haut-Rhin (); Alsatian: ''Owerelsàss'' or '; , . is a department in the Grand Est region, France, bordering both Germany and Switzerland. It is named after the river Rhine; its name means Upper Rhine. Haut-Rhin is the smaller and less pop ...

) with Le Markstein winter sports station.

Details of the climbs

There are several different directions from which the Col du Grand Ballon can be climbed: From Cernay (south-east), the total distance is at an average gradient of 4.5%, gaining in height. This route follows the

Route des Crêtes Thé Route des Crêtes (; ) is an road in the Vosges Mountains in Eastern France, which passes through the Ballons des Vosges Nature Park, Parc naturel régional des Ballons des Vosges. It connects Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines (north) with Cernay, Hau ...

over the Col de Herrenfluh () after . After a short descent, the road climbs again to the Col de Silberloch () before descending to the Col Amic (). From here, there remain at an average of 7.6%. In the forest on this final section, there are two short paved stretches. from the summit, the gradient increases to over 8%. From Willer-sur-Thur (south), the ascent (via D138) is long, climbing at an average of 6.1%. This route joins that from Cernay at the Col Amic. From the south it is also possible to climb on minor roads from

Saint-Amarin Saint-Amarin (; ; ) is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. Geography Saint-Amarin lies in the valley of the river Thur, in the southern part of the Vosges Mountains. The highest point in its territor ...

or Moosch, both on the N66; these routes join together at Geishouse. Both routes are approximately long at an average of over 7%, with a kilometre section near the summit at 12%. From Soultz (east), the route follows a minor road for the first at a steady average gradient of 4.6%, before joining the other routes at Col Amic. In total, the climb is long, climbing at an average of 5.6%. From

Kruth Kruth (; ) is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. Its railway station is the terminus of a TER service to Mulhouse. Geography Climate Kruth has a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classificati ...

(west), the climb (via D27) is long gaining 853 m in height at an average of 3.7%. This climb joins the D431 at Le Markstein.

Tour de France

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 ...

first crossed over the Col du Grand Ballon 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 ...

, when the leader over the summit was

Lucien Van Impe Lucien Van Impe (; born 20 October 1946) is a former Belgian cyclist, who competed professionally between 1969 and 1987. He excelled mainly as a climber in multiple-day races such as the Tour de France. He was the winner of the 1976 Tour de F ...

. It has been crossed on a further six occasions, the most recent in

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

Tour de France Femmes

The col was crossed on

Stage 7 ''Stage 7'' is a 30-minute American TV drama anthology series that was broadcast on CBS from December 12, 1954, through September 25, 1955. This program premiered in December 1954 with the title ''Your Favorite Playhouse'' with all episodes being ...

of the

2022 Tour de France Femmes The 2022 Tour de France Femmes (officially 2022 Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift) was the first edition of the Tour de France Femmes, a Cycling race, professional women's cycling race which took place from 24 to 31 July. It was the 16th ev ...

Amateur cycling

The Col du Grand Ballon is also used by amateur cyclists on the "Trois Ballons" sportive ride held in June (together with the climbs over the

Ballon d'Alsace The Ballon d'Alsace (; , ) (el. 1247 m.), sometimes also called the Alsatian Belchen to distinguish it from other mountains named " Belchen") is a mountain at the border of Alsace, Lorraine, and Franche-Comté. From its top, views include the ...

and the Ballon de Servance).

References

External links

Col du Grand Ballon on Google Maps (Tour de France classic climbs)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grand Ballon, Col du Mountain passes of Grand Est Transport in Grand Est