Col Agnel () 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 ...

in the

Cottian Alps The Cottian Alps (; ; ) are a mountain range in the southwestern part of the Alps. They form the border between France (Hautes-Alpes and Savoie) and Italy (Piedmont). The Fréjus Road Tunnel and Fréjus Rail Tunnel between Modane and Susa, Ital ...

, west of

Monte Viso Monte Viso or Monviso (; ; or simply ) is the highest mountain of the Cottian Alps, located in Piedmont, Italy, close to the French border. Monte Viso is well known for its pyramid-like shape. Because it is higher than all its neighbouring peak ...

between

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

which links the

Queyras The Queyras (; ) is a valley located in the French Hautes-Alpes, of which the geographical extent is the basin of the river Guil, a tributary A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''main stem' ...

valley (

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 ...

) with

Pontechianale Pontechianale is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cuneo in the Italy, Italian region Piedmont, located about southwest of Turin and about northwest of Cuneo, on the border with France. Pontechianale borders the following municipal ...

in the

province of Cuneo The province of Cuneo (; ) is a province in the Piedmont region of Italy. To the west, it borders the French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur ( departments of Alpes-Maritimes, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence and Hautes-Alpes), to the north the ...

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

. At 2,744 m (9,003 ft), it is the third highest paved road pass of the Alps, after

Stelvio Pass The Stelvio Pass ( or ; ) is a mountain pass in northern Italy bordering Switzerland at an elevation of above sea level. It is the highest paved mountain pass in the Eastern Alps, and the second highest in the Alps, below France's Col de l ...

and

Col de l'Iseran Col de l'Iseran (el. ) is a mountain pass in France, the highest paved pass in the Alps. A part of the Graian Alps, it is in the department of Savoie, near the border with Italy, and is crossed by the D902 roadway. The pass is part of the Rout ...

. Despite being the highest international pass of the Alps, Col Agnel is somewhat unknown and not heavily used. It is one of the many passes suggested as the route taken by

Hannibal Hannibal (; ; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Punic people, Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Ancient Carthage, Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Punic War. Hannibal's fat ...

in his march, with elephants, to attack Rome at the start of the

Second Punic War The Second Punic War (218 to 201 BC) was the second of Punic Wars, three wars fought between Ancient Carthage, Carthage and Roman Republic, Rome, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean Basin, Mediterranean in the 3rd century BC. For ...

and a modern-era plaque, mounted on a rock on the French side, commemorates the event.

Cycling

From Château-Queyras (France), the climb is 20.5 km long at an average gradient of 6.6%. From

Casteldelfino Casteldelfino is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southwest of Turin and about northwest of Cuneo. Casteldelfino borders the following municipalities: Bellino, Elva, Oncino ...

(Italy), the climb is 22.4 km long at an average gradient of 6.5%.

Tour de France

The Col Agnel was crossed for the first time on 20 July 2008 during stage 15 of the

2008 Tour de France The 2008 Tour de France was the 95th running of Tour de France, the race. The event took place from 5 to 27 July. Starting in the French city of Brest, France, Brest, the tour entered Italy on the 15th stage and returned to France during the 16t ...

. The Col Agnel was crossed for the Second Time on 21 July 2011 during Stage 18 of The

2011 Tour de France The 2011 Tour de France was the 98th edition of Tour de France, the race. It started on 2 July at the Passage du Gois and ended on the Champs-Élysées stage in the Tour de France, Champs-Élysées in Paris on 24 July. The cyclists competed in 2 ...

Giro d'Italia

The Col Agnel has been crossed twice during

Giro d'Italia The Giro d'Italia (; ), also known simply as the Giro, is an annual stage race, multiple-stage bicycle racing, bicycle race primarily held in Italy, while also starting in, or passing through, other countries. The first race was organized in 19 ...

Notes

External links

Profile starting from Castedelfino on climbbybike.com

Profile starting from Guillestre on climbbybike.com

Cycling up to the Col Agnel: data, profile, map, photos and description
{{DEFAULTSORT:Agnel Mountain passes of the Alps Landforms of Hautes-Alpes Mountain passes of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Mountain passes of Piedmont Province of Cuneo France–Italy border crossings Transport in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Climbs in cycle racing in France

Cycling

Tour de France

Giro d'Italia

See also

Notes

External links