Col du Lautaret and Col du Galibier (South side)
Distance: 27.07 km
Elevation Gain: 1233 m
Elevation Loss: 0 m
Difficulty:
767 (Hard)
FIETS Index: 5.62 FIETS
Avg Grade: 4.56 %
Max cat climb: HC
Min elevation: 1386 m
Max elevation: 2619 m
Ride Category:
Epic Climb
The southern road to the Col du Galibier climbs from Serre Chevalier over the Col du Lautaret, in the Hautes-Alpes of France. In 2011, a hundred years after the Tour de France first crossed the Galibier, the race finished on the summit for the first time, its highest finish ever; Andy Schleck attacked on the Izoard 60 km out and won alone. In 2024 the Tour came up this side again, and Tadej Pogacar attacked 800 m from the top, led over the pass and won in Valloire, taking the yellow jersey.
This ride starts at Villeneuve and climbs the Guisane valley to Le Monêtier-les-Bains, named after a monastery founded in 1020. The village’s hot spring, at 37 °C, still feeds its baths. The road then reaches the Col du Lautaret, on the line of a Roman road; beside the pass, the university’s alpine garden has grown mountain plants since 1899. From there the road turns north for the last 8 km, past the monument to Henri Desgrange, to the summit.
