Col du Mollendruz
Distance: 14.37 km
Elevation Gain: 453 m
Elevation Loss: 62 m
Difficulty:
283 (Easy)
FIETS Index: 2.12 FIETS
Avg Grade: 4.85 %
Max cat climb: 2
Min elevation: 743 m
Max elevation: 1181 m
Ride Category:
Hilly
The Col du Mollendruz, 1,180 m, is the main link between the Vaud plateau and the Vallée de Joux, in the Jura of Vaud, Switzerland, and it stays open all year. The Tour de France crossed it in 1952, when Raoul Rémy led over the top. In the 2025 Tour de Romandie, Stefan Küng attacked from the breakaway on the Mollendruz and crossed the col more than two minutes ahead of the peloton, with about 40 km still to ride. He was caught 11 km from the finish, and Jay Vine won the stage.
The ride starts in Montricher, where a castle once controlled the road at the foot of the Jura. It climbs through Mont-la-Ville and the forest to the col, on the watershed between the Mediterranean and the North Sea. The ride continues to the Col de Pétra Félix. In 2022 the Tour came the other way over both cols: Mattia Cattaneo led over the Pétra Félix, and the race then descended the Mollendruz towards Lausanne, where Wout van Aert won.
