TdF: Col de Columbier stage

josame

Next year I will lose my TdF Mountain stage viewing virginity:

Can someone answer these two 'slightly thick' questions

1.
I plan to cycle up the Col De Columbier early in the morning before the riders
I take it that's fine as long as I give myself plenty of time?

2. Can I expect a reasonable/enjoyable descent or will it be a case of survival?
Thanks for any comments

Simon Notley

Based on my experience of Alpe d'Huez:

1) Yes, you should be fine as long as you get there a couple of hours before the peloton, you might not be allowed into the barriered section (the top couple of km) depending on when you arrive

2) Getting down could be pretty hectic as there will be loads of other people doing the same, but if you just wait a while it should calm down. I doubt you'll get a full-on top speed descent, but it shouldn't be unpleasant.

josame

Thanks for that

Kléber

1. Leave early and take a big rucksack with warm clothes, shoes and plenty of food and drink. Remember, watching a stage of the Tour is a picnic and day out, not a cycling event. Standing on a cool, windy mountainside in cycling shoes is not the way to do it.
2. The descent will be full of cars and people, it will only be ok once the road has cleared.

FullFrameRob

Just to add my 2p's worth

Remember the race only does the last half of the Colombiere, it joins the climb in the village of Le Reposoir which is about 9km into the climb.

josame

Thanks Kleber and nypd

Cheers

GeorgeShaw

Also, isn't the last part of the north route up the Colombiere a bit difficult to access? It's all cuttings and steep slopes. That means that the top will be heaving, so get there early for any kind of decent position.

FullFrameRob

GeorgeShaw wrote:

Also, isn't the last part of the north route up the Colombiere a bit difficult to access? It's all cuttings and steep slopes. That means that the top will be heaving, so get there early for any kind of decent position.

Yeah i remember when i did it in June, near the top it is very steep slopes, need to get there very early to grab a good spot. I say go for a spot just after the route joins the Colombiere as its a little bit more open & its still around 8 / 9 % gradient

View near the top

josame

Thanks nypd, why would you avoid the peak is it just not worth the bother?
I'm fine about the early start...

Fat Head

The Col De Colombiere was the very first Alpine climb I did, in 2006 when I took the family to watch the TDF (the 'Landis' stage as it happened). We stayed in Les Carroz which is in a valley above Cluse, which itself is at the foot of the Colombiere. This would be a great place to stay, especially if you have kids as there are loads of activities in the town (we rented a flat for the week).

This was the very first Alpine climb I did and it is certainly manageable, it took me maybe an hour twenty mins to climb and at the top is 1600 odd metres so not as extreme as other climbs. I remember doing it for the first time out of three ascents and getting totally cooked in the stretch before the summit, with the sun belting of the rockface which is right at your side, this is the bit in NYPD's pic....this was probably the most wrecked I've been on the bike but this was a notoriously hot Alpine summer....I did the climb twice more and cleaned it both times although bonked terribly once on the way back up to Les Carroz. Le Scionzier where the tour hits the climb is about 2/3 of the way up the climb.

I would really urge you to make the trip - you wont be disappointed!

knedlicky

You don’t say from which side. If you try and ride in the opposing direction, I think you’ll find the route barred from Le Grand Bornand by midday if not before.

If you’re intending to ride the actual TdF route from Cluses, the Col de Romme has a 500 m long pretty steep ramp at its beginning as you leave Cluses, and the whole route until joining the Col de la Colombiere at Le Reposoir is fairly narrow. I suspect therefore that this will be closed more than 2 hours before the riders reach Cluses.
If you intend to shortcut from Cluses to Le Reposoir, and then ride up the Col de la Colombiere from there, 2 hours in advance of the riders should be enough, although one sometimes encounters overzealous gendarmes who make one dismount earlier. If that happens before you’re ready to stop, and it's still over an hour before the caravan arrives, walk a bit to satisfy him, then once out of sight, start riding again.

It’s 24 km from Cluses to the pass summit and typically somewhere between about 1-40 and just over 2-00 is needed. But with so many people likely to be walking up when you’re riding, you need to allow 10-20 mins more.

After the broom wagon has gone by, the road will be very crowded for at least an hour, maybe two, and you’ll have to weave in and out of a traffic jam heading downhill, with occasional cars coming up and strolling pedestrians everywhere. If the weather’s fine and warm, and you find a nice temporary bar with a TV, you’re best staying there for a while before descending.

The trouble with being right at the crest, is that many others think to do this too, and the area can be so crowded it’s hard to see much. A bit down a pass, 2-3 km in this case, where the steep bit is (1-3 km from the summit) would be better. There, if you’re lucky, a significant move might be is made or a break tried or someone dropped (and you were there to see it live!). At the top, too often riders are too weary or too resigned to attempt anything.
Also best to find somewhere where you can see them approach 500-1000 m away, gradually getting closer and closer, and after passing you, where you can see them albeit indistinctly in the distance approaching the summit – not impossible on Colombiere because you can sort of see the summit from about 4 km away.

I’ve been over Colombiere twice and Romme once, and on none of the three separate occasions did I find it particularly hot thereabouts, in fact one time it was pretty cold up top. But I have heard 2-3 others, not just Fat Head, say it can be very hot between Le Reposoir and the crest.
Kleber's got it right about a day-out and a picnic, so make sure you’ve got plenty to eat and moreso drink, something to read, sun cream, something to walk in, and something to keep you dry and warmish if the weather is bad.

FullFrameRob

josame wrote:

Thanks nypd, why would you avoid the peak is it just not worth the bother?
I'm fine about the early start...

Personally its just not worth the hassel heading to the summit, it will be heaving. Plan on trying for a spot around 3 to 4 km from the top. Remeber you still have to get down off the mountain. The gradient will still be around the 9% mark.

Now knedlicky says it 24km to the summit buts thats only if you plan on riding the Col de Romme as well, which the TDF is doing. If you just do the Colombiere starting the bottom of the climb in Cluses / Scionzier its only 9km to Le Reposoir & a tad over 16km to the summit.

Hotel wise any ideas on which town you plan on staying in ? The info ive gave is based on you coming up the climb the same side the TDF is doing and not the Le Grand Bornand side of the climb.

josame

I am staying at Annecy - I want to go up the Col by the same route as the tdf
so from the thread I gather that is Le Reposoir

If I want to go over the peak awhile after the final rider that will be ok won't it? - just a long wait

FullFrameRob

josame wrote:

I am staying at Annecy - I want to go up the Col by the same route as the tdf
so from the thread I gather that is Le Reposoir

If I want to go over the peak awhile after the final rider that will be ok won't it? - just a long wait

I take it your planning on cycling all the way from Annecy ?

I recommened on then heading up the D1203 to the town of Bonneville, that road takes you over the Col D'Evires, then take the D1205 along the valley towards Scionzier / Cluses, then follow the road signs for Col de la Colombiere. Thats about a 50km ride from the centre of Annecy to the bottom of the Colombiere.



Now looking at the Google Earth map above, i would miss out the Col de Romme altogether and just do the Colombiere.

The Romme is the blue line on the map starting where the black X is and joins up with the Colombiere at Le Reposoir, the Colombiere is the yellow rd ( D4 ) in the middle of the pic & the summit is the red X. You can ride the Romme as it starts in the same town as the Colombiere but will add say another 1hr riding time and another 10+km of distance to your day. The race will only be doing the bit of the Colombiere between Le Reposoir & the red X.

Getting back to Annecy should be fine, but will take sometime as the sensible way back to Annecy is to go over the summit of the Colombiere and drop down to Le Grand Bornand, then onto St Jean de Sixt onto Thones then Annecy. Once you have got off the Colombiere & out of Le Grand Bornand its only about 30km to Annecy town centre

It will be a very long day but well worth it, distance wise if you plan on cycling all the way there & back at a rough guess be around 110km, from Annecy town centre to town centre. Add at least another 10km & 1+hrs riding time if you do do the Romme.

josame

Excellent info nypd much appreciated.
Unfortunately I didn't get the link/map you refer to.

josame

Map found thanks again for info

knedlicky

nypd wrote:

Now knedlicky says it 24km to the summit buts thats only if you plan on riding the Col de Romme as well

Sorry, my mistake, I accidentally gave the distance from Cluses to Grand Bornand (it's just a coincidence it's the same as Cluses via Romme to Colombiere summit).

nypd wrote:

[Getting back to Annecy should be fine, but will take sometime as the sensible way back to Annecy is to go over the summit of the Colombiere and drop down to Le Grand Bornand, then onto St Jean de Sixt onto Thones then Annecy. Once you have got off the Colombiere & out of Le Grand Bornand its only about 30km to Annecy town centre

I wouldn't recommend the direct route back to Annecy from Le Grand Bornand via Thones, because as well as some spectators making their way home in cars and tourist buses, and the spectators who move around with the Tour in their mobile homes driving that way too, that's the route all the vehicles associated with the TdF will go, with the next stage taking place at Annecy.

That means a constant stream of team cars, mechanics' lorries and riders' buses, journalists' cars, lorries full of the official organisation's structures and pavilions (soon dismantled at the finish), and lorries full of all the enormous amount of stuff TV and radio broadcast crews seem to need, etc, etc. There will be a constant stream of such traffic for the first 2-3 hours after the stage finishes, which will only gradually die out as the evening wears on, the last Tour lorries probably driving the route about midnight.

If I didn’t backtrack (this being one option, also allowing you to go over the Col de Romme in reverse direction, so get some idea of what the riders went up), I’d use the small roads which parallel the main road to Thones, then take the road south to just outside Faverges via the Col de Marais – this is an easy quiet pleasant pass.
From near Faverges, you can either take the direct route to Annecy along the west side of the lake, using the bike path if the road is busy, or if you’re feeling invigorated from watching the Tour, ride the Col de la Forclaz on the east side of the lake (pretty hard but short climb, great view of the lake and of Annecy, from where the paragliders jump off at the top of the pass).

GeorgeShaw

Another alternative would be to take road down the valley through Petit Bornand to St Laurent, and from there to Annecy via the outskirts of La Roche and then Thorens-Glieres. It's not a particularly busy road.

josame

quiet/side roads looks the way to go

Kléber

Remember, the last time the race went up, the riders weren't attacking each other so much. So pick a spot to see the race go by in comfort. I'd think about going 2-4km above Le Reposoir as there are a few switchbacks here where if you place yourself right, you could be under a shady tree and have a grand view of the road down below in Le Reposoir, so you'll literally be able to see the race coming up the mountain to you.

FullFrameRob

Actually Knedlicky does make a good point with the route back to Annecy, i forgot that the next days stage is the TT around Lake Annecy, could well be somewhat hectic trying to get back to Annecy.

As Knedlicky said trying to make your way to Thornes, drop down the Colombiere to Le Grand Bornand then up to St Jean de Sixt and then follow the side roads running along side the main road into Thornes then head left onto the D12 over the Col du Marais in the direction of Faverges then Annecy, isnt such a bad idea.

I did the Marais when i cycled between Geneva & Albertville back in June, is a great little Col, not steep at all and some of the views after the village of Serraval are stunning ( although there are quite a few stunning views in the Alps !!! ) . Plus you will also get to cycle along side Lake Annecy which is never a bad thing.

RichardB101

I think the best plan is to drive up the Colombiere road and then park about 2 or 3 km before the romme joins that road then you wont have to park on the route of the TDF then cycle about 10km up the Colombiere and that should make you about 3 or 4 km from the summit, If its clear you may even be able to see the summit.

Any one agree with this idea.

pat1cp

Kléber wrote:

Remember, the last time the race went up, the riders weren't attacking each other so much. So pick a spot to see the race go by in comfort. I'd think about going 2-4km above Le Reposoir as there are a few switchbacks here where if you place yourself right, you could be under a shady tree and have a grand view of the road down below in Le Reposoir, so you'll literally be able to see the race coming up the mountain to you.

Wasn't Linus up the road with the "Big Hitters" watching each other a few minutes behind? I do recall it being very busy near the top, crowds parting a few feet ahead of his front wheel.

I wouldn't want to get too close to the road edge either, it's virtually cut into a cliff face in places. It's quite demoralising when riding it, you can see the road going up, and up, and up, for miles and the top of the pass in the distance. When riding it the first time a pal said "see the shed up there, that's the top". The "shed" turned out to be a 3 storey chalet.

As someone else suggested the hairpins above the village could be an ideal spot.