Col d'Izoard
Encyclopedia
Col d'Izoard is a high mountain pass
in the Alps
in the department of Hautes-Alpes
in France
.
It is accessible in summer via the D902 road, connecting Briançon
on the north and the valley of the Guil
in Queyras
, which ends at Guillestre
in the south. There are forbidding and barren scree slopes with protruding pinnacles of weathered rock on the upper south side. Known as the Casse Desert this area has formed a dramatic backdrop to some key moments in the Tour de France, and often feature in iconic 1950s black-and-white photos of the race.
. It is classified as an Hors Categorie
climb. The southern climb from Guillestre is 15.9 km in length and has an average gradient of 6.9%. The climb from Briançon to the Col is 20 km in length and has an average gradient of 5.8%.
Several of the Tour de France's more memorable moments have occurred on the Col d'Izoard, particularly the exploits of Fausto Coppi
, Bernard Thevenet
and Louison Bobet
. A small cycling museum is at the summit, along with a memorial to Coppi and Bobet.
Mountain pass
A mountain pass is a route through a mountain range or over a ridge. If following the lowest possible route, a pass is locally the highest point on that route...
in the Alps
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
in the department of Hautes-Alpes
Hautes-Alpes
Hautes-Alpes is a department in southeastern France named after the Alps mountain range.- History :Hautes-Alpes is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790...
in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
It is accessible in summer via the D902 road, connecting Briançon
Briançon
Briançon a commune in the Hautes-Alpes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department....
on the north and the valley of the Guil
Guil
The Guil is a long river in the Hautes-Alpes département, southeastern France. Its source is several small streams which converge in the lake Lestio, at Ristolas. It flows generally west, through the Queyras...
in Queyras
Queyras
The Queyras is a valley located in the French Hautes-Alpes, of which the geographical extension is the basin of river Guil, a tributary of the Durance...
, which ends at Guillestre
Guillestre
Guillestre is a commune in the Hautes-Alpes department in southeastern France.-Geography:The village lies in the northwestern part of the commune, on the left bank of the Chagne, a stream, tributary of the Guil, which forms all of the commune's northern border, before flowing into the Durance,...
in the south. There are forbidding and barren scree slopes with protruding pinnacles of weathered rock on the upper south side. Known as the Casse Desert this area has formed a dramatic backdrop to some key moments in the Tour de France, and often feature in iconic 1950s black-and-white photos of the race.
Tour de France
The Col d'Izoard is frequently on the route of the Tour de FranceTour de France
The Tour de France is an annual bicycle race held in France and nearby countries. First staged in 1903, the race covers more than and lasts three weeks. As the best known and most prestigious of cycling's three "Grand Tours", the Tour de France attracts riders and teams from around the world. The...
. It is classified as an Hors Categorie
Hors Categorie
Hors catégorie is a French term used in cycle races to designate a climb that is "beyond categorization", an incredibly tough climb. Most climbs in cycling are designated from Category 1 to Category 4 , based on both steepness and length...
climb. The southern climb from Guillestre is 15.9 km in length and has an average gradient of 6.9%. The climb from Briançon to the Col is 20 km in length and has an average gradient of 5.8%.
Several of the Tour de France's more memorable moments have occurred on the Col d'Izoard, particularly the exploits of Fausto Coppi
Fausto Coppi
Angelo Fausto Coppi, , was the dominant international cyclist of the years each side of the Second World War. His successes earned him the title Il Campionissimo, or champion of champions...
, Bernard Thevenet
Bernard Thévenet
Bernard Thévenet, born 10 January 1948, in Saint-Julien-de-Civry, Saône-et-Loire, is a retired French bicycle racer. He is a two-time winner of the Tour de France and known for ending the reign of five-time Tour champion Eddy Merckx...
and Louison Bobet
Louison Bobet
Louis 'Louison' Bobet was a French professional road racing cyclist. He was the first great French rider of the post-war period and the first rider to win the Tour de France in three successive years, from 1953 to 1955...
. A small cycling museum is at the summit, along with a memorial to Coppi and Bobet.
Riders first to the top in the Tour de France
| Year | Name | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Maxim Iglinsky Maxim Iglinsky Maxim Iglinsky is a Kazakh road racing cyclist who rides for UCI ProTour team , who he joined in 2007. Iglinsky turned professional in 2005 with Domina Vacanze and rode for in 2006. Iglinsky won stage 6 of the 2007 Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré.He is the elder brother of Valentin Iglinsky.-... |
|
| 2006 | Stefano Garzelli Stefano Garzelli Stefano Garzelli is an Italian professional road racing cyclist. The high point of his career to date was his overall win in the 2000 Giro d'Italia, after a close three-way competition with Gilberto Simoni and Francesco Casagrande.-Career:He started out as being a domestique for Marco Pantani but... |
|
| 2003 | Aitor Garmendia Arbilla | |
| 2000 | Santiago Botero Santiago Botero Santiago Botero Echeverry is a Colombian former professional road bicycle racer. He was a pro from 1996 to 2010, during which time he raced in three editions of the Tour de France and four editions of the Vuelta a España... |
|
| 1993 | Claudio Chiappucci Claudio Chiappucci Claudio Chiappucci is a retired Italian professional cyclist. He was on the podium three times in the Tour de France general classification - second in 1990, third in 1991 and second again in 1992.-Career:... |
|
| 1989 | Pascal Richard Pascal Richard Pascal Richard is a French-speaking Swiss former racing cyclist. He is most notable as a former King of the Mountains winner at the Giro d'Italia and Olympic Games gold medalist.-Biography:... |
|
| 1986 | Eduardo Chozas Eduardo Chozas Eduardo Chozas Olmo is a Spanish former professional road racing cyclist. He won four stages at the Tour de France and three in the Giro d'Italia. He was also chosen as the most combative rider of 1990 Tour de France.- Palmarès :... |
|
| 1976 | Lucien Van Impe Lucien Van Impe Lucien van Impe was a Belgian cyclist from 1969 to 1987. He excelled mainly as a climber in multiple-day races such as the Tour de France... |
|
| 1975 | Bernard Thévenet Bernard Thévenet Bernard Thévenet, born 10 January 1948, in Saint-Julien-de-Civry, Saône-et-Loire, is a retired French bicycle racer. He is a two-time winner of the Tour de France and known for ending the reign of five-time Tour champion Eddy Merckx... |
|
| 1973 | José-Manuel Fuente | |
| 1972 | Eddy Merckx Eddy Merckx Edouard Louis Joseph, Baron Merckx , better known as Eddy Merckx, is a Belgian former professional cyclist. The French magazine Vélo called him "the most accomplished rider that cycling has ever known." The American publication, VeloNews, called him the greatest and most successful cyclist of all... |
|
| 1965 | Joaquim Galera Joaquim Galera Joaquim Galera Magdelano is a Spanish former professional road bicycle racer.- Palmarès :1965- External links :*... |
|
| 1960 | Imerio Massignan Imerio Massignan Imerio Massignan is an Italian former professional road cyclist. He was born in Valmarana di Altavilla Vicentina.-Professional career:A pure climber, he debuted as professional in the 1959 Giro d'Italia, classifying 5th overall... |
|
| 1958 | Federico Bahamontes Federico Bahamontes Federico Martín Bahamontes is a Spanish former professional road racing cyclist.-Biography:Bahamontes was born in Santo Domingo-Caudilla , of Cuban descent. His family was devastated during the Spanish civil war and Bahamontes' father, Julián, took the family to Madrid as refugees... |
|
| 1956 | Valentin Huot | |
| 1954 | Louison Bobet Louison Bobet Louis 'Louison' Bobet was a French professional road racing cyclist. He was the first great French rider of the post-war period and the first rider to win the Tour de France in three successive years, from 1953 to 1955... |
|
| 1953 | Louison Bobet Louison Bobet Louis 'Louison' Bobet was a French professional road racing cyclist. He was the first great French rider of the post-war period and the first rider to win the Tour de France in three successive years, from 1953 to 1955... |
|
| 1951 | Fausto Coppi Fausto Coppi Angelo Fausto Coppi, , was the dominant international cyclist of the years each side of the Second World War. His successes earned him the title Il Campionissimo, or champion of champions... |
|
| 1950 | Louison Bobet Louison Bobet Louis 'Louison' Bobet was a French professional road racing cyclist. He was the first great French rider of the post-war period and the first rider to win the Tour de France in three successive years, from 1953 to 1955... |
|
| 1949 | Fausto Coppi Fausto Coppi Angelo Fausto Coppi, , was the dominant international cyclist of the years each side of the Second World War. His successes earned him the title Il Campionissimo, or champion of champions... |
|
| 1948 | Gino Bartali Gino Bartali Gino Bartali, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI was the most renowned Italian cyclist before the Second World War, having won the Giro d'Italia twice and the Tour de France in 1938... |
|
| 1947 | Jean Robic Jean Robic Jean Robic was a French road racing cyclist, who won the 1947 Tour de France. Robic was a professional cyclist from 1943 to 1961. His diminutive stature and appearance was encapsulated in the nickname the hobgoblin of the Brittany moor... |
|
| 1939 | Sylvère Maes Sylvère Maes Sylvère Maes was a Belgian cyclist, who is most famous for winning the Tour de France in 1936 and 1939.- Palmarès :1932... |
|
| 1938 | Gino Bartali Gino Bartali Gino Bartali, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI was the most renowned Italian cyclist before the Second World War, having won the Giro d'Italia twice and the Tour de France in 1938... |
|
| 1937 | Julian Berrendero Julian Berrendero Julián Berrendero Martín was a Spanish road racing cyclist. He is most famous for having won the third and fourth editions of the Vuelta a España in 1941 and 1942... |
|
| 1936 | Sylvère Maes Sylvère Maes Sylvère Maes was a Belgian cyclist, who is most famous for winning the Tour de France in 1936 and 1939.- Palmarès :1932... |
|
| 1927 | Nicolas Frantz Nicolas Frantz Nicolas Frantz , born in Mamer, Luxembourg, was a bicycle racer with 60 professional racing victories over his 12-year career . He rode for the Thomann team in 1923 and then for Alcyon-Dunlop from 1924 to 1931. He won the Tour de France in 1927 and 1928.Nicolas Frantz was the son of a prosperous... |
|
| 1926 | Bartolomeo Aymo | |
| 1925 | Bartolomeo Aymo | |
| 1924 | Nicolas Frantz Nicolas Frantz Nicolas Frantz , born in Mamer, Luxembourg, was a bicycle racer with 60 professional racing victories over his 12-year career . He rode for the Thomann team in 1923 and then for Alcyon-Dunlop from 1924 to 1931. He won the Tour de France in 1927 and 1928.Nicolas Frantz was the son of a prosperous... |
|
| 1923 | Henri Pélissier Henri Pélissier Henri Pélissier was a French racing cyclist from Paris and champion of the 1923 Tour de France. In addition to his 29 career victories, he was known for his long-standing feud with Tour founder Henri Desgrange and for protesting against the conditions endured by riders in the early years of the Tour... |
|
| 1922 | Philippe Thijs |
See also
- List of highest paved roads in Europe
- List of mountain passes