Col d'Izoard - 2360 metres

The Col d'Izoard is a unique place to cycle and one of the great Cols of the French Alps. From the green wooded mountainsides above Briançon, to the sandy coloured, eroded cliffs above the the Casse Deserte and the Col, the scenery is beautiful..

See August 2002

Northern Ascent

The view when leaving Briançon behind.

Descending towards Briançon, through the hamlet of le Laus on the northern side of the Col d'Izoard.

A view of northern side of the Col d'Izoard.

Looking towards the Col d'Izoard from just below the hamlet of Le Laus on the northern side.

Three kilometres left to climb on the northern side of the Col d'Izoard.

The view towards the Refuge Napoleon and the Col d'Izoard above on the northen side.

The view from the final hairpin on the northen side with 250 metres to the Col d'Izoard.

The view down over the Refuge Napoleon and the descent to Briançon on the northern side.

Looking north from the Col.

 

Southern Ascent

Start town :	Guillestre
Starting Altitude :	1000 metres
Distance :	32 kilometres
Vertical Climb :	1500 metres
Gradient :	5% average - 10% maximum
Comments :	The first 17 kilometres from Guillestre climb at a very gradual gradient with gradients from two to five percent. The climb really starts when the route leaves the main road to Chateau Queyras and climbs through Le Pasquier and Brunissard before the last seven kilometres of climbing to the Col. The view as the forest is left behind and the eroded cliffs around the Casse Deserte is unforgettable. The descent of the southern side of the Col d'Izoard can be incredibly fast if there is a tailwind as the straights are long with open fields on each side of the road.

Looking towards Le Pasquier on the southern ascent of the Col.

The view towards the Col d'Izoard with the road winding up the mountainside at the end of the valley above the village of Brunissard.

Looking down the valley from Brunissard, the final village before the Col d'Izoard on the southern side of Col.

Mountain views when climbing through the woods above Brunissard on the southern side of the Col.

Looking towards the Col d'Izoard as the road leaves the forest and enters the Casse Deserte on the southern side of the Col.

The memorial to Fausto Coppi and Louison Bobet in the Casse Deserte on the southern side of the Col d'Izoard.

Descending towards Guillestre on southern side of the Col d'Izoard.

A hairpin on the southern side of the Col d'Izoard.

Looking south from the Col d'Izoard.

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