The 2003 Tour de France in the French Alps
The 2003 Tour de France will have three Alpine stage and includes three of the most famous climbs in France. On the first day, the relatively unknown Col de la Ramaz is the high point of the day at 1,610 metres. On the second day, the giant Col du Galibier will be raced before the 21 hairpins of the climb to Alpe d'Huez. On the third and final day, the riders will climb the 2,000 metre Col du Lautaret before descending to Briancon and the climb of the 2,360 metre Col d'Izoard and then an undulating route to Gap for the stage finish.
Saturday 12th July - The Col de la Ramaz and Morzine
Tour de France Stage 7 : Lyon - Morzine ( 226,5 km )
Profile : The first stage will see the riders leave Lyon and head towards Geneva before the notable climb of the day, the Col de la Ramaz.
Stage Detail : The first climb of the day is an 800 metre vertical ascent over 15 kilometres to the Col de Portes, 1020 metres at the summit. Following the descent to the village of Chazey-Bons, the route undulates towards Geneva for 80 kilometres. The next two climbs of the Côte du Mont des Princes and the Côte de Cruseilles can be found to the west and north of the picturesque town of Annecy.
The big climb of the day starts in the village of Mieussy. At 1,610 metres, the Ramaz is a Col that is 14 kilometres in length with an average gradient of just under seven percent making it an easier option than it's tough neighbour, the Col de Joux Plane. The toughest kilometres are in the middle of the climb, but only three of the 14 kilometres are steeper than nine percent.
The final climb after descending the Ramaz will see the riders ride to the ski resort of Les Gets, but this is only four kilometres at an average gradient of four percent.
The stage finish is in Morzine, a pretty ski resort situated in the heart of the Savoie Alps between Lake Geneva and the Mont Blanc.
| Climb Name | Distance into Stage | Details |
| Col de Portes | 56 km | 15 km climb at 5.5% |
| Côte du Mont des Princes | 113 km | 6 km climb at 7% |
| Côte de Cruseilles | 140 km | 8.5 km at 4% |
| Col de la Ramaz | 205 km | 14 km at 7% |
| Côte des Gets | 218 km | 4 km at 4.6% |
Around Morzine : There are two notable climbs above Morzine. The first is the Col de Joux Verte which continues on to climb to the ski station of Avoriaz. The climb to Avoriaz was used as the final climb in the 1994 Tour de France mountain time-trial when Piotr Ugrumov won the stage. Morzine's famous climb above the ski resort is the Col de Joux Plane which is 1,700 metres in altitude and a difficult climb. The Col de Joux Plane was the final climb on stage 16 of the 2000 Tour de France on the stage from Couchevel to Morzine. Lance Armstrong cracked on the climb and Jan Ullrich took over a minute out of the American. Armstrong had already done the work to win the Tour de France but described the stage as 'the hardest day of my cycling life'.
Best view points : Col
de la Ramaz and finish in Morzine
Sunday 13th July - The Galibier and the Alpe d'Huez
Tour de France Stage 8 : Sallanches - L'Alpe d'Huez ( 211 km )
Profile : The first tough climbing day of the 2003 Tour de France taking the riders into the high Alps with the giant Col du Galibier and the Alpe d'Huez to finish.
Stage Detail : The stage starts with a ten kilometre climb to the ski resort of Megeve before 100 kilometres of descending, flat and very gradual climbing. The climbing really starts in St-Michel-de-Maurienne with the 12 kilometre, Col du Telegraphe. The riders will climb to 1570 metres before descending five kilometres to the ski resort of Valloire and then onto the giant 2646 metre, Col du Galibier. From Valloire, the riders have 18 kilometres of climbing at an average of just under seven percent, with the climb becoming increasingly steeper after the Plan Lachet.
The Galibier becomes increasingly more desolate with vegetation disappearing soon after Valloire and the last kilometres riding on a rocky mountainside. The view from the summit includes a panorama in each direction. To the north, the 4,800 metre Mont Blanc stands imposing on the skyline, and to the south, the snow covered peaks of the 4,000 metre Ecrins massif.
The first eight kilometres of descent from Galibier are technical until the Col du Lautaret. From the Lautaret, the riders will join the main road between Briancon and Grenoble and 40 kilometres after the Col du Lautaret, the riders will turn onto the climb to the ski resort of Alpe d'Huez.
The first three kilometres of the climb to Alpe d'Huez are the hardest and it was here that Lance Armstrong left his rivals in the 2001 Tour de France. After hairpin six, the gradient eases and the riders will be able to see the road winding up the mountainside above them.
Lance Armstrong won here in 2001, and we can expect him to want to win here again in the quest for his fifth Tour de France victory.
| Climb Name | Distance into Stage | Details |
| Côte de Megève | 10 km | 10 km climb at 5% |
| Col du Télégraphe | 125 km | 12 km climb at 6.8% |
| Col du Galibier | 149 km | 18.5 km climb at 6.7% |
| Alpe d'Huez | 211 km | 14 km climb at 8% |
Around Alpe d'Huez : Other notable climbs around Alpe d'Huez include the Col de la Croix de Fer, the Col du Glandon, the Col d'Ornon and the 2002 stage finish to Deux Alpes. In 2002, the Colombian rider Santiago Botero broke away from his breakaway companions to finish nearly two minutes ahead of Mario Aerts and Axel Merckx at the ski resort in Deux Alpes.
Best view points : Final kilometre of the Col du Galibier with the incredible view down over the previous five kilometres of road, and the top half of the Alpe d'Huez.
Monday 14th July - The Lautaret, Izoard and onto Gap
Tour de France Stage 9 : Bourg d'Oisans - Gap ( 184,5 km )
Profile : The riders will warm up on the Col du Lautaret before the Col d'Izoard and an undulating route to Gap.
Stage Detail : July 14th is Bastille Day in France, a national holiday and a day when any French rider will be particularly motivated to win. The stage starts in Bourg d'Oisans, a small town at the foot of Alpe d'Huez before they climb back to the Col du Lautaret. The climb is never steep but 1,300 metres of vertical climbing will be enough to split the peleton and leave some riders behind.
From the Lautaret, the riders descend through Serre Chevallier and Briancon and start to climb to the Col d'Izoard. A 1000 metre vertical climb to 2,360 metres with the steepest part of the climb over the last half. The scenery around the Col is unlike any other that you will see in the Alps with eroded cliffs, rocks formations that have been carved out by the elements. The most famous section is called the Casse Desert and this can be found two kilometres from the summit on the southern side of the Col d'Izoard.
Once the road leaves the trees, ten kilometres after the Col, the descent is one of fastest in the Alps with long and open straights and often a strong tailwind. The riders then descend for 60 kilometres, passing though Embrun and past the pretty Lac du Serre Poncon before the Côte de Saint-Appolinaire, and then the Côte de la Rochette just outside Gap
If you are staying near a large town, make sure you are in town for the firework display in the evening.
| Climb Name | Distance into Stage | Details |
| Col du Lautaret | 38 km | 25 km climb at 4% |
| Col de l'Izoard | 86 km | 19.5 km climb at 5.9% |
| Côte de Saint-Appolinaire | 156 km | 6.7 km climb at 7.4% |
| Côte de la Rochette | 176 km | 4 km climb at 6.7% |
Best view points : The top of the Col d'Izoard and the finish in Gap
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