Test your cycling legs on the Col d’Iseran on 21st June!
The Col de l’Iseran is a legendary climb in the Tour de France. It marks the border between the Maurienne and Tarentaise valleys and overlooks the Route des Grandes Alpes, a famous scenic route that offers the chance to explore the entire French Alps.
The annual cycling event, L’Iserane, takes place on 21st June – a great way to celebrate the summer solstice. It’s free to enter the Iserane and the road from Val d’Isère to Bonneval sur Arc is reserved exclusively for cyclists. The Iserane race isn’t timed. Prizes are awarded by raffle: which means the last person to arrive has exactly the same chance of leaving with something as the first!
This mountain pass is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful in the Alps. The gradients aren’t too steep (maximum 7%), but the majority of the climb takes place above 2,000 meters in altitude, in a true high-mountain setting. From Val-d’Isère , the road gradually climbs above the tree line, winding between avalanche barriers and tunnels carved into the rock. You’ll pass close to Lac de l’Ouillette before the landscape shifts dramatically into a stark, mineral landscape: not a tree, not a house, just rock, snowfields , and the sky. The last kilometre before the summit is the steepest, with an average gradient of 7.7%. At the summit you get a beautiful panoramic view encompassing the Vanoise glaciers and the Franco-Italian Tsanteleina peak in the foreground. You’ll be offered refreshments at the top, very welcome after all the exertion!
– 8:00 am: Registration for the raffle opens at the Tourist Office square and is closed to motorized vehicles.
– 8:30 am: The road opens for the cycling event.
– 10:30 am: Raffle registration closes.
– 12:30 pm: Raffle drawing takes place at the Tourist Office square.
Recommended arrival before 10am!
Car and pedestrian traffic is prohibited outside of designated areas and footpaths on the D902 road between the Tourist Office roundabout, the Col de l’Iseran, and Bonneval from 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Children’s participation is the responsibility of their parents.
