Col de la Ramaz

The favoured approach for this ascent is to climb out of the small town of Mieussy situated on the D907, the Vallee Verte and follow the road for a further 14 kilometres at an average gradient of 7%!

Initially the road is of the classic switch back hairpin corner variety rising up through housing (think picturesque chalet style not housing estate!) and onwards through the meadows where your pedalling effort will be accompanied by the Alpine cow bells. The lower slopes offer glimpses of the spectacular rock faces that the higher road bisects on its journey to the ski resort of

Sommand. The Ponte de Marcelly and its iron cross towering above you on the right and the Col de Foron and the Haute Pointe to your left. The road is painted with the names of the supporters favourites in the tour, it’s easy to imagine riding through a wall of spectators characterising the climb when the Tour visits.

The upper slopes, approaching the avalanche tunnels and immediately after, are the steepest but not quite in the league of the Col de Joux Plane. At this point there is an unfortunate combination of gradient and terrible road surface conspiring to impede your progress. The latter a result of the freeze thaw affect of winter when these slopes will be covered in a metre of snow and ice. Take a look over the edge at the tunnels for an appreciation of how much height you have gained since leaving Mieussy; it’s a great vertigo inducing view. Upon reaching the ski station of Sommand, indicated by a wide open meadow like bowl and its ski lifts, the gradient slackens considerable as you traverse around the edge of this beginner ski area before negotiating the final push to the summit at 1619 meters.

In terms of duration the climb is similar to the Joux Plane taking a fit rider pushing hard around 50 minutes of effort. A steadier tempo would see the same rider over the top in 65-70 minutes. The climb is easier than the Joux Plane in that it’s possible for a fit rider to cruise up the climb without necessarily making lung bursting efforts just to keep moving.

The decent drops fairly steady and straight into the ski resort of Praz-de-Lys. None the less the road is super fast a little bumpy and narrow before widening and flattening out through the resort itself. It’s an eerie place in the summer, the ski lifts standing idle as you rush by underneath. Leaving the ski area marks the start of the steepest section of the decent braking hard into classic switch backs followed by gravity assisted accelerations to the next corner.

Don’t leave all your effort on the climb as the descent brings you out on the D902 at the Pont des Gets from where you have a 20 minute climb into the resort of Les Gets, fortunately this is followed by a 5km drop into Morzine itself.

The last time Le Tour visited this climb in 2003 it saw the riders leave Lyon and head towards Geneva before tackling the Col de la Ramaz, with the stage finish in Morzine for the not inconsiderable distance of 226km. The darling of the French Richard Virenque led the race home after some 6 hours in the saddle.

Distance - 60km

Time - 3-4hrs

Highest Point - 1619m Col de la Ramaz

Vertical Gain -1350m