Guides to Cycling Cols and Climbs of the Northern French Alps
The Northern French Alps is home to sensational mountain cycling, with many of its legendary cols featuring year after year in the Tour de France. A selection of our favourites can be found below… click the titles or profiles for a full description of each col.
All of these climbs can be accessed within a day’s riding from our home base, the Aravis Lodge on the edge of the charming ski resort of La Clusaz, 1 hour from Geneva airport.
We run ‘Classic’ fully supported breaks and more independent ‘Lite’ cycling weekends from the Lodge; on either of these we’re there throughout your stay to provide advice and guidance on which climbs to tackle, and how best to incorporate them into various lengths of rides. We have an extensive set of full route guides and GPS tracks available for all guests to use over the course of their stays.
If you have any questions about any of these climbs, routes incorporating them or anything else related to a short break cycling the roads of the Northern French Alps, don’t hesitate to contact us for more details.
Northern French Alps – routes, climbs and col profile information
Col de la Colombière
from Grand Bornand
Length : 11.7km
Avg grade : 5.9%
Max grade : 9.0%
Col de la Colombière
from Scionzier
Length : 16.3km
Avg grade : 6.8%
Max grade : 10.2%
Col des Aravis
from Thônes
Length : 18.9km
Avg grade : 4.6%
Max grade : 8.6%
Col des Aravis
from Flumet
Length : 11.5km
Avg grade : 5.0%
Max grade : 11.8%
Col de la Croix-Fry
from Thônes
Length : 11.8km
Avg grade : 7.0%
Max grade : 9.3%
Col de la Croix-Fry
from Saint Jean de Sixt
Length : 10.3km
Avg grade : 4.9%
Max grade : 7.3%
Col de la Forclaz
from Menthon St. Bernard
Length : 10.2km
Avg grade : 6.5%
Max grade : 12.5%
Col de la Forclaz
from Vesonne
Length : 8.2km
Avg grade : 8.0%
Max grade : 13.0%
Col de Joux Plane
from Samoëns
Length : 11.6km
Avg grade : 8.5%
Max grade : 12.5%
Col de Joux Plane
from Morzine
Length : 10.9km
Avg grade : 6.5%
Max grade : 11.1%
Col de la Ramaz
from Mieussy
Length : 14km
Avg grade : 6.7%
Max grade : 10.2%
Col de la Ramaz
from Taninges
Length : 16km
Avg grade : 6.1%
Max grade : 10.6%
Col des Saisies
from Flumet
Length : 14.8km
Avg grade : 5.0%
Max grade : 9.2%
Col des Saisies
from La Pierre/Beaufort
Length : 15km
Avg grade : 6.4%
Max grade : 11.1%
Semnoz(Cret de Chatillon)
from Annecy
Length : 17.4km
Avg grade : 7.0%
Max grade : 11.1%
Semnoz(Cret de Chatillon)
from St. Jorioz
Length : 26.8km
Avg grade : 5.2%
Max grade : 10.2%
Cormet de Roselend
from Bourg St. Maurice
Length : 19.4km
Avg grade : 5.9%
Max grade : 8.9%
Cormet de Roselend
from Beaufort
Length : 26.8km
Avg grade : 5.2%
Max grade : 10.2%
Col d’Iseran
from Bourg St. Maurice
Length : 48km
Avg grade : 4.1%
Max grade : 8.3%
Col d’Iseran
from Mont Cenis
Length : 33km
Avg grade : 4.2%
Max grade : 10.0%
Col de la Madeleine
from La Chambre
Length : 19.8km
Avg grade : 7.7%
Max grade : 12.5%
Col de la Madeleine
from La Lechère
Length : 24.5km
Avg grade : 5.4%
Max grade : 11.3%
Col de l’Arpettaz
from Ugine
Length : 16.3km
Avg grade : 7.1%
Max grade : 12%
Plateau des Glières
from Petit Bornand
Length : 7.9km
Avg grade : 9%
Max grade : 17%
Fancy riding some of these amazing climbs and cols?
Just email us at info@bikeweekender.com , call us on +44 (0) 845 557 5983 or