My focus for the Tour de France 2024 will be on the previously covered areas.
I have listed more climbs in the Savoie than I have in the Haute-Savoie, but any in the latter is new.
Those will have to go on the “must do” list – well, most of them anyway 🤪
If I have time left, which is doubtful, I can look elsewhere.
I have three options to choose from: parts of the Isère and of the Maurienne valley.
The Isère is discussed in another post, because my Prologue will start there. This post is about the climbs in the Maurienne region.
From the climbs in the Maurienne region, there more than are enough left that I haven’t cycled yet.
From Albertville to La Maurienne
Between Albertville and Aiton – start of the valley – there are two over 1,000 meters and one that would be a nice warm up:
- Montée de Grignon
- l’Ébaudiaz – doesn’t look like a viable option, maybe half of it is…
- Bonvillard
South-West of Aiton, either of the eight (!) alternatives of the climbs up the Col de Champ-Laurent will bring me to the final of the Col du Grand Cucheron (#71) from La Grange.
The full Cucheron starts in La Rochette – the VeloViewer entry – and the descent (of either) leads to Saint-Pierre-de-Belleville, South of Aiguebelle.
I will need to climb the Grand Cucheron from La Rochette to get it on the VeloViewer “completed” list…
Maurienne Valley
In the Mauriènne valley, starting in Aiton, there’s an extended warm up after Bonvillard: Bonvillaret.
More climbs:
- Le Grand Montgilbert – just below 1,000 m but looks tough
- Tioulevé – speaking of tough…
Both of these have two alternatives.
And more below 1,000 m dead end leg breakers:
And lastly, as mentioned above, the Col du Grand Cucheron – the other end.
A bit further South, there’s a dead end split off the Glandon: L’Arche – this looks like a better climb than the Frumezan.
Other than that – and the Glandon itself, of course – there’s apparently a “hidden gem” starting in Saint-Marie-des-Cuines: Teppes Rouges. At 10.4 kms and 8.3% average, the road had better be good, but I doubt it.
I don’t think I will go out of my way for the Chapelle Sainte Margueritte either, but who knows? The road sign in Bonvillard reads “Col de la Madeleine”…
One climb I’d have to (re)do is La Toussuire, at least if I want to get it on my VeloViewer list as completed. I was there in 2021 (Garmin), but the route I took doesn’t count for that list.
Further on, towards Modane, there’s another short climb I haven’t done yet: Bonvillard – trust me, not the Bonvillard (village) above and not the climb near Aiton 🤣
More interesting is the climb up to the Barrage de Plan d’Aval / Plan d’Amont. If that is anything like the Plan du Lac I cycled in 2021, it’s going to hurt.
A little bit further on, off the main road to Lanslebourg, there’s another dead end I’ll probably avoid: Le Planay from Bramans…
And with this overview, leaving a lot more of the “never mind” climbs out, I think I’ve covered all areas I would be able to visit during my Tour de France 2024 – prioritizing is my next challenge 😂
Which makes this a rather useless overview, but maybe a visitor of my blog will find some useful information.
