We revisited the Bozel Valley today, to add some lesser-known climbs to the “Been There, Done That” list.
Lesser-visited as well, I guess – I ended up taking 10th place on a climb, which for sure means that the segment is hardly visited.
And indeed, I’m now 10th from 15…
I started near the climb up Courchevel but rode on to Bozel.
Here the climb up to Pralognan-la-Valoise starts. Or to Le Prioux…
They’re listed separately, and the latter is listed as starting in Moutiers instead of in Bozel.
If you’ve already done Moutier to Brides-les-Bains or Bozel, you probably want to avoid riding that again, as the road is busy as fuck.
Same goes for Meribel, La Loze or the other climbs listed in the valley – just start further on.
At any rate, you pass through – although you can go around it – Pralognan when heading for Le Prioux.
A typical dead end with a carpark for hikers and nothing else.
I descended and took the split up Plan Fournier. Not worth the effort, trust me.
Having created my stage’s route with ClimbFinder, I was led to believe you can cycle past Plan Fournier.
You cannot, not on a road bike…
The descent was in the car for the best part as I was pretty sure I would crash.
As I don’t scare easily, that should tell you something.
Next on the menu was the climb to Le Laisonnay d’en Bas, or d’en Haute – mixed results on various maps.
This was actually worth the effort, with nice panoramic views, a balcony road and – finally! – a restaurant at the end of the road.
I descended all the way back to Moutiers where I ended my stage.
Total for today: 89.1 kilometers and 2,129 meters of D+ – not quite a recovery ride, but I’ll take it.
