Cyclist
Classic climb: Col du Galibier, a different take on a Tour de France legend
There are only a handful of cycling destinations where you’re likely to find yourself pedalling past five metre walls of snow in mid-July. The Col du Galibier is one of them. Topping out at 2,642m, this Tour de France mainstay is one of the loftiest points the race ever reaches, and one of the highest paved roads in all of Europe.
Surrounded by soaring snow-capped peaks, the Galibier’s butter-smooth tarmac has served as the stage for some of professional cycling’s most high-octane racing action. The col’s first inclusion was in 1911, when only three riders made it to the summit without walking. Since then it has featured a further 64 times, making it the fifth most visited climb in Tour de France history.
In the 1998 edition, Italian powerhouse Marco Pantani battled through biblical weather to catch stage leader Jan Ullrich from three minutes back, dropping him on the north face of the mountain. By the time he crossed the line, he had taken back 11 minutes from Ullrich on a solo onslaught that won him the stage and ultimately the Tour.
More recently, 2024 Tour victor Tadej Pogačar sealed his first stage win of this year’s race on the Galibier, approaching the climb from Briançon and attacking 900m from the summit to leave a burnt-out Jonas Vingegaard fighting for breath on the final few ramps.
As if that wasn’t enough, he rode the final 8.6km section from the Col de Lautaret in a time of 20min 48sec, smashing Nairo Quintana’s five-year-old record by more than a minute and a half in the process. It’s this approach to the Galibier that we are focussing on here.
Pass notes
The route from the south isn’t the most popular of the three up to the Galibier’s summit – that honour goes to the classic north side via Col du Télégraphe – but it still has a lot to offer. It’s by far the most accessible way to approach the Galibier, with views to rival any other Alpine ascent.
From Briançon, the climb follows the main road up to the Col du Lautaret before branching off right and snaking up the Galibier’s south side. The climb is approximately 35km in total with an average gradient of 4%. It may not sound like a lot, but that’s because the bulk of the elevation is condensed into the final quarter.
Straight out of Briançon the ride starts with a 7% kicker. It’s followed by 15 fast kilometres along the D1091, the main road that connects Briançon with Bourg d’Oisans at the foot of Alpe d’Huez. The gradient ramps up as you pass through Le Monêtier-les-Bains, culminating in a crescendo of 10% ramps and switchbacks for the final 8.5km.
Another option is to tackle the south side of the Galibier starting in Le Clapier. This is the longer and more arduous of the two south-side routes, and you’ll have to contend with a number of dimly lit and often wet-floored tunnels, complete with fast-moving traffic and narrow roads. Not exactly a winning recipe for a low-stress day in the saddle.
Briançon, by contrast, is an excellent place to start a ride. It’s a picturesque town with plenty of spots to grab a pastry and a coffee – which is wise if you want to tackle the immediate hill out of town with all cylinders firing.
Start high, ride higher
It’s ironic that you should have to climb out of Briançon given that it’s the highest town in the European Union. At 1,326m, it sits at the meeting point of the Durance and Guisanne rivers and has historically been an important hub for trade through the mountains.
Predictably, the roads can get busy, so in order to make the ride out of town as pleasant as possible, the best time to leave is as early as you can stomach. After tackling the ramp and negotiating a number of roundabouts, the long stretch of main road that follows is not terrible, but it’s not particularly riveting riding either. It’s long, straight, almost flat, and it can get busy with fast-moving traffic. Thankfully it’s also rather wide, which takes the edge off a bit.
The road passes through a number of small ski towns, all part of the larger Serre Chevalier resort, which encompasses the villages of Chantemerle in Saint-Chaffrey, Villeneuve in La Salle-les-Alpes, Le Monêtier-les-Bains and Briançon itself. As you pass through them one by one, the cars and motorhomes get fewer and farther between, and the high mountains on the horizon begin to come into sharper focus, providing a timely reminder of what lies in wait.
Le Monêtier-les-Bains is the last stop before you reach the steeper final section, so it’s a good chance to refill empty bidons on a hot and thirsty day. This mountain commune has become a hotspot for mountaineers and climbers, acting as a gateway to the surrounding peaks and offering some of the best bouldering in the area. It’s a fitting place for the route’s first real climbing to begin.
The big finish
Out of Le Monêtier-les-Bains the road steepens. Trees, buildings and carefully stacked log piles are left behind to reveal a landscape of rolling green hills, jagged rock faces and sky-piercing peaks, thinly veiled by wisps of white cloud.
This is your view for the next 10km. It’s a steady ascent until the road curves round to the left, taking you through a tunnel and onto the final few bends up to the top of the Lautaret. Here you’ll find an assortment of cafes and restaurants offering standard Alpine grub with spectacular views of the surrounding mountains.
The route leaves the main road at the top of the Lautaret, peeling off to the right and almost immediately increasing in gradient from 4% to around 7%. The narrow tarmac strip hugs the mountainside, following each corner closely as it makes its way up towards the snow.
Unfortunately, it’s not entirely traffic-free. You’ll be sharing the road with a smattering of cars, motorhomes and unfeasibly large black motorcycles straddled by people you’d probably be wise not to get into a bar brawl with. However, this can be avoided if you plan your trip to coincide with the Cols Réservés, which is an annual event that sees key mountain passes closed to all but cyclists on some mornings.
From here, it’s a mixture of tight hairpin bends and slow sweeping curves as the road winds its way higher still, passing the famous Tunnel du Galibier, which until 1976 was the highest paved point and the only way to reach the other side of the mountain without using ice axes and crampons.
On the approach to the top, the gradient increases to 11% in places, with the switchbacks now coming in quick succession. Even during the summer, parts of the road are flanked by greying walls of melting snow, leaving some stretches of tarmac perpetually wet. It doesn’t make for great traction in the corners as you rise out of the saddle to climb, but it’s a sure sign that the summit is within reach.
A final push and you crest the top of the Galibier to be greeted by a sea of fellow puffed-out cyclists and annoyingly spritely leather-clad bikers. All that’s left to do now is breathe in a lungful of that well-earned, albeit thin mountain air, and join the back of the queue for the obligatory summit-sign photo.
• This article originally appeared in issue 157 of Cyclist magazine. Click here to subscribe
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