Cycling in Yorkshire
Cycling in Yorkshire
Stage 10 | Stage 11 | Stage 12
Stage 11 of the Tour de France 2022 is a full-on mountain day. Over a total distance of 152km, the riders tackle four categorised climbs.
The summit of the first, les Lacets de Montvernier, is after 50km. Then come Tour de France favourites the Col de Télégraphe and Col du Galibier. After a descent to Serre Chevalier, there's an 11km climb to the finish line at the Col du Granon.
Without wishing to sound over-dramatic, there will be no hiding place today.
| Date | Wednesday 13th July 2022 |
|---|---|
| Stage classification | Mountain |
| Distance | 151.7km |
| Intermediate sprint | Aiguebelle |
| Climbs | Lacets de Montvernier (Cat. 2) Col du Télégraphe (Cat. 1) Col du Galibier (hors catégorie) Col du Granon (hors catégorie) |
There's an annoying video map of Stage 11:
This is the profile of Stage 11, Tour de France 2022:
| Caravan | Fast Schedule | Slow Schedule | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Start Time (départ fictif) | 1015 | 1215 | 1215 |
| Start Time (départ réel) | 1030 | 1230 | 1230 |
| Intermediate Sprint (16.5km) | 1055 | 1253 | 1255 |
| Col du Galibier (106.7km) | 1357 | 1533 | 1557 |
| Finish Line (151.7km) | 1513 |
1640 | 1713 |
Stage 11 starts in Albertville. The riders trundle south in the Isère valley on the D925 via Sainte-Hélène-sur-Isère (known to me for its Autoroute péage) to Aiton.
Next, the route follows the river Arc upstream. The intermediate sprint comes early, at Aiguebelle, after16.5km.
After passing through La Chambre, the first climb looms - les Lacets de Montvernier.
The Lacets de Montvernier climb is nowhere near as high as the Col du Galibier, peaking at just 782m, but it's popular with the Tour de France organisers because of the spectacle of the peloton crawling up the tight hairpin bends, or laces, of the climb.
According to Maurienne Tourisme it took 6 years of works, between 1928 and 1934, to build this road from the Maurienne valley to the village of Montvernier. It is one of the most spectacular roads in the Savoie département.
The last time the Tour de France came this way was on Stage 12 of the 2018 race.
The race comes back down from Montvernier to Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne.
The riders continue up the Arc valley to Saint-Michel-de-Maurienne. From there, they start the ascent of the Col du Télégraphe, which leads to the Col du Galibier.
The climb out of Saint-Michel-de-Maurienne is of the Col du Télégraphe. It's billed as a separate climb from the Col du Galibier, but equally they could be regarded as two parts of the same ascent.
There are lots of twists and turns through the trees on the way up the Col du Télégraphe, and an average gradient of 7.1% over 11.9km.
After the summit of the Col du Télégraphe, there's a short respite (4.5km), because the road to Valloire is slightly downhill.
From Valloire, the road tilts up again, this time for the climb of the Col du Galibier.
The Col du Galibier is relatively - relatively - gentle to begin with, and gets steeper in the last 5km, after the restaurant at plan Lachat. The average gradient is 6.9% over 17.7km.
The Col du Galibier is the Souvenir Henri Desgrange. Degrange was the sports journalist who created the Tour de France and was its first race director. He was keen on taking the race high up into the mountains.
There's a cash prize for the first rider to reach the highest point of the Tour de France in any given year, and in 2022 it's the Col du Galibier. That's appropriate because there is a stone monument to Desgrange at the top of the Galibier.
On the descent of the Col du Galibier, the riders pass over the Col de Lautaret.
They then join the valley road - the D1091 - down the Vallée de la Guisane. The road passes through le Monêtier-les-Bains and la Salle-les-Alpes, both part of the Serre Chevalier ski resort.
At Chantemerle/Saint Chaffrey, they leave the D1091 and begin the final climb, of the Col de Granon.
The Col du Granon is 2,413m at the summit.
The Tour de France has been up once before, in 1986. That day, Eduardo Chozas won, and Greg Lemonde took the yellow jersey.
There's a lot of climbing on Stage 11, and the final climb is steep, on a narrow road.
Given the unbelievable form he has shown in recent years and in 2022, Pogacar must have a good chance of winning this stage.
Who else could win on the Col du Granon? The other GC contenders, of course, including Roglic, Thomas, Ben O'Connor, Vlasov, and Romain Bardet.
As an outside bet, what about Nairo Quintana rolling back the years and pulling off a stage win here?
Who do you think will win Stage 11?
Albertville is a town on the river Arly, near its confluence with the river Isère. It is surrounded by mountains - the Bauges to the west, the Beaufortain to the north, and the Chaine de la Lauzière to the south.
Albertville was on the Roman route from Milan to Vienna (which crossed the Alps via the Col du Petit St-Bernard). Because of the confluence of the Arly and the Isère, the Romans called the higher part of the town ad confluentes. (This part of Albertville is called Conflans today). There was a customs post lower down, referred to as ad publicanos.
At the end of the C12th, the Knights Hospitaller of St John of Jerusalem founded a hospital for travellers and pilgrims down near the river, and the village which developed around it was called l'Hôpital.
Modern Albertville was formed in 1836 by King Charles Albert of Sardinia (of the House of Savoie). He merged the medieval town of Conflans with the town of l'Hôpital.
Albertville's economy is largely industrial, featuring hydroelectricity and paper mills. Kassbohrer, who make piste bashers, have premises here.
Albertville hosted the 1992 Winter Olympics. Many of the events took place in nearby ski resorts, including Le Praz (ski jumping), Val d'Isère (men's giant slalom, Super G, downhill, and combined), Méribel (women's Alpine skiing events), and Les Menuires (men's slalom). The skating took place in Albertville: the ice rink (Halle de Glace Olympique) remains; the speed skating venue (l'anneau de vitesse) has been given over to athletics.
There's a travel festival in Albertville at the end of October, for travel writers and photographers, called Le Grand Bivouac. Albertville Jazz Festival is at the end of July.
There's a cycle path most of the way from Albertville to Annecy.
Rough Guide to France.
Price £14.39 from Amazon as at 3rd March 2022.
Bike Rides In and Around York features a historical city tour, plus family rides, road rides, and mountain bike rides.
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Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne is a town at the confluence of the Arvan with the Arc. It's named after John the Baptist, and reputedly had relics of John - three fingers brought back from Egypt in the C6th.
The main industries in Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne are aluminium production and tourism. Among the visitors it attracts are cyclists who use it as a base to tackle the Alpine cols nearby.
