On Wednesday, we completed the 2026 L’Étape du Tour route.
Since 1993, this annual mass participation event (currently attracting around 16,000 cyclists) allows amateur riders to race over the exact route and stage as the “Queen” stage of the Tour de France. The “Queen” stage of a cycling event describes the most difficult (ex hardest mountain climbs, highest overall elevation gain) day of racing in a multi-day cycling stage race.
When planning our France cycling-cation, I knew we had to conquer this route. We set out around 9am from our Airbnb in Le Bourg D’Osians for this 105 mile, almost 18,000 feet elevation gain course. With our pockets stuffed with extra fuel, we spent the entire day on our bikes, checking off legendary TdF climbs (two of which we have never climbed before) while taking in the incredible views.
Col de la Croix de Fer Col du Télegraphe Col du Galibier Col de Sarenne What makes these climbs so magnificent isn’t just the elevation gain (and climbing for 1-2 hours) or the amazing views but every road, climb, hairpin and descend is included in a page of cycling history.
Col de la Croix de Fer (from Allemont)
Distance: 18 miles
Elevation gain: ~4941 feet
Summit Altitude: 6775 feet
From Le Bourg, we enjoyed a nice warmup for over 30 minutes. There was one short climb by Lac du Verney (lake/dam) and then the climb really got real until we reached Le river d' Allemont (which is a good place to refill bottles as it's the last place to stop until you reach a natural fountain on the top of Col de La Croix). After a short descend, the hardest part awaits but the view of the Grand Maison dam is incredible. As you get closer to the summit, you can decide to go to Col du Glandon or continue on to the official summit of the Col de la Croix de Fer. For a route like this, I suggest arm warmers/vest or a jacket as it gets chilly on the descends. Even though the temperature was in the 80's in Le Bourg, it was a little chilly (and windy) on the high summits. I always carry a piece of mylar sheet with me as it's a great way to stay warm on the descents (I stick it under my sports bra/bib shorts). I also had arm warmers. Karel brought a light jacket.
Col du Télégraphe (From Saint Michel de Maurienne)
Distance: 7.4 miles
Elevation gain: 2785 feet
Summit altitude: 5138
Average gradient: 7.1-7.3%
Next came a new-to-us-climb. The Col du Telegraph was actually the first climbing pass featured in the Tour de France in 1911 (named after an 18th century Chappe optical telegraph system and later a 19th-century fort). Although, technically we did not do the final summit of Col de la Croix as when we did the Haute Route we turned and continued on to Col du Glandon. After a long descend (through a few lit tunnels) and into the Maurienne valley, we went through an industrial area with some construction. However, there was a dedicated bike lane for cyclists and it never felt unsafe. As we got closer to the town of Saint-Michel-de-Maurienne, we stopped at a grocery store for water (and a Fanta and a Schnapps). This was actually our only purchase (3 euros!) on our route as we brought sport nutrition powder and other fuel with us and used natural water fountains to fill our bottles. I was surprised how empty the town was before the climb of Telegraph as it's such a notable climb. After climbing the Col de La Croix, I was nervous about our next two climbs but thankfully the Telegraph was a welcomed climb. It felt much more gentle than any climb we had done so far during our cycling-vacation and I really enjoyed the climb up through the forest. The summit had a big sign and statue (but no significant views) so the sign was a nice reward after finishing a long climb. The road was very busy with traffic but it felt like it was mostly tourists. I never felt unsafe and I was still able to enjoy the ride. When I got to the top of a climb, I met a guy who we had seen on the previous climb. He spoke English and I discovered he was doing the same route as us. He is in his 20s and from somewhere in France (I forgot where) and he will be spending a semester at a school in Raleigh, NC next year. It was fun to continue to ride together as he was a great climber and we would reconnect on each climb. I don't think we went a mile without seeing another cyclist on the road.
Col Du Galibier (from Valloire)
Distance: 11.2 miles
Elevation gain: 4593 feet
Summit elevation: 8668 feet
Average gradient: 6.9% (max gradient 9-10%)
Technically Col de Telegraph and Galibier count as "one" climb - 21.9 miles with a total elevation gain of 6950 feet. The summit of Galibier sits close to 9,000 feet so this is really where you want to have warm clothing ready for the top (and the descend). The town of Valloire was really busy. I later learned there was a camper/RV expo and a hay statue festival. It was really cool to bike through the village surrounded by so many adventure-nature-loving individuals. There were a lot more cyclists on this climb compared to the past two climbs. The climb up Galibier felt mellow at first. Surrounded by mountains and green meadows, it was a very peaceful start to the climb. But as the climb continued, it got windier and the road began to kick up. Then came a series of switchbacks. There's a tunnel for cars to go through (if they don't want to stop at the summit) but cyclists are not allowed through the tunnel. Past the tunnel and what looked like a restaurant (maybe it was just a building with a Galibier sign (Galibier is the 5th highest mountain pass in Europe) the final mile to the top seemed to take forever. You can see the summit in the distance and it just seems so far away. Galibier was the monster that I imagined it to be. I kept telling myself "this isn't supposed to be easy." The climb was big, epic and magical. everything I thought it would be. I met up with my new friend at the top and when Karel rolled in, we took a picture and didn't waste much time on the top as it was cold and windy.
With three (or I guess I should say two) big climbs behind us, I was nervous about our final climb. Although it was our last climb of the day, I knew it was going to be tough.
The descend down the southern side of Galibier was a little sketchy at first because of the wind. We continued our descend down Col du Lautaret, which Karel reminded me that we climbed that as part of the Haute Route. We should have refilled our bottles before we started down Lautaret as there was no option of refilling bottles (except in a small town but we didn't see any stores) before Sarenne. Thankfully we later found a natural water fountain in the first mile of climbing Sarenee. We made our way through a valley and several dark/cold tunnels. The sky was cloudy and it started to sprinkle. We had to stop at a few construction lights and wait until the light turned green for the cars to continue and I started to talk myself out of Sarenne. I told Karel we don't need to climb Sarenne and we can just make our way to our Airbnb but he wanted to finish the route (I'm thankful he decided that as I don't think clearly when I am cold and my mind and body start to shut down. Thankfully I warmed up quickly on Sarenne). Although the 20 miles from the summit of Galibier to the start of Sarenne was a nice break from climbing, the 50 minutes and 20 miles (averaging 24.2 mph) seemed to go on forever. I was just ready to climb again so I could warmup. It was beautiful but I was so cold and we were flying through the valley that I couldn't take any pictures.
Col de Sarenne
Distance: 8 miles
Elevation gain: 3123 feet
Average gradient: 7.1-7.5% (max gradient 13.8%)
Summit altitude: 6558 feet
Having climbed Sarenne as part of the Haute Route Alps in 2022 and recently descended it on Monday, I was nervous about the difficult of the climb. However, it wasn't as bad as I built it up in my head - maybe because it was our last climb of the day. After we stopped to refill our bottles, we continued up the very narrow, often rugged road surface road. Nearing the final miles, the swithbacks were tight and the grade really kicked up. The final mile was a grind and felt like it took forever but we finally made it to the top. The sun was starting to set and it was a really cool feeling to think back to all that we accomplished over the past 8+ hours. There's something special about these epic rides as I lose track of time (I never look at the time of day or how far we have ridden) and just focused on one climb at a time. This route was extra special as the past few epic rides that I've done I haven't had Karel with me - and this time we could share it together. We each rode our own effort up the climb and regrouped at the top.
With a steep sketchy descend and one more 2.3 mile climb to Alpe d'Huez, we officially finished the L'Etape du Tour route. All we had left was to descend down the 21 switchbacks of Alpe d'Huez. It was a very peaceful descent as there were hardly any cars (it was around 7pm) and the sun was setting. We got back into town, ordered a pizza to pick up, got showered, picked up the pizzas and ate while re-watching the extended highlights of stage 21 of the TdF (the route that we just completed).
