Serre Chevalier Vallée Briançon: the Tour 2024's gateway to France!
After setting off from Italy, the riders of the Tour de France 2024 attacked the first passes on the French side via the Hautes-Alpes on July 2!
For the 4th stage from Pinerolo-Valloire, the cyclists crossed the Franco-Italian border to descend to Briançon via the Montgenèvre pass, before crossing the Serre Chevalier valley from end to end. The Lautaret and Galibier passes then awaited them before the descent to Valloire.
Briançon was the first French town to be crossed by the Tour 2024
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Tuesday, July 2, 2024 - Serre Chevalier Vallée Briançon Tour de France 2024
After a summer of 2022 marked by a historic finish on the Col du Granon and a departure from Briançon, the Serre Chevalier valley will once again be on the Tour de France route in July.
This year, the riders will set off from Italy for the first time in history, before embarking on three Italian stages that will take them from Florence to Pinerolo. On July 2, stage 4 will take the peloton to French territory between Pinerolo and Valloire.
After crossing the border and descending the Col du Montgenèvre, the riders will cross the Serre Chevalier valley from one end to the other, passing through Briançon before crossing each commune in the Guisane valley (Saint Chaffrey, La Salle les Alpes, Le Monêtier les Bains) before tackling the valley's "giants": the Lautaret and then the Galibier.
Le
Galibier
The first pass to be climbed on the French side by the 2024 Tour riders, the Galibier entered Tour de France history in 1911, when it was climbed for the very first time.
Since then, it has made its mark on the Tour, becoming one of the most important French passes in the Alpine stages, climbed more than 60 times.
In 2011, it even hosted the higheststage finish in Tour history, at 2642m.
france's 4th highest Alpine road pass, it offers breathtaking views of the Meije, the Ecrins and the Serre Chevalier valley.
Distance: 8.7km
Ascent: + 584m
Highest point: 2642m
Average gradient: 6.7
Maximum gradient: 9%
Cat : Hors Catégorie
A look back at the Albertville - Serre Chevalier Col du Granon stage
Wednesday, July 13, 2022
Also known as the ogre of the Briançonnais, the Col du Granon is situated at an altitude of 2,413 meters .
⚡ Beware it is one of the most difficult and demanding passes inEurope with a gradient of 7 to 11% and is 11.3 km long.
The Col du Granon finish will have been one of the most memorable of the 2022 Tour de France, with a breathtaking view of the Ecrins massif.
36 years after the Granon stage finish: It was in 1986 that the summit of the Col du Granon was the scene of the Gap - Serre Chevalier stage finish, becoming the highest finish of the Tour de France (on July 21, 2011, it was surpassed by the Col du Galibier finish at 2,642 m). This unique finish at the summit of the Granon was won by Spaniard Eduardo Chozas, while on this stage Bernard Hinault lost his yellow jersey forever to American Greg Lemond, winner of the Tour that year.