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Col du Glandon
The Col du Glandon is situated in Rhone-Alpes. This climb belongs to the Alps. The Col du Glandon via Barrage du Verney is ranked number 659 of the Alps. The climb is ranked number 348 in France. Number 1728 in the world. Starting from Barrage du Verney, the pass ascent is 24.12 kilometers long. Over this distance, you climb 1152 meters in height. The average percentage thus is 4.8 percent. The maximum slope is 9 percent.
Col du Glandon is another one of the Alpine mountain passes, which most people are very familiar with. It sits on the road connecting Le Bourg-d’Oisans and La Chambre. Both often used as bases by cyclists visiting the Alps.
Its proximity to Col de la Croix de Fer also adds to pass’s attraction as many riders. They choose routes which include both summits.
The road is usually open from mid-May to late October. Although the weather conditions should be taken into account even when cycling up Col du Glandon during the summer.
Apart from often being picked by the Tour de France and Etape du Tour organizers, every year Col du Glandon also features in the famous La Marmotte cycling sportive.
The Ascents
You can ride up the Col du Glandon from La Chambre to the north of the summit. 21.8 kilometers in length, the pass has a steady start as gradually over the first 10 kilometers the road averages 6 percent and then only 2 percent before Le Chatelet. The climb then takes on a much more challenging percentage. Within the last 2 kilometers the road ramps up to over 15 percent. From the summit you can either reach the Croix de Fer peak or descend to Barrage du Veyney to the south.
The Pass of the Iron Cross
The English translation of the Croix de Fer is the Iron Cross. It is also what welcomes you as you reach the summit of the climb twinned with the Glandon, the Croix de Fer after 1500 meters of climbing in the legs. The Iron Cross was erected when the road was completed in 1912 and stands to this day. Also at the summit is an orientation table that points to the snow-capped twin peaks of the Aiguilles de l’Argentière as well as the neighbouring peaks.
It’s place at the Tour de France
The Col de Croix de Glandon pass first opened in 1912 to link the two valleys that run from Chambery and Grenoble. It wasn’t though until 1947 that the Tour de France first raced on the Col du Glandon using it in one of its traditionally tough Alpine stages from Grenoble to Briançon won by the Italian Fermo Camellini. Since then it has been used over 19 times in the Tour de France usually as an aperitif for a summit finish.
