Col d'Izoard
Col d'Izoard (el. 2361 m.) is a high mountain pass in the Alps in the department of Hautes-Alpes in France.
It is accessible in summer via the D902 road, connecting Briançon on the north and the valley of the Guil in Queyras, which ends at Guillestre in the south. There are forbidding and barren scree slopes with protruding pinnacles of weathered rock on the upper south side. Known as the Casse Desert this area has formed a dramatic backdrop to some key moments in the Tour de France, and often feature in iconic 1950s black and white photos of the race.
The Tour de France
The Col d'Izoard is frequently on the route of the Tour de France. It is classified as an Hors Categorie climb. The southern climb from Guillestre is 15.9km in length and has an average gradient of 6.9%. The climb from Briancon to the Col is 20km in length and has an average gradient of 5.8%.
Several of the Tour de France's more memorable moments have occurred on the Col d'Izoard, particularly the exploits of Fausto Coppi, Bernard Thevenet andLouison Bobet. A small cycling museum is at the summit, along with a memorial to Coppi and Bobet.
