The status of a climber is created by the stories. Personal stories of, for example, overcoming fears or achieving a higher goal. Professionals who literally give everything in the pursuit of a victory, eternal fame, or the eternal hunting grounds. The flanks of the Alpe d'Huez, Stelvio en Mont Ventoux are strewn with stories. The stories are often more beautiful than the climb itself. Not for nothing is there a site titled: 100 climbs are better than Alpe d’Huez. Yet millions of tourists trek to the 21 turns in the Isère To ride them and to measure themselves for a moment with the rest of the world. It is logical that the Super Planche des Belles Filles still needs to work on its status. We are contributing our share with a new story: cycling in the Vosges along the route of the tour.
La Planche des Belles Filles
The girls’ plank, as the literal translation goes, only made its debut in the Tour’s route book in the 2000s. In 2012, Froomey was the first to top the girls’ podium. At that time, the finish was still without the gravel section that was later added. The more spectacle, the better. Every finish at the top of this climb brings new stories. With the 900-meter extension of the unpaved climb, the uphill percentages exceed 20 percent. It almost feels like Italy or Spain when the pros also charge up the climb with the slightest effort. Prudhomme made a good move with the introduction of this girls’ plank in the men’s peloton.
More beautiful stories
That the name Planche des Belles Filles has an interesting history of origin should come as no surprise. There are two variants and of course there is a somewhat boring one and one that appeals to the imagination. In the simple version the name is a corruption of ‘lieu peuple des belles fahys.’ In other words, a place for beautiful beech trees. Planche was derived from Plancher-les-mines and voila, there you have the explanation.
In the mythical version, the hill was a refuge for women from the region, fleeing the unleashed warlords. The fact that they preferred to take their own lives by jumping from a cliff or into the water rather than surrender made the story even more compelling. Little detail: the jump into the water would have set a new world record. But isn’t it much nicer to tell at home that a place name has such a history of survival, rather than a mere modification of another word? In our family, we actually just call ourselves Koesloot, but a sloppy official in the 18th century turned it into an ‘elletje’. That’s how it goes.
Cycling in the Vogean Mountains - Route des Belles Filles
Back to the Tour route. Unlike others, you start here at the top of the mountain. Maybe a bit illogical, but with the descent you also know what you have to look forward to on the way back. You follow the Route des Belles Felles, against the clock. The reason why the Planche des Belles Filles ever came into view was because of the Trois Ballons cyclo. You have several ‘ballons’ near here, including the Petit Ballon and the well-known Grand Ballon. On today’s route, after the descent, you immediately start working towards the top of the Ballon de Servance, an unknown balloon in the region. The summit is at 1158 meters, and the climb from this side is one that explodes six kilometers before the end. You drive over a kilometer at more than ten percent average and a large part above eight percent. Be careful not to overinflate on this balloon.
Bergmuseum – silver lining
The descent of the Ballon de Servance is a lot more pleasant than the climb on the other side. Be careful because when you sail down you will pass the local mountain museum. Here you can learn more about the local history of the area, about life in other times and more. Maybe not something to stop on the way, but to stop by briefly later on. Further down you will also find the silver mines where this precious metal was once extracted. At the bottom of the mountain we turn left and continue along the route of the beautiful ladies. Cycling in the Vosges is always a surprise.
Follow the river
We already crossed the river d’Ognon on the climb and, turning left, we follow the current for quite a few kilometers. Initially, it goes further down, into the valley, and we cross the river again in Servance. Until Belonchamp, it rolls downhill and then we turn left towards a warm-up before the final climb. The climb to La Chevestraye is exactly on the route. For ten kilometers, it goes up a bit irregularly. You can’t even call it a real col. If you’re adventurous, you can turn towards Belfahy at the top and climb the Col des Chevreres. From Servance, it’s a kind of SuperPlanche but less steep.
Steeper, steeper, steeper
After a short stretch of descent, we are finally at the bottom of the climb. The climb that no one wants to do, but they still have to do it anyway. Because it’s one of those climbs that you have to tick off a list. It’s not one you do because of the beauty, but mainly because of the challenge. It’s seven kilometers long with an 8.8 percent incline. That’s kind of like the Passo Giau, where nobody has any good memories left. The encouragement on the road helps to numb the pain a bit. At the restaurant, the incline increases to 22 percent. That cola and pasta are really loud now! For the average person, the last stretch of gravel is less accessible. So the finish is on the original Planche, where you can crown yourself as a group hero, like Chris Froome or Vincenzo Nibali. Or, of course, drag up the mountain as a baroudeur. That’s more my job. Fortunately, we still have the photos.
Route
Would you like to take a trip to the beautiful Vosges one day? Or, actually, it’s the Haute Saone, but that’s okay; we’ll count both ways. You can download the route here, as well as all the other tour routes that were created this year. Also, take a look at routes in North of France or in Switzerland, You can find more of them on the site.
Questions & tips
Do you have any questions about this route, or have you been there yourself? Share them here. We read everything and usually respond within a few days.