As a young boy, I spent hours glued to the back of the tube. It was the 1990s. Sounding names like Indurain, Chiapucci, Virenque, Armstrong, Ullrich and, of course, Pantani. The time when mountain stages could still last well over seven hours. When flapping shirts, unsightly glasses and cycling without helmets was still in. Back then, I could dream up the names. Iseran, Glandon, GalibierCroix-de-Fer. All of them alpine cols that make me dream away immediately. The yellow of Credit Lyonais and Mavic. Fiat in chequered letters on the road. The recognisable sound of Mart Smeets and Jean Nelissen. That was the Tour de France in the '90s. One of the resounding names in the list of mountain cols was the Col de Joux-Plane. A classic, with an exclamation mark. Because always climbed from the south side and basically always with finish in Morzine. I take you over the flanks of this mighty climb in the region Savoie-Mont-Blanc
Text and photos: Sander Kolsloot
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Virenque le vainquer
If there was one rider for whom I turned on the television, it was Richard Virenque. The illustrious leader of the Festina formation who claimed to have cycled on baguette and brie. Until he couldn't keep it up any longer. Virenque and the polka dot jersey, the best climber in the Tour, are one for me. However, when he came first on the Joux Plane in 2000, together with Roberto Heras, he was riding in an ordinary Team Polti jersey. The Col de Joux-Plane was perhaps the ideal climb for Virenque. He could unload heavier climbers like Armstrong and Ullrich on the sections above 10 per cent.The stretch between six and five kilometres before the summit averages above 10 per cent. Enjoyment. I just can't recall the footage, but I can just see Richard making a 'pay' gesture to Heras at the summit. How that one ended up winning? Heras missed the turn, surely not because of a 'helpful' French signaller.
Flying Floyd Landis
Anyone who owned a television and watched the Tour in 2006 hit it at some point. Especially on 20 July 2006, when Floyd Landis set off for a lone breakaway with more than 100 kilometres to go. A stage that seemed doomed. A tough stage that ended in Morzine and thus inevitably had the Joux-Plane in the course. Landis pedalled on, with a water bottle invariably in his hand. The painful Joux-Plane, with over ten kilometres at 8.5 per cent, then looked more like a warm-up climb. Hands went up triumphantly after the descent towards Morzine. Would Floyd also have enjoyed the stunning views? The view across the valley, over Samoëns? I don't think so. He was in the zone. But as another American would rightly remark: 'not normal'.
Pantani. E basta
In 1997, 'Der Jan' Team Telekom called the shots at the Tour de France. The Telekom train drives a tight pace up the final climb. About halfway up, just before it gets very steep, 'il Elefantino' goes flying. Dancing on the pedals, in the distinctive blue-and-yellow of Mercatone Uno, Pantani's bald skull emerges. No one can follow him. Pantani's smooth gait in stark contrast to Ullrich's stomping body. Il Diavolo, as Pantani was also called, was also chased by Didi der Teufel on the flanks of the Joux Plane. Could it be more fitting? Once at the top, he passes a hut, which is still there, and dives down. The few short hairs in the wind. First another slight descent, then a short uphill and then seven kilometres of glorious descent. The last two kilometres to Morzine are really steep, though. Above ten per cent, no problem for Pantani. In the town, the victory sign. E basta.
Read also: Cycling in Emilia-Romagna: In the footsteps of Pantani
About the Col de Joux-Plane
Where exactly the name Joux-Plane comes from is still a mystery to me. Further on, you also find the Joux-Verte, but I haven't found Joux Noire, Joux Bleu or similar. Maybe I need to look a bit harder. The climb actually has only one side. That is the climb from Samoëns. In the village you'll find the signs saying 'Col de Joux-Plane'. If you follow those you turn onto the climb in no time. It starts quite well. The first three kilometres you actually stay below the 10% and have a nice view over the valley and you can look further west. With a little imagination, you can see Lake Geneva. After four kilometres it gets steeper and you encounter the first hairpin bend. It's a tough climb but unlike, say, the Passo Giau or a Stelvio, you never feel like you're completely broken.
Views and a straight line up
After the first four kilometres, you are presented with a beautiful stretch of hairpin bends, aka the sign that you are going up steeply. The views of the valley around Samoëns and the Plateau des Saix opposite are insane. On a bright day, this is to be enjoyed, but then leaving early is the way to go. With three kilometres to go, the road is an almost straight line uphill. You can see the summit, although the summit has no classic peak. You drive into a kind of bowl, as if a mountain lake had been there before. Then you drive past the aforementioned hut, where you can get a cup of coffee in summer, and then you roll down. A fantastic climb with so many stories you could write a book about it. However, I will leave that to other family members.
Tips and the route
The Savoie-Mont-Blanc region has a lot to offer the keen road cyclist. If you want to get the day off to a good start before heading up the climb, a nice cup of coffee is no luxury. At Le Café du Giffre they know how to do it. Not a weak cup, but really good coffee. Speaking of coffee: After the climb, you can visit Morzine at Satellite Coffee. Run by an English couple, you really won't regret stopping here. There's not a word of French there.
When cycling in the mountains, it is good to keep an eye on the weather anyway. It can suddenly change. We ourselves left in the sunshine only to get a shower on our roof later. The temperature also dropped considerably as a result, which meant that sleeves and a busti windbreaker were not a luxury.
Once back in Samoëns, you have plenty of time to drive through the town and grab a bite or drink somewhere. We stayed at the beautiful Hotel Neige et Roc. The Spa at this hotel could be recommended to anyone. Unfortunately, the SPA is only for hotel guests. So book it.
