Anyone who watched the Tour de France in the early 2000s will recognize the name. La Plagne Always associated with the ultimate victory of Michael Boogerd. After a long breakaway, emerging alone. Hands in the air, the chain around his neck kissing, without a helmet. A sign that times were different then. The region is fantastic, famous also because of the passage of La Grande Boucle. However, the late finish at the top of La Plagne was… well, yeah, 2002. Since then, the Tour circus has always passed by this place. Right? I don’t think so. The climb to the ski resort is there and the region That is of course fantastic. Therefore here are the 5 most beautiful climbs from La Plagne and the surrounding area. If you choose La Plagne as your basecamp anyway.
Text: Sander Kolsloot
Cormet de L’Arêches
Wherever you stay in the region, the climb to Cormet d’Arêches is one that you simply have to put on your list of things to do. This climb also has a disclaimer. The first part of the climb is still well paved, but at some point the paved section turns into bad asphalt until it actually becomes a gravel climb. Why is it still included in the list? Because the view from the top is insanely beautiful. Plus, the total length of the climb (from Aime) is 20 kilometers with an average of 7 percent and some outliers of up to 15 percent. With that, it definitely deserves a spot on the list. Beautiful, indeed.
Les Arcs (Arc 1800 – Arc 2000)
This two-slope monster, or rather, this two-slope beauty offers a lot of possibilities to complete a beautiful climb in the Auvergne – Rhone Alps. The choice is yours. The numbers behind ‘Les Arcs’ already give an indication of the height you will eventually reach. Although Arc 2000 comes out at 2120 and Arc 1800 at a tidy 1796 meters. That’s what they mean by ‘the French Battle’, I think. Anyway, Arc 1800 is a nice, regular climb to the first village. You never get above 8.5 percent and on average it’s about 5.4. That’s perfect for getting up without completely collapsing. For Arc 2000, that’s a bit different. It’s longer, shoots out towards 10%, but also has a bit of a flat part. A bit more irregular. Well, the choice is yours (or you can do both).
Col du Tra
Want something different? Then try the Col du Tra. It’s not as steep as the other cols in the area, but it still presents a serious challenge. It’s steeper than the rest, and in less kilometers. Whether you climb it from the west or the east, you’re guaranteed to climb a long stretch above 8%,000 meters. I can tell you that won’t leave you cold. You’ll always be rewarded because the view over the region is absolutely stunning.
La Plagne
You would almost forget that the climb to La Plagne still exists. You have two choices in this: you take the shorter variant (the Boogerd variant) to the ‘1800’ village or you keep going. You can then drive to the higher Belle Plagne, but this is still the most beautiful. In the attached YouTube video you can see a few more beautiful shots of Boogerd back in 2002. What I find funny is that I never saw that stage live. I still don’t know what I was doing at that time, but one of the most beautiful victories of that period was only seen with ‘de Mart’ as commentator. Funny stuff.
Col de L’Iseran
We’re adding this climb to the list. From La Plagne itself, it’s a pretty steep climb. Only the Iseran would be a feat in itself. But when you’re so close, it has to be on the list. This is the giant of giants. The summit is really high, at 2720 meters. From Bourg Saint Maurice (the most famous start), you’re 46 kilometers away to finally reach the top. You actually climb first to Tignes (also a nice climb) to then start the second part from Val d’Isere. The climb isn’t really very steep anywhere. The length and especially the final height provide the real challenge here. Although the southern variant might be prettier, you can’t skip this one. I think so.
Questions & tips
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