Cormet de Roselend from Beaufort (North side)
Cormet de Roselend (el. 1967 m.) is a high mountain pass in the Alps in the department of Savoie in France. It connects Beaufort in the Beaufortain valley and Bourg-Saint-Maurice in the Tarentaise Valley. On the west side of the pass lies the Lac de Roselend, a reservoir that can be reached by the Col de Méraillet or the Col du Pré. The pass was first included in the Tour de France in 1979 and has since featured 9 times, most recently in stage 11 of the 2018 Tour de France. One of the most memorable years for the Cormet de Roselend was the 1996 Tour de France. It was just before the summit on the Cormet de Roselend that Frenchman Stéphane Heulot cracked, lost the Maillot Jaune and bowed out of the race. It was also on the Cormet de Roselend that Johan Bruyneel overshot a fast left-hand bend and disappeared over the edge, as he descended towards Bourg-St-Maurice. Spectators feared the worst but thankfully Bruyneel managed to climb back up, apparently unscathed. It was also the stage where Indurain lost his hopes on a 6th Tour de France victory, when he totally ran out of fuel on the final climb to Les Arcs, losing minutes to his rivals. The climb from Beaufort is long, with two flatter parts. The final part, starting from the magnifcent Lac de Roselend, is very scenic.
Region: Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
City: Beaufort
Distance: 20.12 km
Elevation Gain: 1251 m
Elevation Loss: 24 m
Difficulty: 972 (Hard)
FIETS Index: 7.48 FIETS
Avg Grade: 6.1 %
Max cat climb: HC
Min elevation: 756 m
Max elevation: 1982 m
Ride Category: Epic Climb