Col du Mont-Cenis (South side)
Mont Cenis (Italian: Moncenisio) is a massif (el. 3,612 m / 11,850 ft) and pass (el. 2081 m / 6827 ft) in Savoie (France), which forms the limit between the Cottian and Graian Alps. The term Mont Cenis could derive from mont des cendres (mountain of ashes). According to tradition, following a forest fire, a great quantity of ashes accumulated on the ground, thus the name. The path of ashes was found during the building work of the route. The pass connects Val-Cenis in France in the northwest with Susa in Italy in the southeast. A road over the pass was built in 1806 by Napoleon to improve military connections. By 1810, it was the most travelled road between France and Italy. The Lac du Mont Cenis is an artificial dam that was constructed in 1921 on top of the original road and border crossing. It feeds two hydroelectric power plants. The lake is occasionally drained for maintenance. This Italian side starts from Susa and takes around 24km and 1600 meters of elevation gain. At the top we ride along the Lac du Mont-Cenis before descending to Lanslebourg-Mont-Cenis.
Region: Piemonte
City: Susa
Distance: 39.51 km
Elevation Gain: 1646 m
Elevation Loss: 725 m
Difficulty: 1310 (Very Hard)
FIETS Index: 10.84 FIETS
Avg Grade: 6.22 %
Max cat climb: HC
Min elevation: 514 m
Max elevation: 2095 m
Ride Category: Epic Climb