Tour du Mont-Blanc: Details
The Tour du Mont Blanc is a well known cycling loop in the French / Italian / Swiss Alps. Cyclists generally do it in 2 or 3 days. We opted for slightly more than two. The tour involves the following passes: Col de la Forclaz - Col de Montets, Col des Saisies, Cormet de Roselend, Petit St. Bernard , Grand St. Bernard. The other stretch with some traffic was from Pré St. Didier to Aosta and from there the first half of the Grand St. Bernard.
* = from left to right: Alexandre, Hans-Dieter, Gottardo, Lorenzo, Cristoforo
Prologue: Martigny - Col de la Forclaz - Chamonix
40 km, 1650 m climb, 3 hours
The first stretch to Chamonix is a nice winding road with little traffic. We started on Monday 29 July 2002 at 5 PM from the Martigny train station and enjoyed a pleasent sunset climb followed by late dinner in Chamonix.
1. Col des Saisies - Cormet de Roselend - La Rosière
160 km, 3600 m climb, 9 hours
From Chamonix to St. Gervais we got quite a bit of traffic because of the nearby Mont Blanc Tunnel. We were happy to be riding downhill, so we quickly got over this rather dangerous stretch. Traffic calmed when we left the main road in St. Gervais and nearly disappeared after starting the clime to Col des Saisies in Flumet. The Cormet de Roselend was steep and long, quite a challenge for Cristoforo on his recumbent.
2. Petit S. Bernard - Aosta - Gd. S. Bernard - Martigny
160 km, 2240 m climb, 7 hours
It rained cats and dogs as we entered Aosta. We started the climb completely soaked and somewhat demotivated. Around lunchtime we found a very hospitable restaurant and were able to spread out our wet clothes to dry. Only after reaching the top of the Great Saint Bernhard the rain resumed. This last stage brought some of us close their physical limits.
Gottardo, Lorenzo and Cristoforo Pestalozzi on Grand S. Bernard
Final considerations
A nice run which can be done in two days if your'e well trained. Many panoramic sections and impressive mountains. However, you don't get to see the Mont Blanc very often.
Tutto sommato un bel giro che, a essere ben allenati, si può fare in due giorni scarsi. Per descrizioni e profili di questi e altri passi alpini, vedi salite.ch
Alles in allem eine schöne Rundreise, die man auch in knapp zwei Tagen schafft, wenn die Form stimmt. Beschreibungen zu diesen und anderen Pässen gibt es auf quaeldich.de
Other people's Tour du Mont Blanc with pictures
http://members.aol.com/francooke/blanc.htm
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/larchie/letourdu.htm
Weather forecast links for the region:
Martigny - Chamonix - Aosta