Col du Galibier (St-M-de-Maurienne)

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The Col du Galibier can only be climbed if the Col du Telegraphe and the Col du Lautaret have been contained and that makes the pass to one of the toughest Alpine cols in cycling history. From St Michel de Maurienne you first have to do the Télégraphe. Make no mistake, the Télégraphe may be easier than what comes, it's not just a warm-up. After the first kilometers, the climb gets less difficult. Time to save your efforts for the Galibier. After a dozen kilometers you reach the top of the Telegraph and you're rewarded a fairly gentle descent on a wide high-speed road into Valloire. In the ski resort Valloire, the Galibier starts. After a wall of 10% just outside the village, the climb gets false flat along the river Valloirette. At the restaurant Plan Lachat the real climb starts. You pass the 2000 meters border and the climb becomes ever steeper. The average gets not less than 8% and you can often see both white and black snow here. The last kilometers remain murderous, up 9%.

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