Col de l'Iseran

From the north the road goes up and down through short tunnels and avalanche galleries past the Lac du Chevril near Tignes. Starting from Bourg-Saint-Maurice, the climb to Col de l'Iseran is . Over this distance, the road (D 902) ascends , at an average grade of 4.1%. The last starts at Val-d'Isère and climbs at a consistent average of 6%. From the south, the climb starts at Lanslebourg-Mont Cenis and is in length, ascending at an average grade of 4.2%. The final starts at Bonneval-sur-Arc and rises at an average gradient of 7.3%, with several sections in excess of 10%. On both sides of the Col de l'Iseran, mountain pass cycling milestones mark the distance to the summit, the current altitude, and the average slope in the following kilometre. ==The Tour de France==

The Col d'Iseran was first used in the Tour de France bicycle race in 1938. The first rider over the summit was Felicien Vervaecke but on the descent he was passed by Gino Bartali. Bartali had taken the leader's yellow jersey from Vervaecke the previous day and retained it to the finish in Paris. The first mountain time trial was introduced to the Tour in 1939. It went over the Col d'Iseran from Bonneval-sur-Arc to Bourg-Saint-Maurice and was won by Sylvere Maes by four minutes. The pass has been used five times on the Tour de France since 1947. It was scheduled to be used in 1996 but was left out at the last minute due to bad weather. As a result of snow on both the Col de l'Iseran and the Col du Galibier the scheduled stage from Val-d'Isère to Sestriere in Italy was truncated to a sprint from Le-Monetier-les-Bains. Bjarne Riis claimed the sprint, However, due to adverse weather conditions on the ascent to Tignes, the stage was truncated with times for the general classification being taken at the summit of the Col de l'Iseran. Appearances in Tour de France ==References==