Col du Petit Ballon
The summit of the col
Elevation1,163 m (3,816 ft)[1]
Traversed byUnnamed road
LocationHaut-Rhin, France
RangeVosges Mountains
Coordinates47°59′6″N 7°7′16″E / 47.98500°N 7.12111°E / 47.98500; 7.12111
Col du Petit Ballon is located in France
Col du Petit Ballon
Col du Petit Ballon
Location of Col du Petit Ballon

The Col du Petit Ballon (elevation 1,163 m (3,816 ft)) is a mountain pass in the Vosges Mountains in the Haut-Rhin department of France, close to the summit of the Petit Ballon mountain (1,272 m (4,173 ft)).

It was crossed on Stage 10 of the 2014 Tour de France cycle race.[2]

Details of climb

From the north, the climb starts in Munster from where the climb is 11.6 km (7.2 mi) long, gaining 773 m (2,536 ft) in altitude, at an average gradient of 6.7%.[3] The climb proper starts at Luttenbach-près-Munster, where it leaves the D10. From here, the climb is 9.3 km (5.8 mi) long, at an average gradient of 8.1%.[2]

From the north-west, the climb starts at Metzeral, passing through the village of Sondernach, where the route leaves the D10. The total distance is 12.8 km (8.0 mi), gaining 678 m (2,224 ft) in altitude, at an average gradient of 5.3%.[4]

It is also possible to access the col via the D43 from Wihr-au-Val to the north-east from where the climb is 16.0 km (9.9 mi) long, gaining 1,163 m (3,816 ft) in altitude, at an average gradient of 5.3%.[5]

Tour de France

The col was used for the first time on Stage 10 of the 2014 Tour de France, when the leader over the summit was the Spanish rider, Joaquim Rodríguez.[6] The col was used again on Stage 20 of the 2023 Tour de France. The leader over the summit was the French rider Thibaut Pinot. During that stage, the top of the climb became known as the "virage pinot" (Pinot's corner). Pinot's fans gathered at the summit to cheer the rider during the last Tour de France mountain stage of his career.[7]

Year Stage Category Start Finish Leader at the summit
2014 10 1 Mulhouse La Planche Des Belles Filles  Joaquim Rodríguez (ESP)
2023 20 1 Belfort Le Markstein Fellering  Thibaut Pinot (FRA)

Tour de France Femmes

The col was used on Stage 7 of the 2022 Tour de France Femmes, with Demi Vollering first over the summit.[8]

References

  1. ↑ IGN map
  2. 1 2 "Stage 10: Mulhouse to La Planche des Belles Filles". Tour de France. Amaury Sport Organisation. Archived from the original on 5 July 2014. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
  3. ↑ "Petit Ballon - Munster". climbbybike. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
  4. ↑ "Petit Ballon - Metzeral". climbbybike. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
  5. ↑ "Petit Ballon - Wihr au Val". climbbybike. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
  6. ↑ "Le Petit Ballon dans le Tour de France" (in French). ledicodutour. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
  7. ↑ Farrand, Stephen (2023-07-22). "Tour de France: Pogacar rebounds to take stage 20 victory as Vingegaard seals his second overall title". cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 2023-07-25.
  8. ↑ "Van Vleuten in her own world - Tour de France Femmes 2022". www.letourfemmes.fr. Retrieved 2022-07-30.
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