All the cycling data and info you'll need to climb Cormet de Roselend (Bourg-St-Maurice)

Cycling Cormet de Roselend from Bourg-St. Maurice

Ride 19.5 kilometers gaining 1,247 meters at 5.9% average grade (7.3% climb only).

Thank you to PJAMM Ambassador Anja Kalan for photographs on this page.

Cormet means col or “pass” in the local dialect.  Cormet de Roseland is in the Savoy Alps region of the European Alps in southeastern France, near the Italian border.  The col can be reached on the north side from Beaufort (famous for its Beaufort cheese) in the Beaufortain valley (via either the main route on D925, or by way of Col du Pre) or from the south side from Bourg-Saint-Maurice, which is on the route from northern France and Britain to the world famous ski areas of Val d’Isère and Tignes.  

TOUR DE FRANCE HISTORY

Cormet de Roseland will be included in the 2019 Tour de France July 27, 2019, stage 19.  As of 2019, Roseland had been featured in 10 TdFs between 1979 and 2009 -- but none for 10 years until its return in 2019.

Stage 9 July 11, 1995 - Le Grand Bornand - La Plagne, 160 km

Alex Zulle wins Stage 9 04:41:18 by 00:02:02 over Indurain.

Photo:  90scycling.com

In 1995’s TdF, still with 50 kilometers to go, Alex Zulle made a solo break at the base of the Cormet in an effort to beat the fabled cyclist Miguel Indurain, who he was four minutes 29 seconds behind at the beginning of the stage.  Zulle won the stage in 02:02 from Indurain and thereby catapulted himself from ninth to second in the overall classification. Indurain went on to win his fifth straight and final TdF, while Zulle kept his place until the end, standing second on the podium in Paris on July 23, four minutes  35 seconds behind Indurain.

Stage 7 July 6, 1996 - Chambery - Les Arcs, 200 km

July 6, 1996 is a significant day in Tour de France history -- one that secured this col indelibly in the minds of professional cycling fans for many years to come.  Ten years had passed since a Frenchman had worn the maillot jaune into Paris.  On this day, France’s national road race champion, Stéphane Heulo, was wearing the yellow jersey for the third straight day, but with undisclosed knee trouble and major alpine climbs of Col du Madeleine, Cormet and Les Arcs ahead, Heulo began the day with quiet trepidation.  Heulo lost the leaders in sleet riding up the Madeleine, but with heroic effort caught them on the long northern descent to Albertville, but ultimately had to abandon the Tour and the chance at glory two kilometers from the summit of Cormet de Roseland.

Stéphane Heulo (FR) led the Tour for three days before withdrawing two kilometers from the top of Cormet.

Photo:  rallyuhcccycling.com 

Other noteworthy events of the day were Johan Bruyneel’s terrifying crash wherein he flew off the Cormet and down a steep cliff, and Miguel Indurain cracking for the first time in his Tour career (he had before then won the last five TdFs).

Johan Bruyneel, climbing, missed a left turn and flew off the road.

Photo:  nieuwsblad.be

(Wikipedia)

Thanks to PJAMM friend and contributor for the photographs on this page.