The Col d’Allos (2,250m) is a lesser-known but beautiful high mountain pass in France. It sits between the towns of Barcelonnette to its north and Colmars to its south in the French Alps.
Col d’Allos is a long climb regardless of these two directions.
- From Barcelonnette (north)
- From Colmars (south)
Starting point : Barcelonnette
Barcelonnette is located north of Col d’Allos. The official Strava segment starts about 2.5km outside of Barcelonnette town, at the bridge over the Bachelard river.
From here, it’s an Hors Catégorie (HC) climb, averaging 6.3% over 17.3km and reaching an altitude of 2,208m above sea level.
| Col d’Allos from Barcelonnette | |
|---|---|
| Distance | 17.3km |
| Climb category | HC |
| Elevation gain | 1,092m |
| Minimum elevation | 1,118m |
| Maximum elevation | 2,208m |
| Average gradient | 6.3% |
| Maximum gradient | 36.1% |
| Strava segment | Col d’Allos from Barcelonnette |
Starting point : Colmars
Colmars is located south of Col d’Allos. The Strava segment starts 1.1km outside of Colmar, and the first 7km are relatively easy, with several flat sections in between.
From the eighth kilometer onward, the gradient stays consistently between 4% to 6%.
| Col d’Allos from Colmars | |
|---|---|
| Distance | 21.3km |
| Climb category | HC |
| Elevation gain | 932m |
| Minimum elevation | 1,308m |
| Maximum elevation | 2,235m |
| Average gradient | 4.4% |
| Maximum gradient | 11.5% |
| Strava segment | Col d’Allos from Colmars |
Col d’Allos in the Tour de France
Col d’Allos was used in the Tour de France 33 times from 1911 to 1939. From 1939 onwards, Col d’Allos didn’t feature until Stage 14 in 2000.
Col d’Allos ranks tenth for the most Tour de France appearances. It’s ahead of Alpe d’Huez (32) and Mont Ventoux (18), which many consider the legendary Tour de France climbs.
It had to wait 15 years before featuring again at the Tour de France on Stage 17 in 2015, which Simon Geschke won.