Col de la Madeleine from La Chambre: 19 km at 8% with nowhere to rest

The Col de la Madeleine is 1,993 m high and links the Maurienne and Tarentaise valleys across the Vanoise massif. From La Chambre in the Maurienne it is 19.3 km and 1,521 m of height gain at an average of 8%, according to the Route des Grandes Alpes. There are no famous hairpins, no ski-resort finish and no single brutal ramp, which is why it gets less attention than its neighbours. It is still one of the hardest: almost twenty kilometres with nowhere to rest, and the local tourist board puts all three roads to the pass on its list of the area's 15 hardest climbs. Here is how it is built, how to pace it, and how to plan the day.

The climb from La Chambre

The Route des Grandes Alpes gives two ways up this side. The direct road from La Chambre at 472 m is 19.3 km with a maximum of 9.5%; the variant through Montgellafrey is 19.7 km with 1,519 m of climbing, almost the same. The two meet on the D213 about 5 km below the pass. Our track on this page measures 19.7 km and 1,521 m, and the description below follows its shape.

• The first 7 km: the steep start. After a flat first kilometre out of La Chambre, the gradient climbs quickly. On our track kilometres 3 to 7 are the steepest of the whole climb, all between 9.5% and 10.7%. There is no warming into it.
• The middle: still no rest. From 7 to 12 km the road stays between 7% and 9.7%. On many climbs this would be the hard part; here it is the part where you find out whether you started too fast.
• The resorts and the top. Our track eases to around 6% for a couple of kilometres near the 13 km mark, the only real breather, before the last 5–6 km climb steadily at 7–8% past Saint-François-Longchamp and Longchamp 1650 to the col. On a clear day the Route des Grandes Alpes promises Mont Blanc from the top.

How to pace a climb with no rest

For most amateurs the Madeleine from La Chambre is an hour and a half to two and a half hours of climbing. With the steepest kilometres at the start and no real easing until two-thirds of the way up, it is one of the clearest examples of a climb that rewards holding back early.

• Start below your target. The 10% kilometres arrive when you are fresh, and they feel manageable. Ride them at 75–80% of FTP and accept that you will be slow. Our guide to pacing a climb with power explains why the minutes you save here cost more later.
• Use the breather well. When the gradient finally eases near the middle of the climb, don't speed up. Drink, eat, and let your heart rate settle for the final 6 km.
• Gear low. Several kilometres at 10% early in a long climb are where a 34×34 earns its place. See gearing for climbing.
• Fuel from the bottom. Two hours of climbing needs carbohydrate from the first kilometre: 60–90 g an hour, as fuelling long rides explains. The Route des Grandes Alpes lists services at Saint-François-Longchamp if you need to stop.
• Take a layer for the descent. You will be coming down from nearly 2,000 m, on whichever side you choose.

Why it is the Madeleine

The road over the pass was only tarred in 1969, and the Tour de France crossed it for the first time that same year. Since then it has become one of the race's regular Alpine passes. The Route des Grandes Alpes counts 28 crossings up to the stage from Vif to the Col de la Loze in 2025: 15 from the south, the side described here, and 13 from the north.

It is also the only road across the Vanoise massif, which is why it is part of the Route des Grandes Alpes. France Vélo Tourisme's version by bike uses the Madeleine on an alternative stage from Bourg-Saint-Maurice to Saint-François-Longchamp.

When to go, and what to watch for

• Season. The pass is closed in winter. The Route des Grandes Alpes says it usually opens to traffic in late May or early June and closes in November; the La Léchère tourism listing gives 1 June to 31 October. Check the Savoie road-status site, savoie-route.fr, before a trip early or late in the year.
• The north side. From Feissons-sur-Isère in the Tarentaise the climb is longer and gentler: 25.9 km at an average of 6.5%, with a maximum of 10%. It makes a good descent, and an easier way up if you want to ride the Madeleine without the Maurienne side's steep start.
• Make it a big day. La Chambre sits in the Maurienne, a valley full of famous climbs. Our guides to the Col de la Croix de Fer and the Galibier from Saint-Michel cover two of them.

Ride it in Moveee Indoor

The route on this page is the real road from La Chambre to the pass, with its height at every point. In Moveee Indoor your smart trainer reproduces that gradient as you ride, so the steep kilometres at the start arrive exactly when they do in the Maurienne, and the world around you is built from map data of the real place. It is the best way to learn, before the trip, what holding back on those early ramps feels like.

Ride it once at a planned power and compare your first and last 6 km in the saved power data. If the last part was much weaker, start lower next time. It runs in the browser or as the Mac and Windows app. Prefer your own device? Download the GPX above and load it into any app that rides GPX files.

The short version

19.3 km and 1,521 m from La Chambre to 1,993 m at an average of 8%, with the steepest kilometres early and almost no rest. Start well below your target, use the short easing near the middle to recover, and finish steady past Saint-François-Longchamp. Check the opening, take a layer for the descent, and rehearse those early ramps on the trainer first.