Col d'Izoard from Briançon: an easy valley, then 7 km at 8%

The Col d'Izoard is 2,361 m high, between the Briançonnais and the Queyras, and it is one of the great Tour de France passes of the southern Alps. From Briançon it is about 19 km at an average close to 7%, but that average hides two very different halves: a valley road to Cervières that is easier than you expect, then a final 7 km at a steady 8% through larch forest to the top. Just over the other side lies the Casse Déserte, a desert of scree and rock spires that the press photographers never tire of when the Tour passes. Here is how it is built, how to pace it, and when to go.

The climb, kilometre post by kilometre post

The Hautes-Alpes department's route sheet gives 19.2 km and 1,165 m of height gain from Briançon, with a road that climbs at about 7% on average over 19.5 km. The Hautes Vallées tourist office rounds it to 19 km at 6.5%, with 8% on the last kilometres. Our track on this page measures 19.2 km and 1,178 m. Red kilometre posts show the distance to the top, the altitude and the gradient ahead.

• Briançon to Cervières: the gorge. The D902 leaves Briançon at about 1,215 m and climbs through the gorges of the Cerveyrette. The first four kilometres are 5.6–6.5% on the posts, and our track is a little steeper out of town. Then the road flattens: between 15 and 14 km to go the posts show almost no height gain at all.
• Past Cervières: the valley. Past the village of Cervières the gradient stays gentle, between 2.5% and 7% on the posts, with one easy kilometre at 2.5% around 12 km from the top. At 1,615 m with 10 km to go, you have done less than half the climbing.
• The last 7 km: the climb. From the post at 7 km to go, at 1,805 m, every kilometre is 7–8.3% until the top. The tourist office describes the road climbing through larch and pine forest and past the Refuge Napoléon to the pass. This is where you need to have kept something back.

How to pace the Izoard

The department allows about two and a half hours. The trap is the valley: easy enough to ride hard, long enough to cost you the final 7 km if you do.

• Ride the gorge steady, the valley easy. The first kilometres out of Briançon are the steepest until the end. Get through them at an effort you could hold for an hour, then relax on the flat stretch around Cervières. Our guide to pacing a climb with power covers how to choose the number.
• Eat before the last 7 km. Once the 8% starts there is no easy road left, so take a gel or bar at the post that says 8 km.
• Settle into the 8%. Stay seated, keep your cadence up, and stand only to stretch. Seated versus standing climbing explains when each pays.
• Gear for it. The department's advice is blunt: if you are not a former champion, bring low gears. A compact with a 32 or 34 sprocket makes the final 7 km far more pleasant; see gearing for climbing.
• Expect thin air. The last 4 km are above 2,000 m, so the same effort gives slightly fewer watts. Ride by breathing, not by the number.

Why it is the Izoard

The road began as a shepherds' crossing and became a military road, according to the department, before it turned into a stage for the Tour's great champions. Two commemorative plaques in the Casse Déserte remember Fausto Coppi, who won the Tour in 1952, and Louison Bobet, who won it three years running from 1953 to 1955; both built their reputations on this climb.

The Casse Déserte itself is the reason to go over the top. The Queyras tourist office describes it as a spectacular expanse of scree with peaks of cargneule rock rising out of it, and the department calls it a lunar landscape. It is just below the summit on the Queyras side, so add a few kilometres of descent and climb back if you can.

When to go, and what to watch for

• Season. The pass is closed in winter. For 2026 the Queyras tourist office gave an estimated opening from 13 May to 13 November, subject to snow. The department points riders to inforoute.hautes-alpes.fr for current road status.
• Time of day. The north side is the shaded one, which the department calls no small advantage in midsummer. Its advice for July and August is to start early in the morning, or to ride the climb after 18:00 on long days.
• Traffic and car-free mornings. You share the road with cars; there is no cycle path. Each summer the department's Cols Réservés programme closes the climb to motor traffic on set mornings from 10:00 to 13:00, free and without registration. In 2026 the Izoard had two such mornings, in July and August.
• Make it a loop. The department's route sheet also describes a full loop over the top and back to Briançon, and warns you to keep something for the Champcella climb, 1 km at 15%, on the way. Our Galibier guide covers the other great climb near Briançon.

Ride it in Moveee Indoor

The route on this page is the real road from Briançon to the pass, with its height at every point. In Moveee Indoor your smart trainer reproduces that gradient as you ride: the gorge out of town, the long easy valley, then the 7 km at 8% that decide the climb. The world around you is built from map data of the real place. Indoors you learn how little effort the valley needs.

Try it with a target power for the last 7 km and see whether you can hold it to the top; your ride is saved with its power data, so you can check where it slipped. 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

About 19 km and 1,165 m from Briançon to 2,361 m. The gorge out of town is steady, the valley past Cervières is easy, and the last 7 km climb at 8% all the way to the top. Go early on the shaded north side, keep something for the end, and ride over the top to see the Casse Déserte.