170 km Timed

If you like riding dead straight in top gear on flat roads, you may be disappointed! This is will be a real mountain adventure. This Gran Fondo is not only a sports adventure, it will also enable you to discover exceptional tourist sites. You will enter the Vosges in the first few kilometres. Enjoy the beauty of the forests by climbing first the Col d’Oderen and then the Col du Page. Further on, on the ridges above 1000 m altitude, you will see other landscapes, those of the mountain stubble fields created by the farmers and innkeepers.

The first major difficulty comes after 35 km. The Vosges Gran Fondo had to cross the mountain greenway that leads to the Col du Haag. Climbers will already be able to show their talents, with a climb that starts and ends with a gradient of 12%. Afterwards, it is wise to take advantage of the 6 km along the Route des Crêtes to recover properly, especially as there is a magnificent panorama along the way.

The Gran Fondo continues towards vers Guebwiller, then the Col du Bannstein, which is short but still a slog, followed by a steady climb to the Col du Firstplan, with a gradient of just over 5%. But when you get to the top, you will only be half way... and the second half of the Gran Fondo promises to be even tougher! You will have to go back up towards the crests with one of the most difficult climbs in the Vosges, the famous Col du Platzerwasel. And before that, the Petit Ballon will already be rising before you. Along a road that is narrow but in good condition, with sharp bends and cow bells ringing, and parts with a gradient of nearly 20% where you will need your lowest gear... you will have all you need to turn a cyclosportive into a genuine mountain Gran Fondo.

After the Platzerwasel, followed 2 km later by the Col du Breitfisrt, you will reach the Route des Crêtes once again. With 45 km left, tiredness will start to kick in on the little hills that continue up to La Schlucht. You will still need to climb the Col des Feignes, and then the final difficulty of the day, the col du Bramont. From this side, the climb only stretches for a little over 3 km, but even so, in some parts the gradient almost reaches 10%. Coming at the end of a Gran Fondo, after riding through the Vosges for 155 km, it may well seem like a hors catégorie pass!