fonte: http://www.trainingloops.com/etape-du-tour-2013-review.htm
Annecy to the Cote de Puget / Col de Lechaux
For reasons I've already outlined I didn't climb the Cote de Puget. The ride along the lake from Annecy to St Jorioz is flat (there is a cycling path that follows the track of the old railway line that is also heavily used by cyclists). The climb from St Jorioz to the Col de Lechaux is 12.5km with an average grade of 3.2%. The roads are narrow and twisting and if you are looking at a good place you'll need to be ahead of your pen when you hit the climb at St Jorioz. There is very little difficulty on the climb and the better riders will take under half an hour for the ascent. Weaker riders should not go too fast, too soon on this climb but leave something in reserve for the Revard and Semnoz later in the day.
Col de Lechaux to Bellecombe
A nice ride on good roads with stunning alpine pastures and cliffs high up to your left. However it is over all too quickly so for me doesn't really qualify as a great descent.
Bellecombe to le Chatelard
As you come out of Bellecombe there is a sharp left hander that in typical Bauges style plunges down to a gorge. This is followed by a bit of a drag up to Noiray, another quick descent than another drag into the village of Le Chatelard. In the village there is a fountain on the right hand side. None of this is particularly steep but it all adds to the vertical in the legs.
From the col de Lechaux to the bridge over le Cheran following le Chatelard you'll cover 16km, descend 350 meters but climb and additional 140 meters. We will cross le Cheran again later over the Pont de l'Abime but it is altogether a different river by then. This was the only section of the route where I saw any road traffic.
Le Chatelard to the Col du Pres
There are road humps coming out of le Chatelard. A quick, straight descent is followed by a right hander and the start of a gentle climb towards Aillon le Vieux, only the last km before entering the village is steep, around 8%. A short 3km descent follows to Aillon le Jeune then 4km of steep ascent to the Col du Pres with 1.5km above 8% just after the village. The col is more or less the half way point before you turn north again towards Annecy.
Col du Pres to Thoiry (pont de Leysee)
Despite the 3500 meters+ of climbing this is the only really impressive descent of the ride. I reached the col at 5pm so the descent was in failing light, the sun having already set far to the west. Below the lights of Chambery twinkled in the valley. After the col the descent starts off fairly gentle as the road seeks out a gap between the ridge at the cascade du Fournet. Through the gap and it sweeps the right then a left hairpin with rock walls on your right shoulder. You'll need excellent bike handling skills to descend quickly. A series of majestic turns and switchbacks follows down through les Chavonettes then a fast descent into Thoiry before a right hand hairpin and a sharp left hand turn over the pont de Leysee. Overcook this and the bridge ramparts, or worse, the river below, awaits.
St Jean d\'Arvey (pont de Leysee) to le Revard
The descent from the Col du Pres only gives a brief respite before the first significant climb of the day. There is about 100 meters of ascent up to St Jean d'Arvey at over 5% followed by a couple of kilometers flat. After St Jean the climb to le Revard proper begins. This is a south facing climb and will be pretty hot on the day. Tip, there is a water fountain about 100 meters down the Chambery road in front of the Church, worth taking the small detour to fill up if there is not an official feeding stop in the village.
The road is not too steep at first, it reaches 8% after the Montargy hairpin and briefly flirts with 10% through the villages of les Deserts maintaining a consistent 8% over 4 to 5km but as you approach the col du Planpalais the climb levels off with a km or two of flattish road in la Feclaz. This is an opportunity to drink and get some food. Out of la Feclaz and through the woods the road climbs again and the surface is not the best with potholes and cracks. You exit the forest a couple of km before the col du Revard, you can see the summit restaurant to the left and if it is clear the lac du Bourget in the valley below.
Overall you have gained 968 meters with an average gradient of 4.8% with the steepest section in the first half of the climb. The slope from St Jean d'Arvey to Planpalais is exposed and hot with light woodland giving some shade after the Col du Planpalais to the Col du Revard. I didn't notice anywhere en-route to stock up on water.
Le Revard to Trevignon (Shrine)
This is a fast run down through a pine forest. The first section to the col de la Clusaz is fairly open with views over to the Mont Blanc on your right. After a short cutting through the rocks you enter a section of long straights with wide, sweeping hairpins. Fast roads but with nothing much to see but trees and other rider's butts until just above Trevignon where a sharp right exits you from the woods. You pass through a hamlet and then a wider left hand hairpin.
Trevignon, Pont de l'Abime, Gruffy
You don't enter Trevignon but make a very sharp right by a small white shrine. The road follows a rolling balcony at around 550 meters altitude on generally good roads. Just after Cusy you descend to the spectacular Pont de l'Abime suspension bridge which links the Savoie and Haute-Savoie departments over the 100 meter Cheran gorge. The bridge was opened in 1891 after four years construction and is a national monument. The bridge is much narrower than the road and you'll need to take care if riding in a group. On the far side the road climbs gently through a cliff before reaching the village of Gruffy where you will find a water fountain about 1km past the Church on the right hand side of the road.
Quintal (Pont des Gorges des Vaches) - Le Semnoz
The climb to le Semnoz proper begins a few km before the village of Quintal at a bridge that crosses the Gorges des Vaches stream at a little over 600 meters altitude. We should have recovered a bit on the previous rolling section. Had a chance to drink and eat, maybe even stop a few minutes.
As you can see from the profile the climb to le Semnoz is an altogether different beast to that of le Revard. Consistently steep for much of the route with an average gradient of 7.8%. The first shock comes as you swing round the right hand bend onto the D241 at Quintal, the road climbs through the village directly up the hillside on a slope well over 10%, it eases a bit past an old chateau on the right and there is a fountain to get water on the left. As you pass the village sign the road rears up again for 2 km of around 10% slope. The gradient eases as you approach the junction with the Annecy road but then there is a brutal 500 meters of well over 10% as near the treeline. More steepness awaits as you climb through the ski area and round a right hand bend to reveal splendid views of the Mont Blanc and distant glaciers twinkling in the Swiss and Italian alps. The final km almost feels flat in comparison with what went before as you can drop down a gear and power over the finish line.
On the positive side the climb, at less than 1000 vertical meters from Quintal, is short. It is a long way from the lung busting slogs up the Madeleine and Croix de Fer. It is also north west facing and largely in woods. The average altitude is just a little over 1000 meters; not something that will give a fit cyclists altitude sickness.
The negatives are the steepness, especially with 100km and over 2500 meters in the legs. Wooded climbs can also get humid with no breeze to ease the suffering. You'll need to make sure you are properly hydrated before Quintal.
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