Iconic Climbs

A deck by Sage Sinclair · 24 cards

The mountains that decide the Tour.

Col du Granon

Col du Granon is a high mountain pass in the Alps in the department of Hautes-Alpes in France. A narrow tarmac road winds steeply up the southern approach. Gravel roads continue beyond the pass, in a military training zone.

Col de Joux Plane

Col de Joux Plane is a high mountain pass in the Alps in Haute-Savoie, France, linking Morzine with Samoëns. The climb has been featured several times in the Tour de France cycling race.

Col de Peyresourde

The Col de Peyresourde is a mountain pass in the central Pyrenees on the border of the department of Haute-Garonne and Hautes-Pyrénées in France. It is situated on the D618 road between Bagnères-de-Luchon and Arreau.

Col de la Bonette

Col de la Bonette is a high mountain pass in the French Alps, near the border with Italy. It is situated within the Mercantour National Park on the border of the departments of Alpes-Maritimes and Alpes-de-Haute-Provence. The road over the col is the eight highest paved road in the Alps.

Col de la Madeleine

Col de la Madeleine is a high mountain pass in the Alps in the department of Savoie in France which connects La Chambre in Maurienne with La Léchère in Tarentaise. The pass is closed from November to the beginning of June. It has been described as "beautiful, but heartbreaking".

Col du Glandon

Col du Glandon is a high mountain pass in the Dauphiné Alps in Savoie, France, linking Le Bourg-d'Oisans to La Chambre. It is situated between the Belledonne, Grandes Rousses and Arvan-Villards mountain ranges, west of the Col de la Croix de Fer. The road over the Col du Glandon was opened in 1898, although it was not linked to the Col de la Croix de Fer until 1912.

Col du Télégraphe

Col du Télégraphe is a mountain pass in the French Alps situated above the Maurienne valley between the eastern end of the massif d'Arvan-Villards and the massif des Cerces.

Col d'Aspin

Col d'Aspin is a mountain pass in the French Pyrenees in the department of the Hautes-Pyrénées. It connects Sainte-Marie-de-Campan, in the upper Adour valley, with Arreau, on the River Neste.

Col d'Izoard

Col d'Izoard is a mountain pass in the Alps in the department of Hautes-Alpes in France.

Col d'Aubisque

The Col d'Aubisque is a mountain pass in the Pyrenees 30 km (19 mi) south of Tarbes and Pau in the department of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, in the Aquitaine region of France.

Pyrenees

The Pyrenees are a mountain range in southwestern Europe, straddling the France–Spain border. They extend nearly 500 kilometres (310 mi) from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of 3,404 metres (11,168 ft) at the peak of Aneto, in Huesca, Spain.

Alps

The Alps are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately 1,200 km (750 mi) across several Alpine countries : Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria, and Slovenia.

Luz Ardiden

Luz Ardiden is a ski resort in the Pyrenees. It is situated in the Hautes-Pyrénées department, in the Occitanie Region. The ski resort lies at a height of 1,720 m (5,640 ft) and was opened on 16 January 1975. In recent years the road to Luz Ardiden has served as an occasional stage finish for the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España.

Massif Central

The Massif Central is a highland region in south-central France consisting of mountains and plateaus. It covers about 15% of mainland France.

Mont Ventoux

Mont Ventoux is a mountain in the Provence region of southern France, located some 20 km northeast of Carpentras, Vaucluse. On the north side, the mountain borders the department of Drôme. At 1,910 m (6,270 ft), it is the highest mountain in the region and has been nicknamed the "Beast of Provence", the "Giant of Provence", or "The Bald Mountain". It has gained fame through its inclusion in the Tour de France cycling race; in 2009 it was the scene of the first penultimate-day mountain top finish in the Tour de France.

La Planche des Belles Filles

La Planche des Belles Filles is a ski station in the Vosges Mountains, in France. It is located in the Haute-Saône département. Since 2012, the climb to the summit has been used several times during the Tour de France cycle race.

Alpe d'Huez

L'Alpe d'Huez is a ski resort in Southeastern France at 1,250 to 3,330 metres. It is a mountain pasture in the central French Western Alps, in the commune of Huez, which is part of the Isère department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region.

Col de l'Iseran

Col de l'Iseran is a mountain pass in France, the highest paved pass in the Alps. A part of the Graian Alps, it is in the department of Savoie, near the border with Italy, and is crossed by the D902 roadway.

Col de la Croix de Fer

Col de la Croix de Fer is a high mountain pass in the French Alps linking Le Bourg-d'Oisans and Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne.

Hautacam

Hautacam is a ski resort in the French Pyrenees. It is situated in the Hautes-Pyrénées department, in the Occitania region. In road bicycle racing, the ascent to Hautacam is known as a difficult climb, which is used occasionally in the Tour de France.

Col du Galibier

The Col du Galibier is a mountain pass in the southern region of the French Dauphiné Alps near Grenoble. It is the eighth highest paved road in the Alps, and recurrently the highest point of the Tour de France.

Plateau de Beille

Plateau de Beille is a ski resort in the Pyrenees. It is situated in the Ariège department, and in the region of the Occitanie. The winter sports resort lies at a height of 1,790 m (5,870 ft).

Col de la Loze

The Col de la Loze is a mountain pass in the French Alps, with an elevation of 2,304 metres (7,559 ft). A path up the mountain was opened in May 2019, and is the seventh-highest mountain pass in France. The ascent featured in the 2020, 2023, and 2025 Tours de France, as well as in the 2019 Tour de l'Avenir.

Col du Tourmalet

Col du Tourmalet is one of the highest paved mountain passes in the French Pyrenees, in the department of Hautes-Pyrénées. Sainte-Marie-de-Campan is at the foot on the eastern side and the ski station La Mongie two-thirds of the way up. The village of Barèges lies on the western side, above the town of Luz-Saint-Sauveur.