I wanted to ride the Col de Sarenne 1999m as soon as I saw a picture on the back of the Oisans cycling guide (free booklet with 30 local rides listed). The col only involves climbing 1250 vertical metres over approximately 23km, so I decided it should be manageable.
The first 5km is pretty flat along the main road out towards Briancon. All too soon are long sections of 7% and some long partially lit tunnels. The turn off for the col is just after the dam wall of the Lac du Chambon. Here was the steepest section of the day at 12% but fortunately didn’t last too long. The road continues up the quiet Ferrand valley amongst the trees which provided some shelter from the bitting sun. Once the road hits the end of the valley below imposing waterfalls, it cut back along east facing treeless slopes. The sun was bitting but the cooler alpine breezes moderated some of the intensity. The top of the climb was soon within sight but still involved a few more kilometres of climbing.
Looking back at the last kilometres of the Col de Sarenne
From the col, a very rough road traverses to the back of Alpe D’Huez, and other than a few bone jarring kilometres and views of the top of the Gorge de Sarenne was over soon enough.
View south from the Col
The second half of today’s ride was along les Balcons d’Auris. A road that is all too obvious as it traverses half way up the steep cliffs to the right of Alpe d’Huez. Although it is suggested as not being too strenuous, even the easy rides involve some climbing… Being mid-morning, this also worked as a suitable ride for a hot day, as long as you got there before the sun hits the face fully. A suggested diversion for Les Balcons is to ride 6km’s up to the village of Auris d’Oisans and up it is. It wasn’t too steep with the steepest kilometre listed as 7.7% and the rest closer to 5%.
Looking back towards Bourg d'Oisans from halfway along Les Balcon
View south from the Col
The second half of today’s ride was along les Balcons d’Auris. A road that is all too obvious as it traverses half way up the steep cliffs to the right of Alpe d’Huez. Although it is suggested as not being too strenuous, even the easy rides involve some climbing… Being mid-morning, this also worked as a suitable ride for a hot day, as long as you got there before the sun hits the face fully. A suggested diversion for Les Balcons is to ride 6km’s up to the village of Auris d’Oisans and up it is. It wasn’t too steep with the steepest kilometre listed as 7.7% and the rest closer to 5%.
Looking back towards Bourg d'Oisans from halfway along Les Balcon
Here I decided to order a coke again and also ordered two scoops of ice cream. At least this time I got exactly what I was after! An enjoyable, fast flowing descent soon followed with only a few rises kept the legs working. Till all too soon we were flung back out onto the main road at le Freney D’Oisans. From here it was mostly downhill back into Bourg D’Oisans and a big plate of pasta.
Le Freney D'Oisans
Although today was still hot, the ride was shaded for much of the way so was never unbearable. And this circuit also offered a more suitable introduction for this my first week. Definitely feeling a little better today…
Le Freney D'Oisans
Although today was still hot, the ride was shaded for much of the way so was never unbearable. And this circuit also offered a more suitable introduction for this my first week. Definitely feeling a little better today…
Ride details:
Distance 85.4km
3913m elevation
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