Completing the Jersey, in a Downpour

Last year, at Bourg d'Oisans, I bought a jersey from the good folks at Cycling Ascents, where we stayed. It has the details of a number of climbs printed on it, and I'd ridden them all, except the Col de la Madeleine. This year I intended to put that right! On another perfect Alpine day, with hardly a cloud to be seen, I set off from St Jean de Maurienne to ride to the base of the climb, in La Chambre. The route runs along the valley past the foot of the Lacets de Montvernier, and is all but flat, apart from one hill that hits nearly 8%. I chose to go through St-Marie-des-Cuines, which is close to the base of the Col du Glandon. That's one for another day.

There are a couple of roundabouts to negotiate when approaching La Chambre. Once in the town, the right turn onto the climb is clearly marked, and you're soon heading up. The Col de la Madeleine is one of the two routes between the Maurienne and Tarantaise valleys, the other being the Col de l'Iseran in the east. The Madeleine took 20 years to build, and wasn't finished until the 1960s, since when it's been used many times on the Tour de France.

The flag of Savoie is still in evidence in these parts. This one is on the hillside above the Maurienne valley.

Most of the climb is in the 7-9% range, but there is one section of a couple of kilometres that goes to 10% and above. The road also kicks up more through the big resort town of Longchamp-1650. The number is its altitude. There is plenty of shade through the forested sections, very welcome on a hot, humid day like today.

As a cyclist, you need to learn to interpret road signs like this. This particular one says that you are nearly half way up the Col de la Madeleine, and that the next kilometre is going to hurt!

The view back towards the Maurienne valley, over the resort of Longchamp-1650, seemed to indicate that there was some weather brewing. There was!

Above Longchamp-1650, the valley broadens out. The trees and shade stop, and are replaced with an Alpine meadow. The Madeleine is over 700 metres lower than the Iseran, and the landscape is noticably different. There are even cows grazing up here, producing the milk for local cheeses like Beaufort. The gradients remain roughly the same, but the arrival at the top is a slight surprise, as it's virtually impossible to see it until you're well into the last kilometre. There is a resturant and a cafe/bar at the top.

Angela had driven to the top of the Madeleine while sight seeing, so was able to take a very professional shot of this unprofessional cyclist and his machine. He didn't even do up his jersey!

The route up to the Col de la Madeleine is available on Garmin Connect.

The view from the top is spectacular, even in the very humid and misty conditions that greeted us today. Looking north towards the Tarantaise valley, it was clear that there was weather brewing there too.

The view towards Mont Blanc from the top of the Madeleine. Angela swears you can see it if you scrunch your eyes up!

The descent from the Madeleine is another cracker. It's steeper than the Petit St Bernard, but the visibility is good, and you can let the speed increase in many places. I did stop once to let my wheel rims cool down a little. It took about half an hour of riding to get back to La Chambre.

Back on more-or-less level ground, all was going well until, just outside La Chambre, the heavens opened. The threatened afternoon thunderstorms had actually materialised. Rumbles of thunder boomed down the valley. The rain was warm, and mercifully there was no visible lightning and no hail, so I just continued to ride back to St-Jean-de-Maurienne. I was pretty wet by the time I got back, but that was soon cured by a shower and change of clothes.

The route down from the Madeleine is available on Garmin Connect.

So now I've ridden all the climbs on my Cycling Ascents jersey. I might just wear it tomorrow.