The Col du Sabot, but first, the Ornon

I've never ridden up the Col du Sabot before. It's above Vaugany, and has views over Lac du Grand Maison, the lake on the way to the Glandon and the Croix de Fer. It's not particularly well frequented, but is higher than the Croix de Fer, at 2100 metres. It seemed like a good bet for an afternoon ride, so I chose to do the Ornon in the morning as an aperitif

Sometimes its better not to know!

The ride to the Col d'Ornon is probably the easiest in the valley. The gradient rarely goes above 7%, and there is plenty of shade, particularly on the lower sections. The road engineers have, however, been rather creative in building it, and it clings to the side of the mountain in dramatic style in places.

Not sure what species these butterflies are, but there were quite a few around

I spotted these two butterflies feeding, when I pulled over for a a comfort break. I don't recognise the species though.

We're in the Alps. What can I say? It's just stunning

Once out of the gorge, the vistas open up and are as spectacular as on any other road around here. After a really pleasant ride, of about an hour and a quarter, I reached the top.

Maybe the old fool is finally getting the hang of selfies!

I headed back down for around a kilometre, and found a grassy bank to sit on for lunch. That consisted of sun baked pork pie and scotch egg, followed by a warm slice of brownie. Everything had been in a bag in my jersey pocket, and the sun had worked its magic. Hot food for lunch!

The descent was really pleasant. The moderate gradients mean there is hardly any really heavy breaking, and its possible to work up considerable speed on the way down. Most of the road has a decent surface, apart from one section that's been recently relaid after a landslip.

Once back in the valley, I turned left and headed for Allemont.

The river at Allemont

Pausing only to  grab a photo, and to fill my water bottles from a 'basin', I headed through the town and onto the climb up the dam which holds back Lac Verney. This is the lower end of an EDF hydro electric scheme. More on that later. I rode across the bridge which takes the road over the lake, and round the back of the hydro-electric plant, before turning right up the road to Vaujany.

To say this road is grippy, is a bit of an understatement. The gradient is never less than 10% , and frequently goes above. The temperature was on the rise too. It didn't match yesterday's 39 degrees, topping out at around 36. Shawn had mentioned an alternative route between Pourcherry and Vaujany. It's actually the road they used when the Tour de France came this way in 2016. It's much nicer and quieter than the main road, with more shade. It also has a better view of the spectacular waterfall across the valley.

The waterfall across the valley from Vaujany with the cable car to L'Alpette on its way up.

The route finally rejoins the main road near the cable car station in Vaujany.

Cable car from L'Alpette arriving in Vaujany

After taking a few photos, it was time for the main event of the day, turning right onto the main road, and heading towards La Vilette. The road, now called the route du Col de Sabot, carries on as previously, with a gradient rarely less than 10% and frequently more.

Just above La Vilette

After La Vilette, it narrows, becoming single track with passing places. The surface, however, while not perfect is much better than the Col de Sarenne. Few people seem to come this way, possibly because it is not a through route. I saw only a couple of riders and a couple of cars during this part of the ride.

Back down the valley to Lac Verney and Allemont. Nice recession!

Further up the climb, the valley opens out and it's possible to start to see where the road goes. I had no real sense of how much further it was to the top. It was getting quite late, and I gave myself a target of turning back at 5 pm, come what may. That way, I would have time to get back and clean up before dinner. In the event, I reached the car park at the end of the road with 10 minutes to spare!

Col de Sabot looking towards Lac du Grand Maison and the road to the Glandon and Croix de Fer

The col actually overlooks Lac du Grand Maison. This is the upper end of the hydro electric scheme whose lower end is Lac Verney. Gigantic pipes lead between the two lakes allowing water to flow, and electricity to be generated at the power station in Allemont. It's also possible to see the road up to the Col du Glandon and Col de la Croix de Fer. I'll be riding that soon.

At the top

The Col de Sabot has the least impressive sign of any that I've encountered here. The only thing that marks it out is the tiny green and white label at the top of pole carrying hiking trail information. It deserves more. It's a stunning ride, and well worth the effort.

While I was in the car park, a series of claps of thunder rang out from the direction of the Croix de Fer. Time to head down. The descent is very physical. The steep gradients mean you're on the brakes all the way down. There are cattle grids and other occasional hazards too, including a hose running across the road on one of the hairpins. Important to cross it at 90 degrees! I stopped on the way down to check that the rims weren't getting too warm, but all was fine. In Vaugany once more, a car pulled out in front of me, at a safe distance, and headed down. I think it expected to pull away from me on the descent into the valley. It didn't. I was right with it at the bottom.

On the way down, it did start to rain. Just a few big drops here and there. It didn't come to anything. Then it was just the usual flat time trial along the valley from Rochetaille, around Bourg, and back to Le Velo Jaune well in time for dinner. It ended up being quite a big day. It was good to practice a hard climb later in the day. I'm going to need to do that for La Marmotte. Details of the ride are on Strava.