Lacets de Montvernier
Lacets de Montvernier
Lacets de Montvernier is an amazing little road winding up a cliff in the French Alps. Lacets is the kind of climb, that until you know it is there, most people would just drive past on the motorway, but this one is definitely worth the short stop.
The Lacets de Montvernier is situated in the heart of the Maurienne valley, a true cycling Mecca, home to arguably five of the ten most famous climbs in France — the Galibier, Iseran, Madeleine, Glandon, Croix de Fer — and many other huge but lesser known climbs. The road was built on an old mule track with construction beginning in 1931 and completed in 1934, linking the village of Pontamafrey, located on the banks of the Arc river, to the village of Montvernier at the top of the mountain.
It is amazing to think this climb, had to wait until 2015 to be added to the Tour de France in 2015 but it got a second go and was raced again in 2018. Its is an amazing spectacle to see them racing up this climb because there are no support vehicles or the caravan that manages the Tour de France. They simply will not get up and around the tight corners.
17 Hairpins, many will argue there are 18!
The view of this climb is spectacular. The winding road looks as if it is hanging off the side of a mountain. Often you will also see adventurous rock climbers hanging off the side of this mountain, on your ride up.
Our climb starts from the little village of Pontamafrey. Take your time and enjoy the views on this little climb. With 17 (or 18) lacets (hairpins) in such a short climb you will quickly lose count of the hairpins completed as you are distracted by the rock climbers and the views beyond. If you want a topic of discussion with your friends when you get to the top, you better count those lacets (17 or 18?)
The climb is only about 3.4 km long with an average gradient of 8%, very similar to the stats of Arthurs Seat climb on Melbourne’s Mornington Peninsula, without the number of lacets. The road is narrow, the hairpins sharp, and large vehicles are forbidden. Simply they will not get around the hairpins. Once you finish the last section and pass under the shadows of the chapel, there is a sprawling field growing many vegetable including pumpkins.
