| Famous climb |
| Beautiful scenery |
| 33 hairpin turns |
| #45 toughest climb of France |
| #31 most elevation gain of France |
| #77 longest climb of French Alps |
| #36 average steepest climb of Alpes-Maritimes |
Col de la Lombarde from Isola via Isola 2000 is a climb in the region Alpes-Maritimes. It is 20.6km long and bridges 1486 vertical meters with an average gradient of 7.2%, resulting in a difficulty score of 1173. The top of the ascent is located at 2351 meters above sea level. Climbfinder users shared 3 reviews of this climb and uploaded 10 photos.
Road name: M97
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Added this climb as the last mountains day of a bikepacking tour of the Alpe Maritime region. Isola is a pleasant village at the base and great place for a meal especially as Isola 2000 is very quiet out of season. The Isold 2000 climb initially steep is quite relentless and one of the harder climbs in my opinion (hence the pros use it for training camps). I stayed overnight at Isola 2000 so Col de la Lombarde is a nice start to the following day - and fun to reach the Italian border from a touring perspective - before descending down to the village for breakfast and then all the way to the coast at Nice. Just adding my story as Climbfinder was very helpful throughout my trip in the region. Thank you.
In August 2018, I cycled up the French side of this literally cross-border Col
First kilometres are immediately steep (+10％) to quickly leave departure town Isola, on the Tinée River, deep below us. Middle part is less steep and curvy and the last 4 km. after the ski station we have a good climb on a narrower road through hairpin turns, winding above the tree line in the middle of a rough and uninhabited mountain scenery to the summit at the border.
The initially wide route is built to bring many winter sports people safely to the ski station Isola 2000 but is absolutely no fast highway but beautifully constructed with lots of hairpin bends, bridges over the river, some short tunnels, in a beautiful natural setting with hardly any traffic in summer. The ski station remains of course something built by people in the mountains but it is not so bad.
There were bike infoboards every kilometer with height, distance to the top and gradient. Most of them were on the other side, left of the road.
You can get supplies at the start, in the ski station and a mobile snack bar on the top.
This beauty you should not let you pass!
Incomprehensible that both Giro and Tour barely include it in their ride schedule.
The Italian side is even more beautiful!
In Augustus 2018 de Franse zijde van deze letterlijk grensoverschrijdende Col op gefietst
Eerste kilometers zijn direct steil (+10％) om vertrekstadje Isola, aan de Tinée rivier, snel diep onder ons te laten. Middendeel is minder steil/bochtig om de laatste 4 km. na het skistation weer goed te stijgen op een smallere weg via haarspeldbochten kronkelend boven de boomgrens te midden een ruw onbewoond bergdecor tot de top op de grens.
De aanvankelijk brede route is aangelegd om veel wintersporters veilig naar skistation Isola 2000 te brengen maar is absoluut geen snelle autostrade maar mooi aangelegd met veel haarspeldbochten, brugjes over de rivier, enkele korte tunnels, in een prachtig natuurlijk kader met zomers amper verkeer. Het skistation blijft natuurlijk iets door mensen gebouwd in de bergen maar het valt nog wel mee.Ik heb er zelfs een week verbleven als wandel & fiets uitvalsbasis..
Er stonden fietsinfobordjes elke kilometer met hoogte,afstand tot de top en stijgingspercentage. De meeste stonden wel aan de overzijde, links van de weg
Bevoorrading kan bij de start,in het skistation en een mobiele snackbar op de top.
Deze prachtcol mag je niet aan je laten voorbijgaan!!!
Onbegrijpelijk dat zowel Giro en Tour hem amper opnemen in hun rittenschema.
Italiaanse zijde is nog mooier!
A lesser known climb but certainly not to be underestimated, the first 3 and last 3 km are tough. In between it is a runner but the length and height make it a tough climb. The descent Italian side is fabulously beautiful but very narrow and technical. The French side is much wider and less beautiful.
Een minder bekende klim maar zeker niet te onderschatten, de eerste 3 en laatste 3 km zijn zwaar. Tussendoor is het een loper maar de lengte en hoogte maken het een zware klim. De afdaling Italiaanse kant is fabelachtig mooi maar zeer smal en technisch. De Franse kant is veel breder en minder mooi.
| 7 km/h | 02:56:30 |
| 11 km/h | 01:52:19 |
| 15 km/h | 01:22:22 |
| 19 km/h | 01:05:01 |
