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Mont Vial from Pont Charles-Albert via Gilette

5.0
1 review/story | Statistics | 5 photos
Mont Vial from Pont Charles-Albert via Gilette
Mont Vial from Pont Charles-Albert via Gilette
Mont Vial from Pont Charles-Albert via Gilette
Mont Vial from Pont Charles-Albert via Gilette
Mont Vial from Pont Charles-Albert via Gilette
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Elevation profile Mont Vial from Pont Charles-Albert via Gilette
Elevation profile Mont Vial from Pont Charles-Albert via Gilette
Elevation profile Mont Vial from Pont Charles-Albert via Gilette

Statistics

Difficulty points 1007
Length 24.6 km
Average gradient 5.7%
Steepest 100 meters 12.2%
Total ascent 1412m

Short recap

Beautiful scenery
Hidden gem
33 hairpin turns
#73 toughest climb of French Alps
#45 most elevation gain of France
#78 longest climb of France
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Mont Vial from Pont Charles-Albert via Gilette is a climb in the region Alpes-Maritimes. It is 24.6km long and bridges 1412 vertical meters with an average gradient of 5.7%, resulting in a difficulty score of 1007. The top of the ascent is located at 1522 meters above sea level. Climbfinder users shared 1 review/story of this climb and uploaded 5 photos.

Road names: Route de Gilette, M17, Route de Revest, M227, D227, D27 & Route du Mont Vial

Photos (5)

Mont Vial from Pont Charles-Albert via Gilette
Mont Vial from Pont Charles-Albert via Gilette
Mont Vial from Pont Charles-Albert via Gilette
Mont Vial from Pont Charles-Albert via Gilette
Mont Vial from Pont Charles-Albert via Gilette
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Reviews (1)

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Niels1987
1 Mo 5.0 01:57:11 (12.6km/h)
This is an automatic translation, the original language is: Dutch. Show original

Mont Vial had been on my bucket list for over 7 years, because of the fantastic photos's of it I had seen on the cafe du cycliste website. In 2017, I planned to climb it too, however, I also had to return my rental bike on the same day and did not succeed in terms of time. I then finally climbed it in 2024, via Gilette. I had bike packing bags with me on the road bike, which made it a bit spicier to climb. Up to Gilette, however, the climb runs nice and smooth and you can keep a good pace. After Gilette, I found the gradient quite tough until the junction with the road from Bonson. After the villages of Revest and Tourette you reach the Col Saint Michel, this is not really signposted, but you can see as the road is flanked by 2 rock walls. After the Col Saint Michel, it's up and down a bit and you soon reach the turnoff to Mont Vial. Up to here, I was on the road for more than an hour anyway. I decided to temporarily leave my bike packing bags there at a bus shelter, in order to ride up the last heavy section as lightly as possible. And that is necessary, because in the last 6 km there are many stretches against 10%. Here, however, I can also really enjoy the views, which become increasingly beautiful. The hairpin bends here are really plastered against the steep mountainside and on the summit and way back you get to witness this wonderful view. In terms of views, this really is one of the most beautiful cols I have ever done. You can also really see all the way to the coast and on the other side to the highest peaks of the Mercantour.

De Mont Vial stond al meer dan 7 jaar op mijn bucketlist, door de fantastische foto's er van die ik gezien had op de website van cafe du cycliste. In 2017 was ik van plan hem ook te beklimmen, echter moest ik op diezelfde dag ook mijn huurfiets weer op tijd terugbrengen en lukte het niet qua tijd. In 2024 heb ik hem dan uiteindelijke beklommen, via Gilette. Ik had bike packing tassen mee op de racefiets, wat het wat pittiger maakte om te klimmen. Tot aan Gilette loopt de klim echter lekker smooth en kun je flink tempo er in houden. Na Gilette viel me de helling best zwaar tot aan de kruising met de weg vanuit Bonson. Na de dorpjes Revest en Tourette bereik je de Col Saint Michel, dit staat niet echt aangegeven, maar zie je als de weg geflankeerd wordt door 2 rotsmuren. Na de Col Saint Michel is het wat op en af en bereik je snel de afslag naar de Mont Vial. Tot hier was ik toch al meer dan een uur onderweg. Mijn bike packing tassen besloot ik daar tijdelijk achter te laten bij een bushokje, om het laatste zware deel zo licht mogelijk omhoog te rijden. En dat is wel nodig, want in de laatste 6 km zijn er veel stukken tegen de 10%. Hier kan ik echter ook erg genieten van de uitzichten, die steeds mooier worden. De haarspeldbochten zijn hier echt tegen de steile bergflank aangeplakt en op de top en terugweg mag je dit wonderlijke uitzicht aanschouwen. Qua uitzicht is dit echt een van de mooiste cols die ik ooit heb gedaan. Je kunt ook echt helemaal tot aan de kust en aan de andere kant tot aan de hoogste toppen van de Mercantour zien.

Mont Vial from Pont Charles-Albert via Gilette
Mont Vial from Pont Charles-Albert via Gilette
Mont Vial from Pont Charles-Albert via Gilette
Mont Vial from Pont Charles-Albert via Gilette
Dashboard

Climbing times

7 km/h 03:30:57
11 km/h 02:14:14
15 km/h 01:38:26
19 km/h 01:17:43

Road surface condition

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Traffic

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