‘Cyclo Triangle Vauban’

Friday 23 July

The inspiration for the ‘Cyclotouriste Triangle Vauban’ came from a desire to combine exploring the local cultural heritage with cycling in the Hautes-Alpes. This is a great finale for the ‘Cols Réservés’ week, and allows the Comité Départemental du Tourisme to take advantage of the closure of the Col d’Izoard from 9am to midday to also organise a small bike tour. The three Vauban sites in the Hautes-Alpes (Briançon, Mont-Dauphin – both inscribed onto the UNESCO World Heritage List – and Château-Queyras) have been honoured by becoming the three stages of this free bike tour for which no inscription is necessary.

The route

The route is roughly 60 km long. It starts in Briançon and the climb up to the Col de l’Izoard is done in the shade, which is pretty important in the middle of summer! Once you have dropped down through the Casse Déserte there is a loop up to Château-Queyras, in the heart of the Queyras Regional Nature Park, and back. The rest of the route presents no real technical difficulties and passes through Guillestre to reach the fort at Mont-Dauphin.

Stages of the Cyclo Vauban

Leave Briançon in the morning: the Briançon tourist office organised coffee and croissants and a ‘gâteau Vauban’ tasting session.

find out more about Briançon’s Cité Vauban

> Climb up to the Col de l’Izoard: the pass was closed to cars from 9am to midday. There were refreshments at the top, to help you get your strength back. The Izoard road is one of the most famous stages of the Tour de France and there is a commemorative plaque to Fausto Coppi and Louison Bobet set in a stone at the top. The pass has an average gradient of around 7% for 17 km. It is also home to the picturesque ‘Casse Déserte’, with its gullies and scree-filled slopes.

find out more about the great mountain passes of the Hautes-Alpes

> Loop via Château-Queyras: you made the detour and it was worth it! The Queyras tourist office provided a small snack to perk you up and organised a tasting session featuring ‘croquettes de Queyras’, a kind of local biscuit.

find out more about the fort at Château-Queyras

> Arrive at the Mont-Dauphin fort: there were 247 of you that made it through the great entrance and past the ramparts to join us in the shade of the trees. Here rustic meals and picnics were brought out of packs. Some of you arranged to meet your supporters and family at Mont-Dauphin, to make the most of the afternoon’s events at the fort.

find out more about the fort at Château-Queyras