Col d'Izoard

From Briançon: about 20 km at 5.7%; from the south, about 15.9 km at 6.9% after the Guil valley approach; summit 2,361 m Come for the Casse Déserte, a barren slope of rock pinnacles and scree near the top that looks like nowhere else in the Alps. The Tour first climbed the Izoard in 1922, and a monument at the summit honors Fausto Coppi and Louison Bobet, two riders who made it their own. The Briançon side is the kinder way up for a first visit; the southern side starts with a gentle run up the Guil gorge from Guillestre, then turns steeper, with ramps reported at up to 14%, and saves the Casse Déserte for the final stretch.