The Col d'Allos, at 2,247 metres, is among the most historic passes in the Alps — part of the Route des Grandes Alpes and crossed by the Tour de France thirty-four times since François Faber first rode over it in 1911.
Fausto Coppi, Eddy Merckx, and more recently Simon Geschke have all summited here, and the climb rarely missed a Tour appearance in the race's early decades. Two routes lead to the top: from Barcelonnette to the north, seventeen kilometres at an average of 6.3%; from Colmars to the south, a longer and gentler twenty-two kilometres near 4.5%.
The pass sits inside the Mercantour National Park, linking the Ubaye valley to the Haut Verdon, with marmots and grazing herds along much of the ascent.
In July and August, the road above Allos opens to cyclists only, cars barred between eight and eleven on Friday mornings — a rare piece of infrastructure built entirely around the bike. From the col, strong riders continue toward the Col des Champs or double back over the Cayolle for a full loop of high passes.
