Col de Vence & Gourdon — Loop from Cagnes
The Riviera has a way of hiding its mountains until you go looking for them.
83 km
Distance
1,453 m
Elevation
4h05
Duration
3 ravitos
Ravitos
The Riviera has a way of hiding its mountains until you go looking for them. From the seafront at Cagnes-sur-Mer the coastline does all the talking — palm trees, traffic, the particular light that made this stretch of coast famous a century ago. Then the road turns inland and within minutes you are climbing, and the Mediterranean version of the French Riviera gives way to something harder and quieter and considerably more interesting.
This loop packs two of the region's most celebrated climbs into 82 kilometres and 1,476 metres of elevation — a shorter, punchier alternative to the longer Col de Vence loop for riders who want the best of the Riviera hinterland without committing to a full day in the saddle. Col de Vence first, then a run across to the clifftop village of Gourdon, then a long sweeping return to the coast.
Into the hills
There is no easing in. Leave the seafront and the road begins climbing almost immediately, the coastal sprawl thinning fast as the route works its way up toward Vence. The medieval town announces itself with old stone and a genuinely well-preserved quarter — a natural place to stop before the real climbing starts, and worth treating as such rather than riding straight through.
Col de Vence
This is the climb the loop is built around — 9.6 kilometres at an average of 6.7 percent, Cat 2, with the upper slopes asking the most of anyone who paced the lower section too generously. The road switches back through dry scrubland and pine, the gradient settling into a rhythm that rewards a steady effort more than a heroic one. By the upper hairpins the coastal haze is usually below you and the air has the thin clarity that comes with altitude — Col de Vence tops out close to 970 metres, a genuine mountain pass barely twenty kilometres from the Mediterranean.
Gourdon
From the col the route runs across to Gourdon, and this is the payoff the whole ride has been building toward. The village sits perched directly on a clifftop, and the panorama from its edge is one of the most complete views on the entire Riviera — the Maritime Alps rising inland, the coast curving away toward Antibes and Cap Ferrat, the Mediterranean filling everything below the horizon line. The short Bramafan climb into the village (3.9 km, 4.1%) is almost incidental compared to what waits at the top. Stop here properly. The view does not improve by rushing past it.
The long way down
What follows is one of the better descents in the region — a long arc back toward the coast through the Ligurian hills, fast and sweeping where the road allows it, technical enough in the tighter sections to keep your attention through to the final kilometres. The temperature climbs steadily as the altitude drops, the scrubland gives way to the first signs of coastal development, and by the time Cagnes-sur-Mer reappears the mountain interlude already feels like it happened somewhere else entirely.
Route
82 km · +1,476 m · Road
| Segment | Notes |
|---|---|
| 0–15 km · Cagnes-sur-Mer → Vence | Climbing begins almost immediately on leaving the coast. Vence is a well-preserved medieval town with a genuine old quarter — a good stop for coffee before the climbing intensifies. |
| 15–25 km · Col de Vence | 9.6 km · 6.7% avg · Cat 2. The main effort of the day. Dry scrubland and pine, the upper slopes the most demanding section. Summit close to 970 m. |
| 25–45 km · Col de Vence → Gourdon | Rolling terrain across to Gourdon, the Bramafan climb (3.9 km, 4.1%) leading into the village. Gourdon sits on a clifftop with a 360-degree panorama over the Riviera — the highest point of the route and its natural centrepiece. |
| 45–82 km · Descent to Cagnes-sur-Mer | A long, sweeping descent through the Ligurian hills. Fast where the road allows, technical in the tighter sections. The Mediterranean and the coastal sprawl gradually reassert themselves as the route returns to sea level. |
83 km
Distance
1,453 m
Elevation
5%
Average gradient
981 m
Summit altitude
Before you go
- Carry cash once you're past VenceNot every café in the hill villages accepts card, particularly on the higher sections around Col de Vence and Gourdon. A stop that should take five minutes can turn into a longer negotiation without coins in a jersey pocket.
- Pack a wind vest regardless of how warm the coast feelsThe descent from Gourdon loses altitude quickly and the temperature drop is real — riders who left Cagnes-sur-Mer in shorts and a light jersey on a warm morning are often cold by the time they're back among the pines on the way down. A vest folds small and costs nothing on the climb.
- Treat Vence as a stop, not a pass-throughIt is tempting to ride straight through on the way to the harder climbing ahead, but the old quarter rewards five minutes off the bike, and the coffee here is a better proposition than anything you will find higher up.
- Pace Col de Vence from the bottomThe lower slopes are deceptively manageable and the temptation to push is real with fresh legs. The steepest sections sit in the upper third of the climb, and riders who go out too hard on the early kilometres tend to find those final ramps considerably harder than they should be.
- Give Gourdon the time it deservesThis is the highest point of the route and the entire reason the loop exists in its current form. The panorama from the clifftop edge of the village is not something to glance at on the way to the next climb — stop, eat something, and let the view do its work before the descent.