The Madeleine: a hard nut

The Tarentaise and Maurienne Valleys are separated by the Col de la Madeleine, whose summit is reached at the end of a long (1523 m of height gain!) and spectacular climb that winds its way round no fewer than 40 switchbacks. Originally called the Col de la Colombe, the pass only became known as the Madeleine in the 18^th century following the construction of a chapel dedicated to Saint Madeleine.

In 1949 it was decided to connect this strategic pass to the road network in order to provide a link between the Maurienne and Tarentaise Valleys - other than the Iseran, much further east, the Col de la Madeleine is the only road through the Vanoise Mountains. Building work took 20 years, and it was not until 1969 that the new road could be opened. Immediately inaugurated by the Tour de France, the Spaniard Andres Gandarias was the first rider to reach the summit (5^th in the overall standings of the 56th Tour de France, won by Eddy Merckx). The new pass quickly gained a reputation as one of the hardest on the Tour, particularly when combined with the Télégraphe-Galibier. On 13^th July 2010, the Tour de France crossed the Col de la Madeleine for the 23^rd time.