Home / Climb power / Col de la Bonette / Cime de la Bonette
Col de la Bonette: the climb and its history
Col de la Bonette / Cime de la Bonette: each side of the climb, every Grand Tour passage since 1996 and the records, each figure with the source it comes from.
The climb
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France
| Side | Start | Length | Elevation gain | Average | Max | Summit | Hairpins | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jausiers | Jausiers | 23.3 km | 1587 m | 6.8 % | 11.7 % | 2803 m | 27 | climbfinder.com |
| Saint-Étienne-de-Tinée | Saint-Étienne-de-Tinée | 25.6 km | 1659 m | 6.5 % | 11.5 % | 2804 m | 15 | climbfinder.com |
Each side from one source, linked. A dash: the sources we opened disagree or give no figure, so we leave it out.
In the Grand Tours since 1996 3
| Year | Race | Stage | Type | Stage winner or first over the top | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Tour de France | 19 | Crossed | Richard Carapaz | bikeraceinfo.com |
| 2016 | Giro d'Italia | 20 | Crossed | Mikel Nieve | cyclingnews.com |
| 2008 | Tour de France | 16 | Crossed | John-Lee Augustyn | cyclingnews.com |
Records
| Record | Rider | Time | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jausiers: fastest race ascent (watts2win segment 21.83 km, 6.83%) | Romain Bardet | 0:59:42 | 2024 | watts2win.eu |
A time is listed only where the sources agree on it; where two sources give different times for the same ride, it is left out.
How long would it take you?
Your time up Col de la Bonette / Cime de la Bonette at a steady power, from a physics model.
Advanced: rolling resistance and drag
Estimate from a physics model (Martin et al. 1998), on the average gradient. Wind, surface, pacing and steep sections change the real time. More cycling tools
How this is calculated
P × 0.977 = ½ · ρ · CdA · v³ + v · m · g · (sin θ + Crr · cos θ), θ = arctan(average gradient), m = rider + bike, g = 9.81; solved for the speed v, time = length / v. Air density ρ: NASA GRC troposphere: T=15.04-0.00649*h; p=101.29*((T+273.1)/288.08)^5.256; rho=p/(0.2869*(T+273.1)); h = mean of start and summit altitude. Sources: Martin et al. 1998, J Appl Biomech 14(3):276-291 — https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6jd5f71; Defraeye et al. 2010, J Biomech 43(7):1262-1268 (upright position, cyclist+bike 0.270 m2) — https://lirias.kuleuven.be/retrieve/232736; NASA Glenn Research Center, Earth Atmosphere Model (metric) — https://www.grc.nasa.gov/www/k-12/airplane/atmosmet.html. Climb geometry: the side's source in the table above.