Home / Climb power / Col du Galibier
Col du Galibier: the climb, its Grand Tour history and records
Col du Galibier: each side of the climb, every Grand Tour passage since 1996 and the records, each figure with the source it comes from.
The climb
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (Savoie), France
| Side | Start | Length | Elevation gain | Average | Max | Summit | Hairpins | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint-Michel-de-Maurienne (north, via Col du Télégraphe and Valloire) | Saint-Michel-de-Maurienne | 34.8 km | 2085 m | 6 % | 10.6 % | 2642 m | 27 | climbfinder.com |
| Valloire (north) | Valloire | 17.5 km | 1210 m | 6.9 % | 10.8 % | 2642 m | 14 | climbfinder.com |
| Col du Lautaret (south) | Col du Lautaret | 8.6 km | 585 m | 6.8 % | 13.4 % | 2642 m | 5 | climbfinder.com |
| Briançon (south-east, via Col du Lautaret) | Briançon | 34.8 km | 1398 m | 4 % | 11.7 % | 2642 m | 9 | 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 18
| Year | Race | Stage | Type | Stage winner or first over the top | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Tour de France | 20 | Crossed | Richard Carapaz | procyclinguk.com |
| 2024 | Tour de France | 4 | Crossed | Tadej Pogačar | en.wikipedia.org |
| 2022 | Tour de France | 12 | Crossed | Anthony Perez | en.wikipedia.org |
| 2022 | Tour de France | 11 | Crossed | Warren Barguil | cyclingnews.com |
| 2019 | Tour de France | 18 | Crossed | Nairo Quintana | en.wikipedia.org |
| 2017 | Tour de France | 17 | Crossed | Primož Roglič | en.wikipedia.org |
| 2013 | Giro d'Italia | 15 | Finish below the summit (Pantani memorial) | Giovanni Visconti | bikeraceinfo.com |
| 2011 | Tour de France | 19 | Crossed | Andy Schleck | en.wikipedia.org |
| 2011 | Tour de France | 18 | Summit finish | Andy Schleck | cyclingnews.com |
| 2008 | Tour de France | 17 | Crossed | Rémy Di Grégorio (first on the road: Stefan Schumacher, result annulled) | cyclingnews.com |
| 2007 | Tour de France | 9 | Crossed | Mauricio Soler | en.wikipedia.org |
| 2006 | Tour de France | 16 | Crossed | Michael Rasmussen | en.wikipedia.org |
| 2005 | Tour de France | 11 | Crossed | Alexander Vinokourov | en.wikipedia.org |
| 2003 | Tour de France | 8 | Crossed | Stefano Garzelli | en.wikipedia.org |
| 2002 | Tour de France | 16 | Crossed | Santiago Botero | en.wikipedia.org |
| 2000 | Tour de France | 15 | Crossed | Pascal Hervé | en.wikipedia.org |
| 1999 | Tour de France | 9 | Crossed | José Luis Arrieta | en.wikipedia.org |
| 1998 | Tour de France | 15 | Crossed | Marco Pantani | en.wikipedia.org |
Records
| Record | Rider | Time | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint-Michel-de-Maurienne: fastest race ascent (watts2win segment 34.90 km, 5.48%) | Tadej Pogačar | 1:26:37 | 2022 | watts2win.eu |
| Valloire: fastest race ascent (watts2win segment 17.55 km, 6.88%) | Andy Schleck | 0:47:13 | 2011 | 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 du Galibier 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.