Page 12 - TT2018 Official Routebook

Day Three: Sunday - Corrençon-en-Vercors to Saint-Disdier – 190miles

Two thirds of the route today will be new to us all, mainly in the Vercor, but a day of five passes over
the 4,000ft mark to savour and they’re the biggest five in these parts.

The first half of the day will be spent exploring the delights the Vercor region has to offer. Roads that
are devoid of traffic, with stunning balcony overhangs built into the side of the rock face, rock
tunnels, with tarmac that that twist and turn through the pine forests and we will be questioning
ourselves why we haven’t visited this region more often before. Watch out for some of the stunning
views at the edge of the Vercor’s plateau overlooking the valley below.
The day kicks off with two great passes the Col de Lachau, made famous by its stunning balconies,
the best in France, and its 9.1% gradients and the Col de Rosset which announces itself with a Lord
of Rings-esque tunnel followed by a series of stunning switch backs and long straights down to the
valley floor. We then head back north over the south eastern tip of the Vercors and the Col de
Menée and another stunning tunnel at its summit. This is the land of high spinning superchargers
and turbos, where we will certainly be asking them to dig deep and also a real chance to see the how
the V6s stand up against the legendary handling of the S series. I know where my money is!

As we re-enter the valley below there is an option to cut out the next loop for an early arrival at the
hotel but for those of us eager for more, we have two further passes to negotiate. Col de la Morte
with will take us north up towards Alpe d’Huez and the Col d’Ornon as we head south again to the
hotel for the end of the day.

Col d’ Ornon

Col de la Morte

Col de Lachau

Col de Rousset

Col de Menée