France
Briançon - Barcelonnette
A ride over two cols of over 2000 meters, the Col d'Izoard and Col de Vars, which have different characters but are both worth climbing!
Briançon - Barcelonnette
The Izoard (2360m) starts in Briançon, so I immediately had a 20-kilometer climb for breakfast, then you are awake! The reward was no less with a breathtaking view from the end of the tree line, followed by a delightful descent. For moments like these, I bought my first racing bike 23 years ago - a second-hand Eddy Merckx with yellow (!) rims. While in Belgium the festival season is open and many friends are dancing to the beats, I was dancing on the pedals, climbing the Col de Vars (2108m). It is less known and shorter than the Izoard, but steeper. Today, I saw the other side of the Alps, literally and figuratively. When I looked skeptically at the dark sky from a gas station at the foot of the Col de Vars and pulled out my rain jacket, a motorcyclist already said mockingly and confidently "ça passe, ça passe" Clearly, the gentleman had not studied to be a meteorologist because at the top, a huge thunderstorm broke out that would put me in pouring rain until I arrived in Barcelonnette, 1.5 hours later. Anyone who has ever experienced a thunderstorm in the mountains knows that it can be a messy affair. If even the marmots start to cry out, then you know you need to get off the mountain as quickly as possible.
