Col
du Glandon 
Glandon
20 kms; 1,200 metres ascent; Start:
St-Jean de Maurienne
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I cycled Glandon in early July for the first time. But I
decided to try this giant again on Tour de France day :
Today I cycled up the Col du Glandon and the Col de la Croix de Fer (23 km climb and about 5,000 feet vertical) to watch the second huge Alps stage in the Tour de France. The crowds were amazing, the roads were melting, the course was steep! I had cycled up pretty early so I had a three hour wait for the riders, but time flew by in the party atmosphere as the mountain was jammed with people. About an hour before the riders the "publicité caravan" came by with 200 cars and floats, and lots of free gifts thrown at us (I was happy to get some pretzels, bottled water, and a king of the mountains hat, I gave away a Giant Hand, some cheese, a couple of key chains, and two newspapers). Finally helicopters came streaming around the corner, so we knew the riders were close. This was the third big climb on a five climb day, and the riders were all over the road.
