A hilly but not too difficult little loop in the French Juras. Col de Richemond and Col de Cuvery are in the same massif as the much tougher and more famous Col de la Biche and Col du Grand Colombier. It’s been sunny and warm enough that the roads were clear and a road bike was fine. As usual in the Juras, even these relatively main roads are very quiet.
I usually do this loop in the opposite direction, so for a change I started with Richemond. I climbed the side that Thomas Voeckler descended to win a stage in the 2012 Tour de France. At the summit is a monument to the local French resistance during World War 2.
Descending I could see Le Grand Colombier in the distance.
See here for details of all four sides up the beautiful and very challenging Grand Colombier.
The direction I took meant a long false flat to Col de Cuvery for 17 kilometres or so. I cross country ski here quite often. Lots of groomed trails across the Plateau de Retord at all levels. They also have sled dog races here and a few hungry looking fellas eyed me ravenously.
Part way down Cuvery is a lookout with clear views of the distance Alps:
This was a nice relaxing winter ride. One could easily make far more challenging loops including any combination of Cuvery, Richemond, Col de la Biche, and Grand Colombier (but these last two are both currently closed for winter), or any number of other nearby cols.
See here for my overview map of Jura Mountain climbs.
2 Comments
It’s great to see that you’ve still got the old Madone 5.0 and are still using it occasionally. I used to have the exact same frame.
Chris, I find it comfortable. It still has a 2007 Swiss insurance sticker on it. 🙂