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    Col De La Madone – GCN’s Epic Climbs



    The Tour de France has never been up the Col de la Madone, but it’s an absolute must-ride if you’re ever in the south of France.
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    Starting right on the coast near Menton, the Col de la Madone is the favoured testing climb for Lance Armstrong and Chris Froome and many of other the professional cyclists who live, or have lived, near Monaco or Nice.

    And, it’s an absolutely stunning climb. Starting at the coast, you ride through the town of Menton before beginning the climb proper. The road twists and turns up to the village of Sainte-Agnes where you take a sharp left onto a singletrack road and the views open out down to the sea.

    The Col de la Madone is perfectly proportioned – not too long, not too high and never too steep. Once you’re at the top, you have a couple of choices for the descent. We’d recommend riding back down the way you came and maybe stopping for a coffee (or wine, or beer) in Sainte-Agnes.

    Have you ridden the Madone? Comment below and let us know!

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    View 41 Comments

    41 Comments

    3. @juliencanestrier9627 on

      I had a question I am 17 years old and what gear do you reccommend for this climb when doing a race because I am doing the race the 8th of march and I have in the back 24-14 and in the small ring 34 or 39 what small ring do you recommend ?

    7. @abedfo88 on

      Hi GCN i live at the base of the Col du Holme Moss (tdf stage 2 fame), i was wondering is there any comparison between my local climb and the col de la madone in terms of severity of gradient ? i would love to climb the madone in the future, would any special training be required to get up in one piece. 

    12. @gitri7467 on

      Having done this last year I wish the sun was up when I went. I'm from TORONTO,CANADA where there is 0 climbs that will truly test you and the La Madone was my first "real" mountain climb (well, I had climb D'Eze 2 days prior but the CDLM really kicked my butt).

      Great experience. I remember being scared because of the narrow roads and cars/trucks were heading my way. I literally had to squeeze in.

    15. @davidmcilvenna3710 on

      Evening Gents! I climbed the Madone a few years ago with my mate Kev…
      We both wore yellow Team Discovery jerseys: little did we know!
      It is a lovely climb; never too steep,.. Unfortunately we continued on a couple more climbs in direction of La Turbie & were wrecked by the time we got back to Nice..
      2 questions for you..
      1) did you hear somebody nicked the sign at the top & has it on their bedroom wall?
      2) what time did it take you guys to get to the top?

      I think we did it in 43 mins…

    19. @CESSKAR on

      it seems like a nice climb but also very dangerous, there is barely any space for two cars and I don't want to imagine what would happen if a driver don't look in the curves.

    23. @Crojach on

      I was this year riding in the hills behind Nice, France and I was absolutely amazed by how beautiful this piece of Earth is. Have to ride there again.

    28. @spaceoner1 on

      110,000+ views and 1,112 likes to only 1 dislike…undoubtedly the video with the highest ratio of like:dislike I've ever seen (out of 1,000's of Youtube videos watched)…good job GCN!

    29. @MorrisOnions06 on

      Did this climb with a mate three weeks ago, it was pretty hard work as it's not an even gradient and kicks up near the end – quite nasty. Also we picked one of the warmest and most humid days of the summer to do it (!!).
      Recommended though. Hopefully do it again on a cooler day with better visibility, the views are superb.

    35. @udoreb on

      Froome describes start that seems to be the bus station Pescaire (it is on the left, not on the right) and behind the one you say it is that of team Sky.

    36. @Deadline_D on

      Have you never climbed or filmed the Bealach Na Baa in Scotland? Truly iconic and on our doorstep so more realistic to accomplish for UK viewers! 👌☺️

    37. @saideep025 on

      i did this on a bmc aluminium. 1. a piece of advice – dont follow google maps from Menton. It will dessert you mid way. I climbed 600m following it and coming down as there way no route at all for road bike atleast. 2. dont forget to visit St. Agnes – a small village on the way to Madone, with stunning views. There are few restraunts and a fort as well.

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