Mountain pass cycling milestones


Mountain pass cycling milestones are signposts that provide cyclists with information about their current position with regard to the summit of the mountain pass. They always provide information for cyclists going uphill. Sometimes the signs are two-sided, thereby providing information also for cyclists going downhill.
Mountain pass cycling milestones are essential for cyclists that are not familiar with the climbs. In general, they allow cyclists to schedule breaks as well as to plan food and liquid uptake. They furthermore can serve as motivational landmarks.
Local institutions invest in this cycling infrastructure to offer service to cyclists, thus promoting tourism in their region.

Type of information

Mountain pass cycling milestones always carry a pictogram of a bicycle or cyclist and specify the following standard information
Additional information found in some cases includes
Typically, the signposts are placed every kilometer such that the slope corresponds to the average across the next kilometer.

France

Mountain pass cycling milestones have become common in many major mountain passes in the French Pyrenees and Alps. Often their design is chosen to resemble the main features of conventional French milestones, which is a white bottom and a yellow top.

Mountain passes that are known to have cycling milestones

The following table lists mountain passes signposted with cycling milestones, ordered by the height of the summit.
If a mountain pass is not included in the table below, that does not imply that it has no cycling milestones. It can likewise mean that is not yet documented in this table.
All signs display the standard information. The table specifies the precision of the slope. Additional information and emblems are explained in the column with remarks.
NameHeightCountryPrecision of slopeExample and seasonRemarks
Cime de la Bonette from Jausiers uphillFrance0.1%Emblem left: similar to the one of Jausiers; emblem right: Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur; C1: number of road; bold 2: distance from starting point in Jausiers.
Cime de la Bonette to Jausiers downhillFrance0.1%Emblem left: similar to the one of Jausiers; emblem right: Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur; C1: number of road; bold 2: distance to starting point in Jausiers.
Cime de la Bonette from Saint-Étienne-de-Tinée uphillFrance1%Emblem left: Métropole Nice Côte d'Azur; Emblem right: Mercantour National Park; M2205: number of road; bold 77: distance from starting point of this road.
Cime de la Bonette to Saint-Étienne-de-Tinée downhillFrance1%Emblem left: Métropole Nice Côte d'Azur; emblem right: Mercantour National Park; M2205: number of road; bold 77: distance to starting point of this road.
Col de l'Iseran from Bonneval-sur-Arc uphill onlyFrance1%On the side the logo of Savoie and the number of the road is displayed.
Col de l'Iseran from Val-d'Isère uphill onlyFrance1%On the side the logo of Savoie and the number of the road is displayed.
Col Agnel from Château-Queyras uphill onlyFrance0.1%Emblem:Conseil général Hautes Alpes; 2744 m: height of summit; A QR code is included in the lower right.
Col du Galibier from Valloire uphill onlyFrance1%On the side the logo of Savoie and the number of the road is displayed.
Col du Galibier from Col du Lautaret uphill onlyFrance0.1%Emblem:Conseil général Hautes Alpes; 2642 m: height of summit; A QR code is included in the lower right.
Col d'Izoard from Briançon uphill onlyFrance0.1%Emblem:Conseil général Hautes Alpes; 2360 m: height of summit; A QR code is included in the lower right.
Col d'Izoard from Guillestre uphill onlyFrance0.1%Emblem:Conseil général Hautes Alpes; 2360 m: height of summit; A QR code is included in the lower right.
Col de la Cayolle from Barcelonette uphill onlyFrance1%Emblem:Conseil général Alpes-de-Haute-Provence; D902: number of road.
Col d'Allos from Barcelonette uphill onlyFrance1%Emblem:Conseil général Alpes-de-Haute-Provence; D908: number of road.
Col du Tourmalet from Sainte-Marie-de-Campan uphill onlyFrance0.5%Emblem: Conseil général Hautes-Pyrénées; 2115 m: height of summit.
Col du Tourmalet from Luz-Saint-Sauveur uphill onlyFrance0.5%Emblem: Conseil général Hautes-Pyrénées; 2115 m: height of summit.
Col de Vars from Guillestre uphill onlyFrance0.1%Emblem:Conseil général Hautes Alpes; 2109 m: height of summit; A QR code is included in the lower right.
Col de Vars from Jausiers uphill onlyFrance1%Emblem: Conseil général Alpes-de-Haute-Provence; D902: number of road.
Col des Champs from Colmars uphill onlyFrance1%Emblem: Conseil général Alpes-de-Haute-Provence; D2: number of road.
Col de la Madeleine from La Léchère uphill onlyFrance1%On the side the logo of Savoie and the number of the road is displayed.
Col de la Madeleine from La Chambre uphill onlyFrance1%On the side the logo of Savoie and the number of the road is displayed.
Col du Glandon from La Chambre uphill onlyFrance1%On the side the logo of Savoie and the number of the road is displayed.
Col de la Couillole from Saint-Sauveur-sur-Tinée up- and downhillFrance1%M30: number of road ; bold 11: distance from and to starting point in Saint-Sauveur-sur-Tinée
Peyragudes from Col de Peyresourde uphill onlyFrance0.5%Emblem: Conseil général Hautes-Pyrénées; 1620 m: height of summit.
Col de Peyresourde from Armenteule uphill onlyFrance0.5%Emblem: Conseil général Hautes-Pyrénées; 1569 m: height of summit.
Col du Télégraphe from Saint-Michel-de-Maurienne uphill onlyFrance1%On the side the logo of Savoie and the number of the road is displayed.
Hourquette d'Ancizan from Payolle uphill onlyFrance0.1%Summer 2015Emblem: Conseil général Hautes-Pyrénées; 1564 m: height of summit.
Hourquette d'Ancizan from Ancizan uphill onlyFrance0.1%Summer 2015Emblem: Conseil général Hautes-Pyrénées; 1564 m: height of summit.
Col d'Aspin from Sainte-Marie-de-Campan uphill onlyFrance0.5%Emblem: Conseil général Hautes-Pyrénées; 1489 m: height of summit.
Col d'Aspin from Arreau uphill onlyFrance0.5%Emblem: Conseil général Hautes-Pyrénées; 1489 m: height of summit.

Mountain passes that are known not to have cycling milestones

Mountain passes that are known not to have cycling milestones are listed in the following table. Since more and more mountain passes are being equipped with cycling milestones, the table specifies the time when a mountain pass was last seen not to have cycling milestones.
NameHeightStarting pointCountryDate
Col des ChampsSaint-Martin-d'EntraunesFranceAugust 2014
Col de la CayolleSaint-Martin-d'EntraunesFranceAugust 2014
Col de ValbergGuillaumesFranceAugust 2014
Col de PeyresourdeBagnères-de-BigorreFranceJune 2015