Col de la Lèbe

Overview

Col de la Lèbe is a Category 2 climb in France, running 9.6 km from a start elevation of 379 m to a summit of 925 m. Over that distance it delivers 546 m of net elevation gain at an average gradient of 5.67%. On paper that average reads as a steady, mid-tier effort — the kind of climb you can settle into rather than survive.

The paper figure hides something, though. Total ascent on the climb is 698 m, while net gain is only 546 m — a 152 m difference. That gap is undulation: the road gives elevation back and then reclaims it. You climb 152 m more than the summit-minus-start math suggests, which means the profile is not a clean ramp. Expect to spend energy you do not visibly gain, and plan the effort around the real 698 m rather than the tidy net number.

How the Gradient Unfolds

An average of 5.67% is an accounting artifact here, not a lived experience. The 152 m of extra ascent has to be balanced by descents or flats between the harder pitches, so the road swings above and below the average repeatedly. The steepest recorded ramp hits 14.89% — more than double the average — and that is where the climb is decided.

• Flatter and recovery sections that pull the average down and let you spin
• Repeated short climbs that reclaim the elevation lost on the dips
• One steepest ramp at 14.89%, the pitch that dictates your gearing choice

Pacing Notes

On an undulating climb like this, chase even effort, not even speed. Holding a constant pace means overcooking the steep pitches and coasting the flats — exactly backwards. Instead, anchor your ride to a target sustainable power output and let your speed rise and fall with the terrain: push toward that ceiling on the ramps, ease genuinely on the recovery sections.

The 152 m of hidden ascent means you cannot bank on the descents to fully recover, so keep your steep-pitch surges bounded. Before the ride, pin down your number with the FTP estimator so your effort target reflects your current fitness rather than a guess.

Gearing

The 14.89% maximum is what governs your setup, not the 5.67% average. At that gradient, an under-geared bike forces you into a grinding, over-torque cadence that burns matches fast. Run a compact or sub-compact chainset paired with a wide-range cassette — a 34×32 or 34×34 gives you a bailout gear that keeps your cadence up on the steepest ramp. Check your setup before the ride; discovering you are over-geared at kilometre eight is not the time to find out.

Summary

• Length: 9.6 km
• Average gradient: 5.67%
• Maximum gradient: 14.89%
• Net elevation gain: 546 m
• Total ascent: 698 m
• Category: 2

Col de la Lèbe rewards riders who read the profile rather than the average. Pace to power, gear for the 14.89% ramp, and account for the full 698 m of climbing — do that, and the Category 2 label plays out exactly as it should.