Col de Sainte-Marie

Overview

The Col de Sainte-Marie is a category-4 climb that covers 7.9 km and lifts you from 204 m to a summit of 467 m. On paper that is a modest 263 m of net elevation gain at an average gradient of just 3.33%, the kind of number that tempts riders into treating it as a warm-up rather than a climb. The total ascent, though, comes to 371 m — more than the net gain, a sure sign the road does not simply tilt upward and hold. It rolls, dips, and rears back up, and hidden inside that gentle average is a maximum gradient of 14.58% that will find you if you are not paying attention.

How the Gradient Unfolds

Read the two elevation figures together and the character of the climb comes into focus. Net gain is 263 m, but total ascent is 371 m. That 108 m difference is climbing you do twice — sections where the road gives back a little altitude before demanding it again. A 3.33% average across 7.9 km is barely a false flat, yet a 14.58% max means the steepest ramp is more than four times that average. This is not a steady grind but a punchy, uneven ascent: long stretches where you can carry speed, broken by short pitches steep enough to spike your heart rate. Expecting a constant grade here is the fastest way to blow up.

Pacing Notes

Because the average is so gentle, the trap is going out too hard on the easy kilometres and having nothing left when the road kicks toward that 14.58% wall. Ride to effort, not to the gradient sign. On the shallow sections, hold a tempo comfortably below your FTP and let momentum do the work; save your matches for the steep ramps, where you will briefly need to push well over threshold to keep the pedals turning. If you are unsure where your threshold actually sits, run the numbers through the FTP estimator before you plan your target power. On a climb this short, a few well-timed surges cost less than one full-gas start you cannot sustain.

Gearing

The average gradient does not demand exotic gearing, but the 14.58% max does. A compact chainring paired with a wide cassette is the smart default here. A 34×32 will get most fit riders over the steep ramps without grinding to a crawl, and it keeps your cadence high on the flatter 3.33% majority of the climb. If you climb seated, spin a lighter cadence, or simply want insurance against that steepest pitch, step up to a 34×34 — the extra sprocket turns the 14.58% section from a struggle into a manageable spin. Neither choice is overkill on a climb where the hard metres are short but genuinely sharp.

Summary

The Col de Sainte-Marie is a deceptive category-4 climb: gentle on average, spiky in reality. Respect the 14.58% max, pace the shallow kilometres, and it rewards you with a fast, satisfying 7.9 km to the top.

Length: 7.9 km
Average gradient: 3.33%
Max gradient: 14.58%
Start: 204 m
Summit: 467 m
Net gain: 263 m
Total ascent: 371 m
Category: 4