Col de Tourniol

Overview

Col de Tourniol is a Category 1 climb in France, running 12.1 km from a valley floor at 377 m up to a summit of 1113 m. On paper that is a net elevation gain of 736 m at an average gradient of 6.1% — a long, sustained ascent that sits firmly in the range where fitness, not just power, decides your day. It is the kind of climb you settle into rather than attack from the bottom.

The number that matters most, though, is the mismatch between net gain and total ascent. You gain 736 m of altitude, but you actually climb 1000 m over the course of the road — 264 m of that is repeated climbing you give back on short descents and false flats. That undulation means the profile is not a clean, steady drag: you will be paying for altitude you then lose, which raises the true cost of the effort well above what the 6.1% average suggests.

How the Gradient Unfolds

An average of 6.1% is a poor guide here. Because 264 m of the total ascent comes from rollers, the sustained sections must be steeper than 6.1% to compensate for the flat and descending metres that drag the average down. Expect the road to swing between genuine recovery and pitches that bite.

• Flatter and recovery sections where the gradient eases and you can spin, breathe and eat
• Short descents that briefly interrupt the climb — and force you to reclimb the metres
• Repeated punchy ramps stacked through the middle, each one resetting your rhythm
• The steepest sustained pitch, where you will need your lowest gear and the discipline to hold power rather than surge

Pacing Notes

On an undulating climb like this, chase even effort, not even speed. Trying to hold a constant pace means spiking your power on every ramp and coasting on every dip — expensive and demoralising. Instead, anchor your ride to your sustainable power output: ease slightly under it on the recovery sections and let it rise only briefly over the steep ramps.

If you do not know that number, run the FTP estimator before you go so your target is real rather than a guess. Because the road gives back 264 m of climbing, banking effort on the flatter stretches leaves headroom for the pitches that follow — spend it there, not on the shallows.

Gearing

Gear for the steepest sustained ramp, not the average. On a 736 m climb with this much reclimbing, you want a compact or sub-compact chainset paired with a wide-range cassette — a 34×32 or 34×34 gives you a low enough bailout to keep cadence when the road kicks up late, when your legs are already loaded. Check your chainset and cassette before the ride; discovering you are over-geared halfway up a Category 1 climb is a long, grinding mistake to fix.

Summary

• Length: 12.1 km
• Average gradient: 6.1%
• Net elevation gain: 736 m
• Total ascent: 1000 m
• Category: 1

Col de Tourniol rewards riders who read the profile rather than the average. Pace to effort, gear for the steep ramps, and respect the 264 m of undulation and this Category 1 climb becomes a rhythm to manage rather than a wall to survive.