Col du Pralère

Overview

The Col du Pralère is a long, patient climb. Over 22.5 km it lifts you from a start elevation of 379 m to a summit at 1442 m, a net gain of 1063 m. The total ascent is slightly higher at 1072 m, which tells you the road does not climb in a single clean line — there are short reprieves that give back a little height before you claw it back. At 4.72% average gradient it sits firmly in category 1: not the brutal wall of an hors catégorie giant, but far too long and too uneven to be treated casually.

How the Gradient Unfolds

The headline number to respect here is the 24.41% max gradient. That figure is more than five times the 4.72% average, which means the difficulty is not spread evenly across the 22.5 km. A gentle mean like this almost always hides its teeth: long shallow stretches drag the average down while isolated ramps spike far above it. Expect passages where the road tilts into double digits with little warning, bracketed by kilometres mild enough to spin. The 9 m gap between the 1072 m total ascent and the 1063 m net gain confirms the profile rolls rather than climbs monotonically — small descents interrupt the ascent, breaking rhythm just when you have found it.

Pacing Notes

On a climb this long, discipline beats bravado. Ride the shallow sections a touch below the effort you could hold, and save your matches for the steep ramps approaching 24.41%, where staying seated and steady matters more than raw watts. Anchor your effort to your FTP: over 22.5 km, most riders should target a sustainable fraction of it on the average grade and only surge briefly on the spikes. If you do not know your number, run the FTP estimator first and pace off that — guessing on a climb of 1063 m of gain is how good legs turn into a walk. Bank nothing early; the summit at 1442 m is a long way from the 379 m start.

Gearing

For a 22.5 km climb topping out at 24.41%, gear conservatively. A compact 34-tooth inner chainring paired with a wide-range cassette is the sensible baseline. A 34×32 is enough for the 4.72% average and much of the climb, but the 24.41% ramps will punish that ratio when your legs are already deep into 1063 m of accumulated gain. If your derailleur allows it, a 34×34 buys real insurance for those spikes and lets you keep a survivable cadence rather than grinding to a near-halt. When in doubt over a climb this long, take the easier gear.

Summary

The Col du Pralère rewards patience: a long, rolling category 1 ascent that stays moderate on average but bites hard on its steepest ramps. Pace off your FTP, gear low, and let the summit come to you.

Length: 22.5 km
Average gradient: 4.72%
Max gradient: 24.41%
Start: 379 m
Summit: 1442 m
Net gain: 1063 m
Total ascent: 1072 m
Category: 1