30 June 1961 was a warm summer's day in the Vosges. A great day for the locals, because the peloton of the Tour de France was to race through their tranquil mountain region. And a great day for a boy from Gérardmer, who had set off on his heavy steel bike to the Col de la Schlucht - fifteen kilometres uphill. The thirteen-year-old, fascinated by the world of professional cyclists, wanted to see his idol Jacques Anquetil ride past up close; Anquetil, who had been wearing the yellow jersey since the start in Paris. As the 1957 Tour de France winner passes the Col de la Gorge, he throws an empty water bottle to the side of the road - right at the feet of his young fan.
The eyes of 65-year-old Jean-Claude Ruer still light up when he talks about that day in the summer of 1961. Today, Ruer is the president of the cycling club in Gérardmer, promotes young talent, organises around ten cycling races a year and regularly rides over the nearby mountain passes.
The ramp to La Mauselaine is typical of the Vosges: short, crisp climbs and lots of them. The three Tour stages lead over 17 passes, not counting the numerous undulations in between. Ruer is certain that a preliminary decision will be made there. And he hopes that the two local pros can put themselves in the limelight: Steve Chainel from Team AG2R lives in St. Étienne, and Nacer Bouhani from Épinal rides for Team F. des Jeux. In any case, the winding route offers numerous opportunities for spectators to watch the pros climb. A good reason to pay a visit to the region in the triangle of Strasbourg, Épinal and Mulhouse.
But even without the spectacle, the passes and the dense network of side roads are an invitation for racing cyclists. Lonely little roads wind their way through forests, past mountain lakes and through villages with simple stone houses and defiant churches. However, you shouldn't expect perfect signposting on these planned routes. A map in your jersey pocket or a GPS on your handlebars is a must - as are Jean-Claude Ruer's route tips. One of them leads to the Route des Crêtes, a 70-kilometre-long ridge road that always balances at an altitude of more than a thousand metres and offers new views at every bend, sometimes to the east over the Rhine Valley to the Black Forest, sometimes to the west over the French hills. On a clear day, the snow-covered peaks of the Alps shine on the horizon. The professionals on the Tour de France will have little time for any of this. Because the next col is always waiting around the next bend - small but mean.
You can download the entire article and the GPS data for these tours below:
- Tour 1: Final with a bite (117 kilometres, 2,000 vertical metres, max. 10 percent gradient)
- Tour 2: Balloon ride (113 kilometres, 2,640 vertical metres, max. 12 percent elevation gain)
