The Brevet des 7 Cols: a cycling challenge
Are you looking for an exceptional challenge on a bike? Welcome to the Ubaye Serre-Ponçon Valley, a real playground for cycling enthusiasts. Here awaits you a legendary challenge: the Brevet des 7 Cols, a course of more than 400 km with a total of 7,000 m of elevation gain. A personal challenge, without a time or ranking, but with immense satisfaction at stake.
A cycling adventure in the heart of the Ubaye
You don’t have to be a pro racer to try the adventure. The Brevet des 7 Cols is free and not timed : you can do it at your own pace, over a day (if you are very trained) or in several stages. You choose your approach, your tempo, your adventure.
The important thing? Treat yourself, push your limits, and discover breathtaking landscapes as the kilometers go by.
ObjectiveThe 7 great passes of the Ubaye valley
This Brevet offers you a varied and wild route, linking 7 emblematic passes of the Southern Alps, each more impressive than the last:
- Col de la Bonette (2802 m): the highest asphalt road in Europe. Departure from Jausiers for a cycling legend.
- Col de Vars (2109 m): a mineral crossing between Ubaye and Queyras.
- Col de la Cayolle (2326 m): a superb road in the Mercantour National Park.
- Col de Pontis (1301 m) and Col Fillys (1322 m): two little-known climbs with spectacular panoramas of the Serre-Ponçon lake.
- Col d’Allos (2247 m): historic, technical and often used by the Tour de France.
- Montée de Pra Loup (1600 m): short but intense, mythical finish of the Tour stage in 1975.
The Brevet route takes you through incredibly varied landscapes: larch forests, alpine ridges, suspended roads, deep gorges, hilltop villages… Each pass has its own atmosphere, its own challenge, its own setting.
This is the whole spirit of mountain cycle tourism : savouring the effort, contemplating the beauty of the place, feeling free on the most beautiful roads in the Alps.
Practical information 7 Passes Patent
When? From June to October (check the opening of the passes with the Tourist Office on the seasonal wings)
Starting point : Barcelonnette or Jausiers
Route map : to be collected at the Tourist Office or from the Ubaye Cycling Club
Obtaining your patent
Have you completed the course? Well done! A diploma and symbolic recognition await you.
Pick up your composting card at a Tourist Office, then stamp it at the top of each pass using the dedicated terminals.
Once you have climbed the 7 passes, come back to see us: your Brevet des 7 Cols diploma is waiting for you!
Do you like cycling?
