Bessans / Modane

On this stage, you’ll quickly notice it’s far more about descents than climbs for once! Now it’s time to explore the Haute-Maurienne Vanoise area further. You’ve already admired the stone slate roofs of the traditional buildings of Bonneval-sur-Arc, at the foot of the Col de l’Iseran. You’ve stopped at Bessans, reputed for its cross-country skiing. So, head off from Bessans along the path delightfully known as the Chemin du Petit Bonheur, a little delight… in grandiose settings. Coming up, you’ll cross the fine villages of Val Cenis: Lanslevillard, Lanslebourg, Termignon, Sollières and Sardières. There follow Aussois, the steeply stepped fortifications of the Barrière de l’Esseillon, Villarodin-Bourger (overflow commune, or parish, for the ski resort of La Norma) and, finally, Modane (overflow commune, or parish, for the ski resort of Valfréjus), the latter a valley-bottom town providing plenty of services and infrastructure of all kinds.

Details of the stage

D+ 720 m
D- 1390 m
High/low point 1791 m / 1060 m
Max gradient 10 %

Passage points 

BESSANS > Chemin « Le petit Bonheur » > Pont de la Chalp > Chemin « Le petit Bonheur » > Chantelouve d’en haut > LANSLEVILLARD (L’Envers) > LANSLEBOURG (rive gauche) > TERMIGNON (Rive Gauche) > SOLLIERES L’ENDROIT > chemin en contre bas de la route d’Aussois > SARDIERES > D83 >AUSSOIS > L’Esseillon > D215g > D215e> VILLARODIN-BOURGET > D215 > MODANE. 

Don't miss

• Haute-Maurienne Vanoise : This area, located along the edge of the Parc National de la Vanoise, contains six mountain resorts: Aussois, Bessans, Bonneval-sur-Arc, La Norma, Val Cenis and Valfréjus, plus the little town of Modane. In short, it offers a wonderful concentration of all that it’s possible to see and do in the French Alps!
• Parc National de la Vanoise : One of the three national parks you’ll cross or cycle beside if tackling the whole of this cycle route, the others being the Parc National des Écrins and the Parc National du Mercantour. The Vanoise National Park was in fact the first such park to be created in France, back in 1963, to protect the area’s natural environment, its landscapes, the variety of its flora and fauna, and its cultural heritage. You’ve already crossed part of it in the Tarentaise area, then, having crossed the Col de l’Iseran pass, you’ll see more of it in the Maurienne and Haute-Maurienne Vanoise areas. 
• Mont-Cenis Dam and Lake : The dam, on the southern edge of the département (French county) of Savoie, opened in 1970. It’s 1,400m long and 120m high, holding back the waters of Mont-Cenis Lake, which you cycle beside from the Mont-Cenis Pass to the Italian frontier. You’re crossing a high ledge, at 2,000m in altitude, with sumptuous views all around. To learn about the history of this famous pass, do visit the Musée de la Pyramide, surrounded by an Alpine garden.