2023 Etape du Tour follows stage 14 of the Tour de France

The course follows the same route as stage 14 of the 2023 Tour de France, starting in Annemasse and finishing in Morzine. Entries open on Wednesday November 2nd at 4pm CET.

Stage 14 of the Tour de France features the climbs of; Col de Saxel, Col de Cou, Col de Feu, Col de la Ramaz and Col de Joux Plane over 152km route with 4,100 metres of climbing.

Col de Cou

Col de Cou from Fessy is a climb in the region Haute Savoie. It is 7km long and bridges 535 vertical meters with an average gradient of 7.6%

Col de Feu

Col du Feu from Orcier is a climb in the region Haute Savoie. It is 6.1km long and bridges 482 vertical meters with an average gradient of 7.9%, resulting in a difficulty score of 448. The top of the ascent is located at 1120 meters above sea level. 

Col de la Ramaz

Col de la Ramaz (elevation 1,559m) is a high mountain pass in the Alps in the department of Haute-Savoie in France through which the Tour de France passed during 2003, 2010, and 2016. The road through the pass culminates slightly higher, at 1,619m (5,312 feet).

In 2003, Richard Virenque crossed Ramaz first winning the stage in Morzine and temporarily taking the yellow Jersey.

The fun begins at the village of Mieussy as the route climbs Col de la Ramaz. 14 kilometres averaging almost 7%, with some steeper stretches nearing the top. The road has been closed previously due to problems with the cliff road near the top. A brand new tunnel now bypasses this dangerous – but fun stretch.

The steepest part of the climb is the last stretch in the tunnel.

The top is the ski station of Praz-de-Lys, the descent from Praz-de-Lys is extreme, 8 steep kilometres, often much more than 10%, with sharp 180 degree hairpins.

Col de la Ramaz, Mieussy, France

• Distance: 14 km, Elevation: 968 m, Avg. Grade: 6.8 %

Col de Joux Plane

Col de Joux Plane (elevation 1,691m) is a high mountain pass in the Alps in Haute-Savoie, France, linking Morzine with Samoëns. The climb has used a total of 12 times by the Tour de France since its debut in 1978.

Starting from Samoëns, the Col de Joux Plane is 11.7 km long with an average percentage of 8.5% and a maximum gradient of 10%. It is a climb that has broken some top riders, including Laurent Fignon in 1983 and Lance Armstrong in 2000, who described the day in which he climbed the Joux Plane as "the hardest day on my life - on a bike", he bonked and lost the stage. It was also the climb where Floyd Landis so memorably destroyed his rivals in the 2006 Tour, four days before he tested positive for doping.

From the top of the Joux Plane, it's an 11km descent to Morzine at an average of 6.5% with a maximum slope of 11.1% and while it is steep and technical at the top. Sean Kelly is reputed to hit some of the highest speeds in professional cycling of over 110 kph on this descent.

Col de Joux Plane, Samoëns, France

• Distance: 11.6 km, Elevation: 980 m, Avg. Grade: 8.6 %

How to enter L'Etape du Tour

Entries for L'Etape du Tour 2023 will open on Wednesday November 2nd at 4pm CET.

The nearest airport to Annemasse is Geneva located 28km away - about 30 minutes drive.

The finish in Morzine is roughly an hour from Annemasse by car via French toll roads.

For more details and to register, visit the event website at www.letapedutourdefrance.com.