Today the road from Allevard to Super Collet was closed to motor traffic from 9 am to midday as part of the Closed Cols operation.

I fancied covering 1000 vertical meters via Miasino this time as the initial climb to Armeno.

According to several sources, the Tougnète Pass via the D96 is the most difficult climb in France.

I wanted to climb the Madeleine Pass after Pauline Ferrand Prevot's victory yesterday, but via a different route, as this one has a section of gravel.

Very hard today, ok once I got onto the Coiromonte hairpins although 5 min of my PB - 19m49s instead of 14m33 - 25% ! Although I blame 28mm rather than 25mm tires.

Same as last year but in the reverse direction. I was looking for another pass but it doesn't seem that the road is surfaced. The weather has been unsettled and it didn't look good reaching Omegna.

RouteNice little ride along the foothills of lake Orta to a monastry on top of a hill with lake views. The route passes through a few traditional Italian villages. There is a bar in Miasino.

Afternoon trip to recover my sunglasses left in a cafe in Orta. This gave me the opportunity to cycle around the headland of Orta then ride up to Armeno in the route I normally ride down.

I wanted to tackle the Madeleine via Montgellafrey as I hadn't done this climb before. It is a little back road but not that quiet. On paper the climb is just 7.7% over 13km.

Passo della Colma is 8.9 kilometers long for an elevation gain of 490 meters giving an average gradient of 5.1%. The climb starts near the historic town of Varallo, which is worth a detour.