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The loops of Provence

Presentation

It's a 12-loop tour totalling 1,160 km, 115 passes (plus 9 optional) and a vertical drop of at least 20,300 m.

10 loops are available all year round, 2 (Le Ventoux and Montagne de Lure) may be subject to traffic restrictions in winter depending on snow conditions, but all (especially the last one on forest roads in the Esterel massif) are in Provence, where forest fires can be devastating and limit access. Find out more beforehand.

The 12 loops leave from 6 stages where there is no shortage of accommodation (hotels, campsites, gîtes, guest houses, etc.): Malaucène (84), Gordes (84), Forcalquier (04), Auriol (13), Grimaud (83) and Agay (83). Every day, you return to the starting point: you don't need to bring all the gear you'll need to travel on your own, all you need is your day's equipment, and you'll be travelling "light".

Our tour is accessible to all cyclists with a little training, whatever their level of fitness: the longest loop is 122 km long but has only 1,170 m of ascent, while the most difficult loop has an ascent of 2,100 m for 114 km. On average, the loops are 95 km long and have an altitude difference of 1700 m. And, because they are loops, shortcuts are almost always possible.

The route was mapped out by Denis Chouquet-Stringer of the Confrérie des Cent Cols.

Course

Registration form

Theme

Provence? It's a land of contrasts.

Its climate is Mediterranean, with around 300 days of sunshine a year. Winters are mild, summers hot and dry, but sometimes the cool Mistral wind can more than make up for the sun's heat.

The deep blue sky, the scent of lavender, the fields of aromatic plants, the garrigue, the vines, the olive groves, the chestnut groves, the cork oaks and the pine trees are all emblematic features of Provence. But you may be deafened by the sometimes violent songs of the cicadas.

Our Boucles de Provence will take you on a journey through some of the most emblematic mountain ranges in Provence:

The Dentelles de Montmirail
Mont Ventoux
The Alpilles
The Lure Mountain
The Luberon
Ste-Victoire Mountain
La Ste-Beaume
The Calanques
Les Maures
L'Esterel

Controls

There are 12 compulsory controls to be carried out in each of the loops at points along the route that you choose.

Malaucène 1 (84): 86 km, 13 passes, D+: 1780 m
Malaucène 2 (84): 65 km, 5 passes, D+: 2000 m
Gordes 1 (84): 122 km, 8 passes, D+: 1170 m
Gordes 2 (84): 95 km, 9 passes, D+: 1950 m
Forcalquier 1 (04): 106 km, 3 passes, D+: 1930 m
Forcalquier 2 (04): 113 km, 5 cols, D+: 1780 m
Auriol 1 (13): 112 km, 7 passes, D+: 2100 m
Auriol 2 (13): 110 km, 12 passes, D+: 2050 m
Grimaud 1 (83): 93 km, 10 passes, D+: 1300 m
Grimaud 2 (83): 83 km, 10 passes, D+: 1500 m
Grimaud 3 (83): 91 km, 6 passes, D+: 1215 m
Agay (83): 85 km, 27 passes, D+: 1530 m

Some passes

Suzette pass
Col des Tempêtes
Col de la Vayède
Col de Murs
Col de la Ligne
N-D des Abeilles pass
Pas de la Couelle (Petit-Galibier)
Grand Sambuc pass
Col de l'Espigoulier
Col de la Gineste
Col du Canadel
Babaou Pass
Gratteloup pass

Rules of the game for permanent walks

All participants in this permanent trail agree to respect the game rules governing it.

For further information

Contact the person in charge of permanent walks

Jean-Marc CLEMENT
10 rue de Normandie
31120 Portet sur Garonne
FRANCE

Tel: +33 (0)5 61 76 30 12
E-mail: [email]randos@centcols.org [/email]

Please note: Please only send your route maps to be approved, as well as your postcards and travel reports, to the person in charge of permanent hikes who is active at the time of sending and whom you can find on the 100 COLS website!