Crossing the Massif Central: the passes
La GTMC est un parcours VTT de 1380 km et 30.000 m de dénivelé. Il est balisé en intégralité, de la Bourgogne (Avallon) à la Méditerranée (Cap d’Agde).
It is described on its official website https://www.la-gtmc.com/ where you can download the route, organise your stages, view accommodation options (campsites, B&Bs, gîtes, hotels, etc.), transport your luggage from one stage to the next using the post office trunk, etc...
The first part of the Traversée, from Avallon to Clermont-Ferrand, is fairly sparse in terms of passes. So we're only interested in the southern part. From Clermont-Ferrand station to Montpellier TGV station (more convenient than the Cap d'Agde TER station).
Pour un total de 901 km – 19.200 m de dénivelé et 96 cols
We were largely inspired by the official route. But, as many centcolists would do, we didn't reject the idea of seeking out nearby cols, whether by a short diversions or a simple return trip.
The route we describe and the gpx tracks we publish are there solely to inspire mountain bikers. It is up to them to fine-tune their stages, their detours, their paths, their variants, to assess the difficulties etc... The route has not been recognised, so everyone tackles it under their own responsibility.
Partie 1 – De Clermont-Ferrand à Saint-Flour – 278 km – 6.450 m D+ – 27 cols
Partie 2 – De Saint-Flour à Florac – 201 km – 4.370 m D+ – 26 cols
Partie 3 – De Florac au Caylar – 219 km -5.330 m D+ – 25 cols
Partie 4 – Du Caylar à Montpellier – 203 km -3.050 m D+ – 18 cols