Cyclists.com

Little St Bernard Pass from Bourg-Saint-Maurice

24 km road cycling route1,381 m climbing1 h 44 minGPX

Bourg-Saint-Maurice, France · Road

A mountainous 24 km road cycling route from Bourg-Saint-Maurice through Le Mollard, Le Besset and Le Solliet, with 1,381 m of climbing over Petit St Bernard. Most of it (12.8 km) is on main roads without a cycle lane.

Routed from the map This classic road was traced on OpenStreetMap and measured against the terrain model; no member has recorded it yet. Ridden it? Add your recording and photos.

Download GPXMap

At a glance

Best for
Short, climbing-heavy rides for confident riders at ease in traffic
Distance
24.3 km
Point to point
Elevation gain
1,381 m
57 m per km
Riding time
1 h 44 min
moving time, estimated
Difficulty
Moderate
Bike
Road bike
from the mapped surface
Surface
Mostly paved
94% paved · 5% unpaved · 2% no data
Traffic
Mostly main roads
12.8 km on main roads without a cycle lane
Food & water
Regular
93 cafés and restaurants · 16 shops · 31 water points · 5 petrol stations · 16 public toilets · 2 bike shops
Best months
May to Oct
Bourg-Saint-Maurice climate, 10 years
Navigation
GPX download
free, no sign-in
Start → finish
Bourg-Saint-Maurice

Map and elevation profile

Panoramic sight of the RD 1090 road leading to the Petit-Saint-Bernard pass and passing by the statue and the hospice, in Savoie, France.
Photo: Florian Pépellin · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Elevation profile

Total ascent
1,381 m
Distance
24 km
05001,0001,5002,0002,500m0 km510152024 km2,190 m · highest, at 24.3 kmStartFinish

Route description

  1. Bourg-Saint-Maurice
  2. Le Mollardkm 1
  3. Le Bessetkm 4
  4. Petit St Bernardkm 4
  5. Le Sollietkm 6
  6. Les Laixkm 8
  7. Le Cretkm 9
  8. Le Chablozkm 10
  9. Hautevillekm 12

The route starts in Bourg-Saint-Maurice around 809 m and climbs 24.3 km to reach 2190 m at the Little St Bernard Pass on the France-Italy border. The initial 2.4 km climb after 1.3 km gains 94 m at an average of 4%, then the main climb of 19.9 km averages 6.5% gradient with a maximum of 24% steepness. Climbing dominates 92% of the route, with only 2% descending and 6% flat sections. About 67% of the elevation gain occurs in the first half of the ride.

The surface is mostly paved (94%) with some gravel or unpaved sections (5%) and a small unmapped part (2%). The road types include 53% main roads, 30% minor roads, 9% quiet streets, and 7% paths. The longest named roads are D 1090 for 12.5 km and D 84 for 3.1 km. The entire 12.8 km on main roads lack cycle lanes.

There are some places to get food and drink early and late on the ride: bakeries and cafés at the start in Bourg-Saint-Maurice, a restaurant at 10.8 km, and a restaurant at 23.8 km near the finish. Shops, water points, toilets, bike shops and petrol stations are mostly near the start or mid-ride with a longest stretch without food or water of 6.7 km from 17.1 to 23.8 km. Bourg-Saint-Maurice station is available as a bailout near the start.

Why ride this route?

  • Climbs Petit St Bernard (19.8 km at 6.5 %).
  • Tops out at 2,190 m, 24 km in.
  • Crosses a border: France and Italy.

Highlights

  • Little St Bernard Pass at 2190 m
  • Viewpoint at Virage des Arcades (18 km)
  • Archaeological site Cromlech du Petit-Saint-Bernard (24 km)

Along the route

Measured from the route line, the Copernicus elevation model and OpenStreetMap.

Places passed· crosses into Italy

  1. Séez 3 km
  2. Le Besset 3.7 km
  3. Le Breuil 4 km
  4. Le Noyeraie 4.4 km
  5. Longefoy 5.2 km
  6. Le Solliet 6.3 km
  7. Montvalezan 7 km
  8. Manessier 7.7 km
  9. Les Perrières 8.1 km
  10. Les Laix 8.3 km
  11. Les Champaix 8.3 km
  12. Les Etaves 8.6 km
  13. Le Cret 8.9 km
  14. La Grange de Martin 9.1 km
  15. Le Villaret 9.3 km
  16. Le Griotteray 9.4 km
  17. Le Chabloz 10.1 km
  18. Le Châtelard 10.8 km
  19. Les Moulins 10.8 km
  20. La Combaz 11.3 km
  21. Hauteville 11.6 km
  22. Le Pré du Four 11.8 km
  23. Les Eucherts 15 km
  24. La Rosière 16.3 km

Climbs

Climbs in ride order: where each starts, what this ride climbs, and the full named ascent
ClimbStarts atOn this rideFull ascentTop on this ride
Unnamed climb1.3 km2.4 km · 94 m · 4 % · max 6.7 %—910 m
Petit St Bernard4.1 km19.9 km · 1280 m · 6.5 %19.8 km · 1280 m · 6.5 %2190 m

High point 2190 m at 24 km; low point 809 m.

On this ride: the part this route climbs, cut from its own elevation profile. Full ascent: the whole named climb, measured the same way on every ride that uses it (its climb page).

A point maximum far steeper than the climb’s average is usually an elevation-data spike, so the steepest 500 m of the profile is shown instead (or nothing, where the profile is too coarse).

Petit St Bernard · full ascent, starts at 4.1 km

19.8 km at 6.5% · 1280 m
1,0001,2001,4001,6001,8002,000m3.2%8.6%9.3%9.6%8.8%9.5%5.5%7.4%5.0%4.4%4.4%4.2%4.3%4.1%4.7%5.5%4.4%3.4%0 km12345678910111213141516171819.6 km2,190 msteepest 17.9%
< 4%4 – 7%7 – 10%> 10%

Traffic, surface and gradient

Measured from OpenStreetMap along the track and the elevation profile.

This is not a cycle-track route: 53% is on main roads without a cycle lane. Riders should be comfortable sharing the road with faster traffic.

Roads
53% main road · 30% minor road · 9% quiet street · 7% path · 1% other roads and tracks
Main roads
12.8 km on main roads without a cycle lane — likely busier
Main roads used
D 1090 (13 km), D 84 (3 km)
Surface
Predominantly paved: 94% is mapped as paved, 5% as unpaved or gravel and 2% has no surface data.
Gradient
92% climbing · 2% descending · 6% flat
Steep sections
11.1 km over 5% · 6.5 km over 8% · 1.5 km over 10%

Food, water and services

Within a few hundred metres of the track, from OpenStreetMap. Opening hours change — treat this as where to look, not a promise.

No stretch is longer than 15 km without a café, shop or water. Along the route: 93 cafés and restaurants, 16 shops, 31 water points, 5 petrol stations, 16 public toilets and 2 bike shops.

Food, water and shops in ride order

  1. 0 kmToilets · on the route
  2. 0 kmAllez! Café Vélo · bike shop · 120 m off route
  3. 0.1 km3G · bakery · on the route
  4. 1 kmIntermarché · supermarket · 50 m off route
  5. 1 kmStation U · petrol station · 60 m off route
  6. 2.7 kmPharmacie du Saint-Bernard · pharmacy · on the route
  7. 2.8 kmBachal · drinking water · 50 m off route
  8. 10.7 kmDrinking water · 30 m off route
  9. 10.7 kmToilets · on the route
  10. 10.8 kmLe Remonte Pente · restaurant · 50 m off route
  11. 15.3 kmLa Rosiere · drinking water · on the route
  12. 15.5 kmToilette · toilets · on the route
  13. 15.6 kmElan · petrol station · on the route
  14. 16 kmLes 4 Épis · bakery · on the route
  15. 16 kmCarrefour · supermarket · on the route
  16. 16 kmPharmacie Principale · pharmacy · on the route
  17. 23.8 kmBar Restaurant du Lancebranlette · restaurant · on the route

Need to bail out?

  • 0.2 km — Bourg-Saint-Maurice (station), 120 m off route

Whether bikes are carried depends on the service — check before relying on it.

Worth a stop

  • 18 km — Virage des Arcades (viewpoint)
  • 24 km — Cromlech du Petit-Saint-Bernard (archaeological site)

Start and access

Starts at Bourg-Saint-Maurice. Mapped within a short walk of the start and finish, from OpenStreetMap.

At the start

Trains and ferries
Bourg-Saint-Maurice (170 m)
Food and coffee
3G (50 m), Aux Délices de Tarentaise (20 m), Café Fiore (40 m)
Shops
Marché de Bourg-Saint-Maurice (20 m)

At the finish

Food and coffee
Bar Restaurant du Lancebranlette (180 m), Bar S. Bernardo (330 m)

Know before you go

  • 12.8 km on main roads without cycle lanes
  • Longest stretch without café, shop or water: 6.7 km (km 17.1 to 23.8)

Routes are for inspiration. Roads, surfaces and conditions change — check locally and ride within your limits.

2 photographs from the road

Photo: Florian Pépellin · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · Photo: Ylliab Photo from Grenoble, France · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · Photo: Rémih · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

About this route

Route line
Routed on OpenStreetMap roads with bicycle routing, then measured like a recorded ride.
Elevation
Recalculated from the Copernicus GLO-90 terrain model every 50 m, not the device’s barometer.
Roads, surface, services
Measured along the line from OpenStreetMap extracts.
Best months
Ten years of ERA5 weather for Bourg-Saint-Maurice (Open-Meteo).
GPX
Generated from the route line: track points only, no timestamps or personal data.
Page added
Page last updated

See something wrong with this ride?

Similar length from Bourg-Saint-Maurice

Less climbing