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Pic de Neige Cordier, Pic d'Arsine and Pic du Dragon all rise above Col d'Arsine (Stage 3)

The Route

The traditional start and finish of the Tour of the Oisans is the little town of Bourg d'Oisans, situated about 50km southeast of Grenoble in the Vallée de la Romanche. As it is usually tackled in a clockwise direction the first two stages work a way roughly eastwards well above the Romanche to gain spectacular views across the valley to La Meije and its neighbours.

From the very start it is a challenging route, for within a few paces of the first waymark a sloping rockface has to be surmounted by a series of narrow ledges equipped with fixed cables. Above this the way climbs to a string of small hamlets, then descends into the wooded Gorge de Sarenne before beginning a long uphill trek to the Col de Sarenne at 1999m.

On the east side of the col GR54 plunges steeply into the Vallée du Ferrand, then climbs again to the romantically attractive Besse-en-Oisans, a village of mottled stone houses crowded in a hidden valley. Above Besse the route climbs to Col Nazié, continues up a grass ridge to Col Bichet at 2245m, then crosses the vast pastureland of the Plateau d'Emparis where the 2365m Col du Souchet rewards with one of the great views of the Tour of the Oisans.