Col du Ballon d'Alsace – Ballon d'Alsace loop from Tagolsheim

Col du Ballon d'Alsace – Ballon d'Alsace loop from Tagolsheim

Hard

5.0

(2)

165

riders

Col du Ballon d'Alsace – Ballon d'Alsace loop from Tagolsheim

05:06

112km

1,210m

Road cycling

Hard road ride. Very good fitness required. Some segments of this route may be unpaved and difficult to ride. The starting point of the route is accessible with public transport.

Last updated: August 24, 2026

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Some segments of your route comprise a surface that may not be suitable for your chosen sport.

After 70.6 km for 331 m

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49.8 km

Col du Ballon d'Alsace

Highlight (Segment) • Mountain Pass

The ascent of the Ballon d'Alsace from Sewen stretches over 13 kilometers.

This 9-kilometer segment includes 700 meters of elevation gain, an average of 7.5%.

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60.7 km

When you are at the top of the Ballon d'Alsace, the view is your first reward. The Auberge du Ballon d'Alsace is the second. With its traditional dishes, its panoramic terrace, and its friendliness you will be well. Ideal place for a gourmet break.

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61.2 km

Ballon d'Alsace

Highlight • Natural Monument

Here René Pottier conquered the first pass of the Tour de France on July 11, 1905. The Ballon d'Alsace then remained unrivaled for five years - until the much harder passes in the Pyrenees were discovered.

At 1,247 meters, the pass is by no means the highest in the Vosges and today no one would include it on the list of important passes - but there is still a certain magic about it.

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61.3 km

Borne René Pottier

Highlight • Other

René Pottier was the first to cross the Ballon d'Alsace in the Tour de France in 1905 (supposedly at an average speed of 20 km/h) and thus became cycling's first unofficial mountain king. In his honor, a stone with an inscription and his photo was placed at the top of the Ballon d'Alsace pass. However, in 1905 he did not win the stage over the mountain or the Tour de France itself - he had to retire due to an injury. In 1906 René came back, was first at the top of the pass again and was then also at the front in Paris. In his Tour victory he also won five stages, four of them in a row. Perhaps he could have repeated his success more times. In January 1907, just six months after his Tour triumph, Pottier took his own life by hanging himself in the garage of the bicycle factory whose bikes he rode. Employees found him hanging on the hook where his bike used to hang. Lovesickness was assumed to be the reason. He was 27 years old.

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61.3 km

Ascent to Ballon d'Alsace

Highlight (Segment) • Climb

Great route very nice view above.

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64.6 km

La Gentiane

Mountain Pass

70.7 km

Lac d'Alfeld

Lake

71.1 km

Alfeld Lake

Highlight • Lake

Een schilderachtig stuwmeer langs de beklimming van de Ballon d'Alsace, omringd door de beboste hellingen van de Vogezen. 🚴⛰️🌲

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71.8 km

Serpentine Road in Parc naturel régional des Ballons des Vosges

Highlight • Cycleway

A spectacular hairpin bend on the climb to the Ballon d'Alsace. As the road winds its way up the slope, beautiful views open up over the wooded valley of the Vosges.

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73.8 km