Col du Grand Colombier

Col du Grand Colombier (el. 1498 m) is a mountain pass in the Jura mountains in France.

This pass lies at the southern extremity of the Jura in the massif of the Grand Colombier. With the Col du Chasseral, it is the highest road pass in the Jura. It passes between the Grand Colombier (el. 1531 m) and the Croix du Colombier (1525 m), which is accessible by trail from the pass.

The view from the summit is superb, either down the valley of the Rhône, the Lac du Bourget and the gorges of Val-de-Fier, or the distant peaks of the Alps.

Cycle racing
It is one of the most difficult passes in France, with stretches in excess of 20% on the climb from Artemare via Virieu-le-Petit on the Bugey (western) side. The pass has seen frequent use in cycling, being a regular feature of the Tour de l'Ain and also used in the Critérium du Dauphiné and Tour de l'Avenir.

From Culoz (south), the ascent is 18.3 km long, gaining 1255 m in elevation at an average gradient of 6.9%, but with some sections at 12%. This climb is the direction used on Stage 5 of the 2012 Critérium du Dauphiné and Stage 10 of the 2012 Tour de France.

The Col can also be reached from Anglefort (east), from where it is 15.2 km in length, climbing 1205 m at an average grade of 7.9%.

Tour de France
It was visited by the Tour de France for the first time on Stage 10 of the 2012 Tour as a Hors Catégorie climb. The leader over the summit was Thomas Voeckler, who went on to take the stage victory in Bellegarde-sur-Valserine. Stage 15 of the 2020 Tour finished atop the pass. The stage was won by Tadej Pogacar, the eventual general classification winner of that year's race. It returned on stage 13 of the 2023 Tour de France as a finish atop the mountain.