Le Markstein

Le Markstein is a winter sports station in the Vosges mountains in France situated at an altitude of between 1020 m and 1268 m which is located on the Route des Crêtes. It forms a set of cross-country skiing with the Breitfirst ski-station and the Grand Ballon. The highest point is the summit of the Jungfraukopf. The station staged World Cup skiing in 1983 and 1987 and World Cup Paragliding in 1999. The roads through the station are also used from time to time by the Tour de France cycle race, including twice in 2014 and again in 2023.

Climate
Le Markstein has a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfb) closely bordering on a subarctic climate (Dfc). The average annual temperature in Le Markstein is 6.0 C. The average annual rainfall is 1523.3 mm with December as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 14.2 C, and lowest in January, at around -1.5 C. The highest temperature ever recorded in Le Markstein was 30.3 C on 7 August 2015; the coldest temperature ever recorded was -20.4 C on 20 December 2009.

Skiing
The Markstein ski station has eight ski lifts.

Tracks
The station has 12 tracks in all including:
 * 4 green runs
 * 4 blue runs
 * 2 red runs
 * 2 black runs

Cycle racing
Prior to 2014, the Tour de France cycle race passed through Le Markstein seven times either during the passage over the Col du Grand Ballon or in the descent from the Col du Platzerwasel, although it was not categorized for the Mountains classification. The first passage was in 1969 and the most recent in 2009.

Details of the climbs
Starting from Guebwiller, to the east, the climb is 23.5 km long. Over this distance, the climb is 895 m at an average gradient of 3.8%, with the steepest sections being at 8.1%. The 2014 Tour de France route joins this climb at Lautenbach, from where there is a 10.8 km long climb at an average gradient of 5.4%.

Starting from Oderen, to the west, the climb is 20.5 km long. Over this distance, the climb is 722 m at an average gradient of 3.5%, with the steepest sections being at 8.6%.

2014 Tour de France
In 2014, the Tour de France passed through Le Markstein twice. On Stage 9, on 13 July, the race climbed to Le Markstein from the sprint at Linthal, to the east, and the climb to the summit, with an altitude of 1183 m, ranked as First Category. The race then travelled via the Route des Crêtes (D431) before crossing the Col du Grand Ballon and descending to the finish at Mulhouse. The leader over the summit was the German rider Tony Martin.

The following day, the tour again passed through the station, as it descended from the Col du Platzerwasel towards Oderen.