L'Étape Mondovì by Tour de France: Course, Elevation & Route Profile

Course & Elevation

The course rolls out from Mondovì Breo, the lower town, and starts moving straight away. The first short ramp arrives before kilometre five at an average of 7.4 percent; at kilometre 12 come four kilometres and 238 metres of gain that lift you properly into the Langa Monregalese. From kilometre 25 to 45 crest follows crest, and this stretch holds the Sbaranzo, the climb newly added for this edition.

Fifteen municipalities lie on the loop, among them Briaglia, Cigliè, Clavesana, Murazzano, Castellino Tanaro and Vicoforte with its pilgrimage basilica. In between: narrow roads through Dolcetto vines and hazelnut groves, brief passes through village centres, the long open ridges of the Alta Langa. The feed station sits up in Murazzano, stocked with what the area is known for. Mid September is harvest time here, with warm days and valley mornings that often start damp.

The hardest part comes late. From kilometre 86, 4.4 kilometres and 237 metres of climbing lead up to Frabosa Soprana, at 890 metres the high point of the day. The road then falls a long way back towards Mondovì before a final 2.7 kilometres at 5.8 percent from kilometre 108 climb into the upper town. The finish on Piazza Maggiore sits some 170 metres above the start, so the loop ends uphill.

Pacing Strategy

Barely 18 percent of the route is flat; a good 39 percent climbs and 36 percent descends. You almost never settle into a rhythm here: you accelerate, you roll, you accelerate again. Riders who take every crest out of the saddle spend exactly what the day asks for later. Hold the first fifty kilometres deliberately below what feels available, and let go of groups that sprint the short ramps.

The race is decided on the climb to Frabosa Soprana from kilometre 86. At 4.4 kilometres it is the longest of the day and it arrives with more than eighty rolling kilometres already in the legs. What counts is steady pressure for twelve to twenty minutes, not an attempt to break clear on a single pitch.

The trap comes afterwards. The descent off Frabosa Soprana is long and fast, and the course feels finished even though 2.7 kilometres and 157 metres of climbing still stand between you and Piazza Maggiore at kilometre 108. Treat that descent as recovery rather than as the window for eating and drinking, and you reach the last ramp empty.

Training plan for L'Étape Mondovì by Tour de France: 12-week build

For 110 kilometres and roughly 2,050 metres of climbing, plan on four to six hours in the saddle depending on form and group. The demand is not that of a pass race but of a rolling one: eight climbs between one and a half and four and a half kilometres, linked by descents and short flat sections. That produces constant changes of load and many repetitions near threshold rather than one sustained ascent.

Two places decide the race and both sit late: the climb to Frabosa Soprana from kilometre 86, and the finishing rise into the upper town from kilometre 108. Both require you to still be able to climb after four hours. Training should target exactly that, with long rides whose climbing is deliberately loaded into the final hour rather than the first.

The specific work is intervals in the course's own format: five to eight efforts of four to eight minutes at five to seven percent, plus occasional short surges on double-digit ramps, which several of these climbs contain. Because a good third of the route descends and the drop off Frabosa Soprana is a long one, descending skill belongs in the plan too. Line choice and calm braking under fatigue save more time here than any watts on the climbs.

On the date: mid September in southern Piedmont is still late-summer warm, while the morning start down in the Ellero valley can be cool and damp. Pack arm warmers you can shed on the first long descent, and rehearse fuelling in training. Over this distance, 60 to 90 grams of carbohydrate per hour is a realistic target.