Practically every season of Special Stages has featured an event that has taken us to France, and since the alpine passes that separate us often exceed 2000 meters, these events usually take place during the warmer months.

Like last year, we decided to plan a double event, with one day on Saturday and another on Sunday, where participants could choose to join the tour for one or both days.

THE TOUR

Saturday

The meeting point for this first day was scheduled at a location we visited when Special Stages was just beginning: Cascina Roland, in Val di Susa. It is an ancient fortified farmhouse along the historic road to France, which now hosts a restaurant and event spaces.

After the customary buffet for all guests, it was time to start the Tour, which on this Saturday would take us on a journey of more than 200 km through some of the most beautiful passes in the Alps.

We immediately headed up towards the Colle del Moncenisio, a road as beautiful as it is often crowded, due to the winding Italian side, which makes overtaking difficult and forces you to stay behind slower vehicles on the climb. To our surprise, we didn't encounter much traffic today, and we climbed quite easily, crossing the border and continuing until we reached the impressive view of the artificial Moncenisio lake. The road is wide, with long, sweeping curves and great visibility, thanks also to the lack of vegetation. It runs high along the mountain side, skirting the lake until it reaches the pass.

Shortly after the beginning of the descent, also wide and fast, we found ourselves in the woods, on a well-maintained road with long straights interrupted by five hairpin turns and few other curves. Once in the valley, we merged onto the D1060 for a long transfer stretch heading southwest, stopping for a break and regrouping at a rest area near Fort Victor-Emmanuel.

The continuation of this transfer stretch brought us to Saint Michel de Maurienne, where we left the main road to take the famous D902! The D902 is the name given to a series of roads that are part of the Route des Grandes Alpes, a stunning itinerary that we almost fully traveled back in 2017.

This road took us up to the Col du Télégraphe, the second pass along today’s itinerary. The climb is very winding and quite steep, making overtaking difficult, but luckily we didn’t encounter much traffic here either. The scenery at this pass is not the best, but the final kilometers before reaching the summit are impressive for the altitude we reached compared to the valley floor from which we started.

After the pass, the road doesn't descend much; in fact, it goes from 1566 meters at the summit to 1343 meters in Valloire, a well-known tourist destination where we planned a stop for those who wanted to grab a bite to eat.

Once we set off again, we left Valloire and continued on the D902, which immediately begins to climb towards the Col du Galibier. The road is not very wide, but the incredible views continue as we climb to an altitude of 2642 meters above sea level. This makes the Col du Galibier the fifth highest paved pass open to the public in Europe, and we can assure you that engines, especially naturally aspirated ones, really feel the lack of oxygen!

It’s a very touristy pass, and although we managed to ascend smoothly, we encountered some traffic on the descent along the southern side.

The descent ends when the D902 joins the D1091 at the Col du Lautaret at 2058 meters above sea level. After a first section of fast curves, we found ourselves on a straight, boring road that passes through several towns until we reached Briançon.

Here, the transfer continued by following signs towards Italy, up to La Vachette. We left the N94 that climbs to the Col de Montgenèvre and took a small, less trafficked side valley, with a fast road running alongside the stream toward Névache until the junction for the Colle della Scala. It’s a somewhat narrow road, but it brings us down directly to Bardonecchia along a route literally carved into the rock.

The tour ends in Bardonecchia at Harald’s Ski Restaurant Bar, a beautiful location where we enjoyed a plentiful aperitif, closing out the first day of the Tour!

Sunday

The second 225 km leg of this two-day event started right where we left off yesterday. Once again at Harald’s, we met up with the participants for the day and had the usual breakfast. After warming up the engines, we set off again towards France, retracing the Colle della Scala that brought us back to Italy yesterday and then following the N94 to Briançon.

Today, there was a bit more traffic, which became noticeable as we passed through the town center, but we soon left it behind as we took the D902 to begin the climb to the Col de l'Izoard. After the initial section, which could be described as a typical mountain road, beyond Cervières we encountered one of the most beautiful roads we've ever driven on in all these years of events. A mix of perfect road surface, just the right width, varied curves, and some of the most incredible and atypical landscapes you’ll see in the Alps. The mountain peaks that frame this pass are characterized by barren rock slopes that contrast with the surrounding vegetation.

A stop at the top of the pass was mandatory to leave everyone, especially those seeing it for the first time, in awe of this stunning landscape.

The journey continued as we descended the southern side until we merged onto the valley floor road, still marked as D902. And yes, it holds onto that name because the road here is also wonderful! Wonderful in its surface and surroundings, passing through tunnels carved into the rock and through canyons of light-colored stone with views of the emerald green river until we reached Guillestre.

We didn’t leave the D902, as it immediately began climbing again towards the Col de Vars. It’s not a road that stands out for its scenery, but in terms of curves, rhythm, and road quality, it’s truly perfect. It’s one of the most fun roads you’ll ever drive on!

We stopped at Vars, a well-known French ski resort. The climb then continued towards the pass, and once again, we found ourselves on a strip of perfect asphalt!

The descent on the southern side was equally perfect, fast, and with no traffic, continuing until it joined the D900. From here, we could have returned directly to Italy via the Col de la Maddalena, but the plan was to continue south to Jausiers to take the road leading to the Col de La Bonette. A road just wide enough for two cars, fairly long but offering incredible views once you surpass 2000 meters.

At 2715 meters, it’s "only" the fourth highest paved pass in Europe, but from the pass, a road loops around the mountain peak, reaching a height of 2802 meters above sea level, making it the highest road in Europe that you can drive on!

The descent towards the valley, again to the south, becomes a bit boring after the first few kilometers. It’s a narrow road with an uneven surface that passes through a few towns before opening up into a fast stretch of asphalt, which at one point even has two lanes, allowing us to quickly cover this transfer section to Isola.

The last pass of the day brought us back to Italy. From Isola, we followed signs for Isola 2000 (another well-known ski resort) along a wide, well-paved road with plenty of hairpin turns that provided fun, especially for those driving rear-wheel-drive cars. From Isola 2000, the climb continued towards the Colle della Lombarda at 2351 meters, finally bringing us back into Italy.

Unfortunately, the Italian side is not a road suitable for sporty driving: it’s narrow, very narrow, an asphalted mule track with an uneven surface in places and often busy with traffic. We descended slowly to the valley, finally reaching Vinadio.

We parked the cars in a large square outside the ancient walls and walked to the Revelin Bistrot, a venue located right within the walls, to conclude these two days of touring. Another fantastic event, filled with emotions, fun, and amazing cars!

Click HERE to see all the photos of the event!

Click HERE to see photos from past events.

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