Col de Turini
This is the highest paved pass, reachable in a conventional
day loop ride from the Nice/Menton area. There are many ways
to skin this cat, so many ways that you might think you're
in paradise. No real skin involved, I mean of course the
incredible variety of approaches. Three roads meet at the
top. But there are three different ways to climb Col
Ste Roch, which is a shoulder point on one of the
southern approaches. This already brings the possibility of
loop rides close to the double digits. Below are just a few
notes on the approaches I tried out.
Scenically the most interesting part of this pass is the
Gorge du Piaon on the South-2 approach. Every approach also
has one extremely interesting medieval town to explore,
Coraoze on the South-1 approach, Luceram on the South-2
approach and Bollene-Vesubie on the eastern approach. The
summit itself would have no interest, if it were not the
highest point along the route, or the starting point for a
climb to l"Authion.

|
01.(00.0km,0002m)
START - END SOUTH-1: Nice waterfront
02.(07.0km,0058m) Route from Col de Quatre Chemins
connects on right
03.(10.2km,0089m) route goes left in Cantaron
04.(12.7km,0130m) there is an extra loop of 1km here,
that is due to an error in the mapping program.
05.(26.5km,0565m) turnoff to Coroaze on right
06.(37.8km,0972m) Col Savel
07.(39.3km,0990m) Col Saint Roche
08.(46.7km,1428) Peira Cava
09.(53.9km,1607m) slightly after the TOP: Col Turini
(TOP is about 1620m)
10.(65.8km,0786m) Moulinet
11.(78.8km,0348m) START-END SOUTH-2: Sospel |
Approaches
From South-1. The profile starts in Nice and follows
the busy road up through La Trinite, the Condamine Housing
Project to Drap, then D15 into Contes. On the map the road north
of Contes looks no differerent than to the south. But in reality
it couldn't be more different. The route is a busy suburban
highway to the outskirts of Contes. Then all of a sudden the
traffic seems to just disappear as soon as the road starts
climbing, at least that was my pleasant experience on a Friday
in the middle of May. A carrot dangling in front, also a reason
to keep climbing, remains in the center view for a long time,
the hill top town of Coraoze. It is easy to forget about time
wandering around the cemetery on top of this town. You might
call this a resting place with a view - final or temporary.
Past this rest stop, the road descends a bit, and then really
gets down to business, as the serpentines, held in place with
precision brickwork, snake their way to the first pass. This
would be Col de Savel (980m). On top the viewshed changes to the
north. This would be the highest point on a loop ride, combining
this approach with a descend on the right down a signed and
numbered dirt road to Luceram.
The paved road past Col de Savel keeps on climbing,
traversing along a breadloaf shaped ridge. The road visible
below towards the west is the approach from Luceram to the next
named pass on this route, Col de
Ste Roch. The approach described here descends a bit before
reaching Col de Ste Roch.

Luceram from above Col Ste Roche
I stopped here and ate my picnic lunch, while my bicycle
posed for a photograph under the colorful crucifix. What ?
"only a crucifix, no restaurants ? no hotels and
souvenir shop or bars for the motorbikers ? Maybe you can tell
from my reaction that I was more only familiar with conditions
on mountain passes in the northern alps at this point. The
traffic too was amazingly sparse. I don't remember seeing a car
between the far outskirts of Contes and here, although one or
three might have slipped my mind. But up here I vividly remember
a young kid on a motor scooter, test riding the poor thing into
the ground. I think he wants to grow up to own a Lamborghini
instead of a Pinerallo.
From my especially enjoyable lunch vantage point I noticed a
road far above. I thought that this was probably the third
approach to Col Ste Roch, also going over Col
de Porte. But I turned out to be wrong. After lunch I found
myself climbing up there towards the Col Turini. After the first
switchbacks the first views of the still snow covered peaks
appear. Soon the road levels out a bit and enters a magnificent
large needle forest, following the edge of a gentle ridge, from
which views of the peaks can be caught between the trees. There
is just one settlement on this long last part of the approach,
Peira Cava. I managed to refill my water bottles here, but it
looks like they can provide food and lodging, even as early as
mid May. From here on a road sign every km feeds the cyclist
info on the remaining climbing meters before the summit, the
remaining distance and the average climbing grade. Something the
signs don't tell you is that the road reaches several slightly
higher points just before the pass. The nicest views along this
approach, in my opinion, are back before of Peira Cava, with the
high peaks of Mercantour Park in the background.
From South-2 (described downwards) Turning hard right
from the South-1 approach leads to a road that is signed to
Sospel. The first part of the descend is a long roll through
isolated dense forest. l'Authion looms overhead, almost in the
sky. But down here it's quiet and peaceful and no far panorama
disturbs with excitement. A picturesque church in Moulinet
finally provides a change in scenery. Then all of a sudden all
scenic hell breaks loose, as the road goes under an unlikely
bridge that seems to be there, just to underline the picturesque
location of a chapel on the rock outcrop above. As you pass
under the bridge, the road enters the Gorge du Piaon. These
massive slabs of rock could be from any continent with
magnificent limestone canyons, but the walled switchback road
constructions and the impeccable road surface could only be from
the Maritime alps. This short section through the Gorge du Piaon
is scenically by far the most memorable part of the ride. Before
entering Sospel, a right onto the road over Col
de Braus provides an opportunity to get into the right
drainage basin again, if the starting point was Nice.

Gorge du Piaon, between Col Turini - Sospel
From East. (described
upwards) The pass can also be approached from the Nice area via
the valley of the Vesubie and D2565. The route leaves the gorge
north of Lantosque. The hill town of la Bollene-Vesubie is
another spectacularly perched hilltown. Bollene has its own
tourist office, so there are opportunities to stay there. A
small chapel a little further up is another opportune stopping
point to admire the road construction. Past this point the road
uses switch backs to climb the opposing hills side, providing a
new vantage point, from where the lower switchbacks look like
spaghetti salad. After the road enters the forest and leaves the
mountain rim, it is still several hundred feet of relentless
climbing to the top. At the summit the road passes suddenly and
unexpectedly between two hotels and a bus stop labeled "Col
de Turini" to a junction with the other two approaches.

Bolene-Vesubie: section Lantosque - Col de Turini
History
Cycling: Surprisingly this pass was used only three
times, as part of the Tour de France route, even more
surprisingly all after WW2, when Maritime Alp passes were used
even less. The years were 1948, 1950 and 1973. The stages were
won by two French and a Spanish cyclist.
Dayride with this point as highest summit:
Col de Turini , Col
de Braus , Col de Nice(shp)
, Col de Quatre Chemins:
177 bd observotoire, Nice > col de Quatre Chemins > la
Trinite > Drap > Contes > Coraoze > col de
Savel(shp) > col de Ste Roche(shp) > col de Torini >
Moulinet > Sospel > Col de Braus > l'Escarene >
col de Nice > Drap > col de Quatre Chemins <> out
and back to more than 300ft below the summit > sp
:78.1miles with 9110ft of climbing in 7:26 hours (VDO MC1.0
m4:12.5.11)
The first pass with different start and end points on this Extended
Tour is: Col
de Vence
A day on an extended Tour:
(<D32
Utelle s(u)|Col de
Castillon>)
Col de Turini , Col de
Castillon: Lantosque > Col de Turini > Sospel
> Col de Castillon > Menton > Bordighera: 62.9miles
with 5420ft of climbing in 6:23hurs (VOD MC1.0 m4:12.5.26).
Notes: includes the riding
part of a long room search on the coast
back to Cycling
Passes in Europe
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