Col de TuriniHC
- 24.1 km
- Length
- 5.2%
- Average
- 1,242 m
- Elevation gain
- 8.8%
- Steepest 500 m
- 1,609 m(GPX)
- Summit
Turini is long rather than steep, and it is the lower half that catches people out. From Sospel the road climbs through a rocky gorge with little tree cover, and the first few kilometres are not especially steep. Tempting as it is to push on here, hold something back. At Moulinet it flattens out for two kilometres, and that is the last rest you get. From there it climbs steadily at around seven per cent all the way to the top, with no easier stretches to recover on. The higher you go, the thicker the forest. At the top is Creperie Turini, and it is worth the stop. Put something on before you ride down, because the far side is a long way.
How long will Col de Turini take you?
A rider at 3.0 W/kg takes about 101 minutes to climb Col de Turini.
Put in your weight and the average power you hold on the gradient. We add 9 kg for bike and kit. The model works the time out from physics, and it has been tested against real rides.
Riders
The road
Turini sits on the boundary between two climates. Down at Sospel it is Mediterranean; up at the pass it is mountain. You ride from one to the other in a morning.
The road is best known from the Monte Carlo Rally. The stage over the pass is run at night and has a name of its own, la Nuit du Turini. Thousands of spectators line the road to watch it.
The rally runs from Moulinet over the top. That is the same stretch you ride, from where it flattens out in the village all the way up.
The climb
The first few kilometres out of Sospel are barely worth mentioning. It rises a little, and around the third kilometre it actually drops for a short stretch. It is easy to think this will be an easy day.
From the fourth kilometre it climbs steadily at four to six per cent, and it stays that way for a long time. It is not steep, but it lasts seven kilometres.
At Moulinet it flattens out for two kilometres. That is the last rest you get.
From there it is twelve kilometres at around seven per cent, and the higher you go, the thicker the forest. The last five kilometres hold seven to eight per cent without letting up. Lower down there was always an easier kilometre somewhere, but not here.
