Which Alpine pass first appeared in the Tour de France in 1911?

The Col du Galibier first appeared in the Tour de France in 1911. Its inclusion marked the race’s major expansion into the high Alps, following the Tour’s pioneering Pyrenean mountain stage the year before.

The pass links the Maurienne and Briançonnais regions through the Col du Télégraphe and Col du Lautaret. At about 2,642 metres, it became one of the Tour’s defining climbs and has often been the race’s highest point. Émile Georget was the first rider over the summit in 1911; only Georget, Paul Duboc and Gustave Garrigou reportedly avoided walking.

A common mix-up is confusing the Galibier with the Col du Télégraphe. Riders approaching from the north usually climb the Télégraphe first, but the Galibier is the higher, separate pass. Another historical detail is that the original route used a summit tunnel at a lower elevation. The road over the higher summit became the familiar route after the tunnel was closed.

The Tour celebrated the pass’s centenary in 2011 by climbing it twice, including a summit finish won by Andy Schleck.