| Col de la Croix de Fer | |
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The cross at Col de la Croix de Fer |
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| Elevation | 2,067 m (6,781 ft) |
| Traversed by | D 926 |
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Col de la Croix de Fer
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| Location | Savoie, France |
| Range | Dauphiné Alps |
Col de la Croix de Fer (English: Pass of the Iron Cross) (el. 2067 m.) is a high mountain pass in the French Alps linking Le Bourg-d'Oisans and Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne.
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The approach from the northeast from Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne is 29.5 km at an average gradient of 5.5% with some sections at 9.5%, and the one from the southwest from Rochetaillée 31.5 km at an average gradient of 5.75% with short sections in excess of 11%. When coming from Rochetaillée, the road forks 2.5 km before the summit, leading to the Col du Glandon. There is also an approach from the north from La Chambre via Col du Glandon which is the hardest: 22.7 km at an average gradient of 7.0% (this road was recently used at the 2006 Tour de France).
The pass has featured in the Tour de France fifteen times since it was first passed in the 1947 tour when the race was led over the summit by Fermo Camellini. In 2008 the Tour de France visited the mountain again, approaching from the east via Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne on the 210.5 km seventeenth stage from Embrun to Alpe d'Huez.[1]
| Year | Stage | Category | Start | Finish | Leader at the summit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 17 | HC | Embrun | Alpe d'Huez | Peter Velits |
| 2006 | 16 | HC | Le Bourg-d'Oisans | La Toussuire | Michael Rasmussen |
| 1999 | 10 | HC | Sestrières | Alpe d'Huez | Stéphane Heulot |
| 1998 | 15 | HC | Grenoble | Les Deux Alpes | Rodolfo Massi |
| 1995 | 10 | HC | Aime–La Plagne | Alpe d'Huez | Richard Virenque |
| 1992 | 14 | HC | Sestrières | Alpe d'Huez | Eric Boyer |
| 1989 | 17 | HC | Briançon | Alpe d'Huez | Gert-Jan Theunisse |
| 1986 | 18 | 1 | Briançon–Serre Chevalier | Alpe d'Huez | Bernard Hinault |
| 1966 | 16 | 1 | Bourg-d'Oisans | Briançon | Joaquim Galera |
| 1963 | 16 | 1 | Grenoble | Val-d'Isère | Federico Bahamontes |
| 1961 | 10 | 1 | Grenoble | Turin | Guy Ignolin |
| 1956 | 18 | 1 | Turin | Grenoble | René Marigil |
| 1952 | 11 | 1 | Bourg-d'Oisans | Sestrières | Fausto Coppi |
| 1948 | 14 | 1 | Briançon | Aix-les-Bains | Gino Bartali |
| 1947 | 8 | 1 | Grenoble | Briançon | Fermo Camellini |