Cime de La Bonette | Last Orders

Altitude: 2082m | Length: 25km

When the High Alps rings the bell for last orders and slams its heavy doors for winter, there’s an almighty sound through the valleys.

But before closing time, it’s important to bid adieu in style to our loftiest of locals. Our location in Nice means we are blessed with being just a wink and a gun-finger away from incredible roads and mountain passes, and the highest paved road in Europe.

The Cime de La Bonette should not be confused with the Col de la Bonette that sits on its shoulders. The Cime – at 2,802 metres above the sea – is one click higher than the pass, but is often looked-over, rather than overlooked before riders decide against it thinking ‘that was enough’. But when is enough ever enough in the shadows of these majestic mountains. Those with the ambition to go ever higher will no doubt have the Cime on their list.

A two-hour drive from Nice to its base, this giant in the Mercantour National Park is set to feature as the pinnacle pass of next year’s Tour, when the world’s highest profile race will witness its crescendo in the Alpes Maritimes and conclude along the Promenade des Anglais.

Riding here amongst the greatest of Europe’s geological forms in October feels calm, even if the legs are screaming. The magnificent colours of autumn act as a tranquil prelude to the eventual arrival of the snow and darkness.

This incredible route links the Ubaye valley and the Tinée valley (where we find ourselves), and its proximity to the Franco-Italian border means the road has a history and weight of importance beyond the battles of professional bike racers. The old military barracks on the northern side at Restefond will tell you this.

Departing from Saint-Etienne de Tinée we feel the shock of altitude combined with sitting in the car for 120 minutes, so spin the gears past bars, restaurants and sleeping cats. This late in the season too, the mountain winds sink into your bones. Jackets and gilets are thankfully at hand. Hairpins come and go and warming up the legs and lungs the kilometres start to drag us up. Soon the grandeur of the High Alps opens out before us, with nature proving itself yet again to be the world’s greatest living artist. You really feel right in the heart of the Mercantour with stark slopes, desolate peaks and the shrill call of those fluffy little creatures called Marmots.

Plus, a gorgeous Autumn palette of gold, red and green would be enough to make Picasso do a double take. In addition, we see just a few cars during the entire climb, which is unthinkable when you are riding along the cornices between Nice and Monaco at this time of year. We pass above 2000m very quickly and once diverted onto Col de la Moutière, the terrain gets rougher, and the slopes become steeper. This is the time to breathe it all in, enjoy the silence of the mountains and keep grinding your way to the top. The sparse woodland here releases you towards incredible views, and you can see the Cime sitting proudly above everything else.

In both 1962 and 1964, Federico Bahamontes led the Tour stages over this giant pass. The Spanish rider was known as the Eagle of Toledo and here you will feel as close as you can probably get to flying without leaving the ground. In places like this you can let your spirit carry you and really feel the landscape.

Once at the top of La Moutière, a short 500m drop takes us to another gravel track and a climb of three kilometres. It’s rideable even on slimmer road tyres. Be careful not to have too much pressure in your hoops though if you are planning on going this way up... The track brings us out onto the northern slope of the Bonette (the Jausiers side), and then we climb for another two kilometres to the Cime de la Bonette, to find what feels like the roof of Europe.

The view is as breath-taking as the road that brought us up here. We take a few minutes for composure, selfies and that all important moment of silent satisfaction. Our next reward is, of course, a 25km descent to the first hot chocolate of the season. Last orders never tasted so sweet.

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