Col du Ballon d'Alsace

Col du Ballon d'Alsace
Boutiques and restaurants at the col
Elevation	1,178 m (3,865 ft)
Traversed by	D465
Location	Vosges, France
Range	Vosges Mountains
Coordinates	47°49′13.5″N 6°50′6″E / 47.820417°N 6.83500°E / 47.820417; 6.83500Coordinates: 47°49′13.5″N 6°50′6″E / 47.820417°N 6.83500°E / 47.820417; 6.83500
Col du Ballon d'Alsace Location of Col du Ballon d'Alsace

The Col du Ballon d'Alsace (1,178 m (3,865 ft)) is a mountain pass situated close to the summit of the Ballon d'Alsace (1,247 m (4,091 ft)) in the Vosges Mountains of France. It connects Saint-Maurice-sur-Moselle (Vosges) with Masevaux (Haut-Rhin) and Belfort.

The Ballon d'Alsace was the first official mountain climb in the Tour de France on 11 July 1905 although the tour had crossed the slightly lower Col de la République (1,161 m (3,809 ft)) in each of the previous two years. The first rider to the top of the Ballon was René Pottier, with the stage being won by Hippolyte Aucouturier. Stage 9 of the 2005 Tour crossed this pass on the centenary of the original climb.

The "historic" ascent, as used in the early Tours de France, is from Saint-Maurice-sur-Moselle (north). From here, the ascent is 9.0 km long climbing 619 m at an average of 6.9%.

From the south, the climb starts at Malvaux, 4.5 km north of Giromagny. The climb is 12.4 km long, gaining 643 m at an average of 5.2%.

From Sewen (east), the climb is 13.2 km long, at an average of 5.1%, gaining 678 m in height. This climb starts on the D466 and joins the route from the south after 10 km, at the col du Langenberg (1,060 m (3,478 ft)). The middle section (between 4 and 9 km) is steep, in excess of 8%.

The Ballon d'Alsace was first crossed by the Tour de France on the second stage of the 1905 tour, from Nancy to Dijon. In the first two Tours de France, the cycle race had crossed the Col de la République (1,161 m (3,809 ft)) south of Saint-Etienne. Following violent incidents at the Col de la République in 1904, the tour's organiser Henri Desgrange decided to look elsewhere for challenges for the riders and at the same time gain publicity for the tour and distract the public from the cheating that had taken place in 1904.