The 11th edition of the 1000 du Sud took place from September 7 to 12, 2020.
The ride was organized by Provence Randonneurs.
The "Rando" time limit was 100 hours.
The start and finish place was Cotignac (Var).
Two starting times were offered: Monday 7 afternoon and Tuesday 8 morning.
In 2020, le 1000 du Sud takes place entirely in France, and 99.65% on paved roads.
It does not take any pass at 2000 meters elevation (which has never happened before, in 10 editions).
On the other hand, it explores many small roads, passes and peaks of medium altitude, which, for the most part, have not yet been visited by le 1000 du Sud.
The three highest peaks on the route are Montagne de Lure (1748 m reached on road D53), Mont Colombis (1733 m at the antenna), and Chamrousse (1721 m reached on road D111 - but you can climb higher in the ski resort).
NB. Altitudes are recorded on IGN top 25 maps.
The first of those three climbs will be Mont Colombis (12 km climb - summit at km 323). The greatest difficulty of the 1000 du Sud 2020 probably hides behind the steep and sunny slopes of its southern side. Moreover, during the descent on the northern side, we will meet the only unpaved road, a 3.5 km long section, quite easy to cycle on.
Chamrousse (17 km climb - summit at km 496) is a ski resort perched above the Grenoble area, at the southern end of the Belledonne range. We will climb via the Luitel pass, slightly less steep than Mont Colombis, and more shaded.
Montagne de Lure (26 km climb - summit at km 892), the secret little sister of Mont Ventoux, will be the roof of the 1000 du Sud 2020. Its northern side will offer us a long ascent, but less hard than that of her “big brother”. The general profile of le 1000 du Sud might suggest that after Montagne de Lure, the difficulties are over, but beware, the return to Cotignac is not easy.
Besides this “top three at 1700”, let us mention:
Passes at 1400 : Colle Saint-Michel (1431 m) ; col du Fanget (1459 m) ; col du Festre (1441 m) ; col du Coq (1434 m) ; col de Chaud Clapier (1412 m)
Passes at 1300 : col du Parquetout (1398 m – by its southern side, this time!) ; col de la Morte (1368 m) ; col de Porte (1326 m) ; col de la Chau (1337 m)
Passes at 1200 : col de Vaumale (1201 m) ; col du Défens (1267 m) ; col de Corobin (1211 m) ; col de l’Holme (1207 m) ; col Luitel (1262 m) ; col de Pré l'Étang (1267 m); col Saint-Alexis (1222 m) ; col du Rousset (1245 m)
Visited French départements : Var ; Alpes-Maritimes (for a very little leg) ; Alpes de Haute-Provence ; Hautes-Alpes ; Isère ; Drôme.
A wide variety of landscapes, through the visited mountains, will show us manifold aspects of the southern Alps.
Le 1000 du Sud 2020 is a very touristy route, with many opportunities to admire spectacular sites (Gorges du Verdon, Clue de Saint-Auban, Clue de Barles, Belvedere of Mont Colombis, Écouges tunnel, Route de Combe Laval, Col du Rousset, Roanne Valley); geological curiosities (wall of ammonite fossils by Digne-les-Bains, hoodoos by Théus); or just to enjoy the simple beauty of mountains, cycling on our beloved quite roads.
Concerning the general level of difficulty, the total climbing amount of 20.800 m displayed by Openrunner speaks for itself. In addition, beware of the heat, stronger at lower altitudes.
In summary, we will experience a “medium-profile, but hard” 1000 du Sud in 2020… before returning to high altitudes in 2021.