Grand Ballon
Mountain pass — 1,343 m, under the highest summit in the Vosges
Show it on the map- Days recorded
- 10Grand Tour days on this road
- Open on the map
- 4stages we hold the route for
- Years covered
- 1969–2026first to most recent
- Sides raced
- 2directions in the record
The pass sits just under the Grand Ballon, the highest mountain in the Vosges and the roof of the Grand-Est, 25 km north-west of Mulhouse. The Route des Crêtes carries it between Cernay and Le Markstein. The Tour first crossed in 1969 and has returned only rarely, and never to finish — so the pass has been a place for the breakaway rather than the favourites. Twice, in 2005 and 2014, the rider first over the top went on to win the stage alone.
The record
Raced here
4 of 10 open on the mapEvery Grand Tour day recorded on this road, newest first. The ones we hold the route for open on the map with that stage selected; the rest are the archive’s own account, most of them from before route data existed.
- 2026
- 2022
- 2019
Tour de France · Stage 6
Won by Dylan Teuns
Lautenbach / Le Markstein (north-east)
Same trick again: up the Lauch valley to Le Markstein, then a turn east along the ridge to take the Grand Ballon from behind — the second of seven climbs on the day. Teuns won at La Planche from the break, while Giulio Ciccone took yellow by six seconds.
- 2014
Tour de France · Stage 9
Won by Tony Martin
Lautenbach / Le Markstein (north-east)
The route climbed 15 km to Le Markstein and kept going south-east into the Grand Ballon, only a category 3 that way. Martin led over the top and rode the rest of the day alone, taking Mulhouse by 2'45" from Fabian Cancellara.
- 2005
Stage 9 · Gérardmer → Mulhouse
Won by Michael Rasmussen (DEN)
Rasmussen's team said he had dropped time the day before on purpose, to free him to chase mountain points. He went clear early, shed Dario Cioni on the climbs, led over the Grand Ballon alone and stayed away to win by over three minutes. Jens Voigt came in third and took the yellow jersey.
- 1997
Stage 18 · first to the top: Francesco Casagrande (ITA)
- 1992
Stage 11 · first to the top: Laurent Fignon (FRA)
- 1976
Stage 7 · first to the top: Giancarlo Bellini (ITA)
- 1973
Stage 5 · first to the top: Charly Grosskost (FRA)
- 1969
Stage 6 · Mulhouse → Ballon d'Alsace
Won by Eddy Merckx (BEL)
The Tour's first crossing of the Grand Ballon. Lucien Van Impe led over the pass, but the day belonged to Merckx, who won at the Ballon d'Alsace and took a yellow jersey he never gave back — the most dominant Tour debut ever ridden.
Often ridden with
A Grand Tour stage rarely settles for one col. Grand Ballon has shared a day's racing with each of these roads.