Le Morne-Rouge / L'Aileron (824m) Top : -61.15094° 14.80585°

Tour de Martinique

Topography of Martinique Martinique is a volcanic island located between the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. Its highest points are the Montagne Pelée (still active volcano, 1397m asl) and the Pitons du Carbet (top at 1196m, at Piton Lacroix). The southern part of the island is made of hills (« mornes »), that the Tour de Martinique use and abuse, because of the small size of the island : 120km from Grand'Rivière, in the extreme north, to Le Marin, in the south. A few names : Sommet Massel (N6), Gondeau (D13), Côte de Case-Pilote (N2), Morne aux Boeufs (N2), Morne Pitault, Augrain, Grain d'Amour (N1), Lestrade (N1), Gros Morne (N4), Saint-Joseph (N4), Chopotte (D1), Gallochat (D7), Morne Raquette (D18), Sommet Mare Capron (N8).

More informations about the Montagne Pelée : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Pel%C3%A9e Et sur les Pitons du Carbet : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbet_Mountains

Tour de Martinique Route 2016 (Official website) : http://cyclismemartinique.com/les-etapes-du-tour/ Route 2017 : http://cyclismemartinique.com/ Winner list : https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tour_de_Martinique In 2016, the race was to be followed live on the radio (in French) on : http://la1ere.francetvinfo.fr/martinique/radio/direct And a daily 30 minutes summary on : http://la1ere.francetvinfo.fr/martinique/ The Tour is a part of the UCI America Tour (cat. 2.2). It is almost unknown in Europe, but it deserves a larger media coverage, for some reasons. The passion for cycling races is real : the Tour de Martinique (in July) and Tour de Guadeloupe (in August) are ardently followed. And also the beauty of the Caribbean landscapes. In 2016, there was no live on TV, but every evening the Public Network broadcasted a very attractive summary, sportive and touristic. See the links above. A last information impossible to see on the screen : the weather, dreadfully hot and wet, heavily hamper the Europeans, who have the impression to make efforts with the head in the oven. Edition 2016

Coast road after Case-Pilote (1,1km at 11%)

Le Morne-Rouge – Portrait Le Morne-Rouge is not the highest road summit in Martinique. We'll find it at the foot of the Morne Bellevue (694m), on the D1 road, between Gros-Morne and Fonds-Saint-Denis. Besides its very respectable altitude (545m at the crossroads to the Aileron), the Morne-Rouge is also worth being climbed for the proximity of the Montagne Pelée and the « Route de la Trace », that links the village to Fort-de-France through the « Parc Naturel Régional de Martinique ». More details (in French only) : http://routes.wikia.com/wiki/Route_de_la_Trace The southern side starts in Saint-Pierre (N2) 528m in 9,3km, with a « pretty » 4th km at more than 10% : 3,5 4,9 7,6 10,3 5,3 / 6,5 5,7 2,0 4,9 + 21m.

Rade de Saint-Pierre (natural harbour) Edition 2015 – 3th stage in a few screenshots

Foot in Saint-Pierre

Liponne and Pena Pena are moving into the attack, Turpin is waiting

Ronald Gonzales (Pédale Pilotine) alone in the lead

Wilfrid Neror (CC Vauclinois) is losing 3 minutes and his yellow jersey at the KOM in Morne-Rouge Pictures from : http://la1ere.francetvinfo.fr/martinique/2015/07/08/revoir-les-3e-et-4e-etapes-du-magazine-dutour-270040.html

The northern side is a twisting road. It seems more easy : 484m en 11,9km, passing by L'AjoupaBouillon. We'll keep in mind, like in the southern side, the 4th big km at 8,5%. A long almost flat section (km 6 et 7) cuts the climb in half. After this break, the 9th km at 7,3km could be tricky. Km % : 2,2 4,1 6,5 8,5 6,9 / 0,2 0,8 3,7 7,3 4,5 1,5 +22m

L'Ajoupa-Bouillon

Bend between L'Ajoupa-Bouillon and Le Morne-Rouge From the top of Le Morne-Rouge, a dead-end road leads to the first refuge of L'Aileron. It leads closer to the foot of the volcano. The section is 3km long, with a 279m elevation gain : 7,7 9,1 11,1%.

Full profile of Le Morne-Rouge + Road to L'Aileron

Close-up to the top of Le Morne-Rouge and the road to L'Aileron

The Montagne Pelée from the inn of the same name (see map above)

First refuge of L'Aileron at 824m – End of the road Atmosphere in the car-park : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bStKLODJ0zU

Panorama at the top (see map page 8)