It is accessible in summer via the D902 road, connecting Briançon on the north and the valley of the Guil in Queyras, which ends at Guillestre in the south.

There are forbidding and barren scree slopes with protruding pinnacles of weathered rock on the upper south side.

Known as the Casse Déserte, this area has formed a dramatic backdrop to some key moments in the Tour de France and at times in the Giro d'Italia, and often featured in iconic 1950s black-and-white photos of the race.

[8] Several of the Tour de France's more memorable moments have occurred on the Col d'Izoard, particularly the exploits of Gino Bartali, Fausto Coppi, Louison Bobet and Bernard Thévenet.

[9] The most famous passage over the Col was in 1949, when Coppi beat Bartali in the memorable stage from Cuneo to Pinerolo, taking the pink jersey.