21 cycle routes to explore Haute-Saône

This is a loop that should only be attempted by cyclists with a modicum of training, for the most sporting of the routes around La Planche des Belles Filles. Starting at the summit of La Planche, the now legendary Tour de France race will serve as hors d’oeuvre and dessert, first downhill and then uphill. At the foot of the Planche, you head towards the Ballon de Servance, the highest point in the département, following the course of the River Rahin and then taking a small, steep forest road. At the Col de Servance, the route veers off towards Château-Lambert, home to the departmental mountain museum and nature and culture centre, as well as a curious inscription at the entrance to the church of Notre-Dame de l’Assomption: “Erected at the expense of the kings of Spain”, testimony, if ever there was one, to the fact that the area belonged to the kingdom of Spain in the 17th century.

At the Col des Croix, the route flirts with the Vosges department, before following the course of the Ognon to Servance and branching off towards Miellin. The terrible ascent of the Col des Chevrères (3km at 11.4%) is then on offer, as it was in 2014 when the Tour de France first passed through. On the descent, you soon reach Belfahy, the highest village in Haute-Saône. It is said that the best blueberry tarts in the region are made here. Shortly before Plancher-les Mines, the route returns to the D16 and the Rahin valley, where the gradient seems to ease. However, this impression is quickly contradicted by the first gradients of the final ascent.

Loop 21: 62 km, 1,800 m ascent. Difficult level.

From Villersexel, loop no. 18 heads north-west towards Borey, with its pronounced woodland character. As you pass through Borey, take a short diversions to admire a (privately-owned) castle built in the 16th century. The road then becomes more winding and the landscape more open. You reach Mollans before heading south to Arpenans and its magnificent Comtois bell tower. Although not particularly difficult, the route is relatively undulating, bordered by meadows and ploughed fields. In one of them, a herd of hinds is at a standstill. The face-to-face encounter lasts no more than two minutes, before an occult signal prompts a hasty departure. Shortly afterwards, we cross the river Ognon and then the valley’s greenway before passing through some charming little villages, Gouhenans and its recently renovated castle, Vuillafans and the remains of its fortified castle, mentioned as early as the 13th century. The route continues through Saint-Sulpice to Villersexel. When you look up, you’ll see the imposing upper part of the town.

The shortest and smoothest of the 21 cycle routes in Haute-Saône, it is just as interesting as the other routes, particularly for its historical heritage. It rises in Combeaufontaine, around ten kilometres west of Port-sur-Saône. At the bottom of the village is a pretty wash-house and drinking trough, well worth a diversion. There is also a beautiful circular fountain in front of the town hall, itself a listed monument, and a church built in 1700. The first pedal strokes take us along the main village street, before the route forks to the right towards Semmadon, along a secondary road that is more peaceful than the main road, which we leave without regret. The statue of Saint-Valère and the Semmadon church are well worth a visit. After Oigney, where the church built in 1239 houses listed furniture, the loop heads due east towards Augicourt, then Lambrey and its old fortified house. The return to Combeaufontaine takes in Arbecey, its chasm popular with local cavers and its fountain-washhouse.

Loop 2: 22 km, 200 m ascent. Very easy.