The beautiful route over the Col de Sarenne, at a stone’s throw from the large ski area of the Alpe d'Huez, is rather unknown, so the area has a relatively intact environment. On the other hand the road surface is particularly bad, especially in the descent. When the Tour de France planned to come this way in 2013, the road was meant to be improved, after some cycling pros had stated that this Col amounted to a definite suicide. But local action groups and nature organisations protested and collected lots of signatures. They threatened to block the road during the Tour, with the result that only the very worst parts of the road were improved. And this undoubtedly contributed to the preservation of the beautiful landscape on the Col de Sarenne.