Today is the most demanding of them all – three infamous tour climbs all in quick succession. We’ll be feeling the effects of yesterday’s efforts so it’s important to take it steady and pace ourselves! Our day starts with a lovely flat scenic ride from Argelès, surrounded by granite peaks with picturesque castles and churches perched on the green slopes above us. This is the perfect warm-up to get our bodies pedalling smoothly again! The road starts to climb slightly as we ride alongside the river to Luz-Saint-Sauveur; once through the town we reach the official start of the climb of the Col du Tourmalet (2115m). First used in the Tour de France in 1910, it was an unpaved road which was in terrible condition. Many of the cyclists were nervous of riding because of the bears that frequented the area. Nowadays the road surface is smooth and the wildlife much tamer, but the length and gradient that make this climb so renowned are unchanged. Leaving Luz-Saint-Sauveur, the gradient ramps up immediately. A small sign marks every kilometre as you ascend, counting you down to the summit – you may find yourself welcoming and cursing them in equal measures! We pedal on through small villages and forest, until the vistas start to open up around us. The twisty hair-pin bends start in earnest halfway up; we wind our way up this steep and increasingly barren mountain until we finally reach the top. Unsurpassed views of glaciers and other mountain peaks await us, but our real reward is getting to the top of a climb which has inspired cyclists for generations. Congratulations: you have just joined the elite!
After enjoying the views and posing for photos in front of the famous ‘silver cyclist’, the statue commemorating the first Tour cyclist to gain the summit, it’s time to get back on our bikes. A long, twisting descent takes us past the ski station of La Mongie all the way down to the valley below. At the tiny village of Saint-Marie-de-Campan we turn back into the mountains, heading up to the next climb, the Col d’Aspin (1489m).
This climb is shorter and less steep than the Tourmalet, and we ride up through shady woodland; the last 5km of the climb are the steepest. A twisting descent – thisside is steeper than the side we ascended – takes us down to the pretty village of Arreau. It’s not far along the valley to Avanjan, where we start our last climb of theday. The Col de Peyresourde (1569m) is another legendary climb – also first climbed
in the Tour in 1910 – and although we are climbing its shorter side, we’ll probably be feeling the strain of the day. The gradient soon ramps up and stays fairly steady, though it eases off a little as we get higher up. The road takes us through open pasture, which allows us to see the spectacular views all around. However tough you may find this last climb, it’s the last uphill of the day – after time at the summit, we
have an exhilarating 15km descent into the lovely mountain spa town of Bagnèresde-Luchon. Night hotel. (Lunch not included)
Cycle approx 113km (70 miles)
Route Profile