The climbs
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From ?? [Rich] An aperitif to the real climbs, but pleasant enough, on a well-surfaced road at a steady gradient. [Paul] |
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West side 12.4 km at 5.1% - 1st Cat [Rich] Steady climbing, with some easy parts, and a steep middle section. [Paul] |
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West side from Laruns 16.5 km at 7.1 % - H.C [Rich] It just keeps going. Probably the most difficult climb in French Pyrenees after Tourmalet. [Paul] |
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One approach only 16 km at 5.1% - 1st Cat (Vuelta) [Rich] The ski station above Cauterets where Indurain won his first Tour de France stage in 1989. The first 10 kms up to the town of Cauterets is never very difficult, but the climb on from there gets hair-pin steep - although it descends in the last couple of kilometres. [Paul] |
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West side from Escot 9.2 km at 7.7 % - 1st Cat [Rich] A rural setting on single-lane roads at the top. Watch out for stray cows and horses. This side is much, much more difficult than the east. It starts off an easy stroll, but the last 4kms are excrutiating, all over 10%, with one km at 13%. Demoralisingly, every km is signposted. [Paul] |
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East side via Ger-de-Boutx 7.0 km at 8.2 % - 1st Cat [Rich] Rural climb, with multiple hair-pins through farmlands at beginning, and final part in pine forest. Constantly steep, so not easy. [Paul] |
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West side from Arreau 9.7 km at 6.7% - 1st Cat [Rich] Every km is signed with gradients and altitudes. Some steep parts at beginning and near end. I think I won that one again, you'll find. [Paul] |
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West side 4.4 km at 9.7% - 2nd Cat [Rich] The spot where Fabio Casartelli died here in the 1998 Tour is marked by a memorial. On this side, it's only 4.4km long, but boy is it steep. Passages at 18 per cent. [Paul] |
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West side fron Bagnères-de-Luchon 8 km at 8.1% - 1st Cat (Vuelta) [Rich] One of the climbs whose summit marks the French-Spanish border. Steep in parts, and goes on a bit too, but very pleasant through pine forests. [Paul] |
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From Col d'Aubisque 2.3 km climb at 4.3 % - 2nd Cat [Rich] We cheated rather, taking the route from the col d'Aubisque that involves just 2kms of climbing. And after the Aubisque, that was remarkably easy. [Paul] |
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West side from Luz St.Saveur 18.4 km at 7.7% - H.C [Rich] The Daddy of them all. Highest pass in the French Pyrenees. Signs every km let you know your current altitude and the gradient of the following km - useful or discouraging, depending on how you feel. It's a long, hard grind, especially at the end, where the gradient gets ever steeper. [Paul] APOP - only difficulty was waiting around for a good 15 minutes at the top, in the wind and the rain, for stragglers to arrive - hahaha |
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