At last! The senior team gets to cycle in the Pyrenees, and with great riding conditions all week.
Our base, the Hôtel Terminus in Luz-Saint-Saveur in the heart of the Haute Pyrenees south of Lourdes, with our adventures organised by Rob of pyreneescycling.com.
We made up a small group, riding with John and Mike, and 19-year old Finlay Pickering, a pro racer with Groupama FDJ. Needless to say, he rode two to three times faster than the GRAC and did some epic routes. An example. We toiled up Hourquette d’Ancizan and the Col d’Aspin having been driven over the Col de Tourmalet to our start point. Finlay cycled over the Tourmalet, knocked off our two cols, then cycled back over the Tourmalet to Luz. And he got back before we did. Nuff said!!
So, the week in a little more detail…
Day 1
A warm up for the Prez, Jan and Heyddie before the group assembled later in the day. We headed south to climb to the Col de Troumouse at 1833m. Lovely road and virtually free of traffic at the top end, with just marmots, griffin vultures and sheep for company.
50km, +1170m, 3h 1m
Day 2
With the group now together, we descended the Gorge de Luz to Argelès-Gazost, about 12km north towards Lourdes. To warm up after a cold descent we rode the local Voie Vert, ‘Green Way,’ before embarking on the 13.6km climb up to Hautacam at 1530m, this year the finishing point of stage 18 of the Tour de France.
This was a tough, unrelenting climb with an average slope of 7.8%, and some long sections above 10%. The slope between distance markers 6 and 5km to the top was 11%. Great views from the top and we ventured a little higher to gain the Col de Tramassel and a quick refreshment stop.
Back the way we came, had a quick lunch and then a long hot grind back up the Gorge, a very tiring conclusion to the day.
71km, +1558m, 3h 49m
Day 3
The ride to the Col des Tentes at 2207m took us back up the road we used on day one, but this time going straight on to the touristy village of Gavarnie. Uphill all the way, but the climb really started with a sharp right turn on to a 10km slope averaging 8.5%. A beautiful road with very little traffic and a decent surface too.
An abundance of marmots and some vultures seen and heard.
It was a long grind, at times into a strong gusting wind, but the top brought outstanding views to the Cirque de Garvanie, a huge mountain amphitheater on the border with Spain.
We enjoyed a lovely descent on sweeping hairpin bends and grabbed lunch in Gavarnie before a fast drop back to Luz-Saint-Saveur.
61km, +1573m, 3h 51m. Jan in top form today too!
Day 4
One of our best cycling days ever.
We enjoyed cloudless skies and were quickly on to quiet rolling hills after another descent down to Argelès-Gazost.
The route took us through the beautiful villages of St. Savin and Arcizans before we joined the main road towards Aucun.
It was here that our first climb of the day began, our objective the Col de Solour at 1474m. This was a 10km ascent, averaging over 8% and with one, thankfully short, ramp of 17%. A great top, populated by local horses. Apparently, they have been known to chew handlebars in search of salt. Yuk.
Then, west to our second objective of the day, the infamous Col d’Aubisque at 1709m. This involved a relatively exposed 2km descent, a flat 4km with a couple of tunnels, and finally a pull to the summit with a slope of 6-7%. This was a truly magnificent road to cycle along, narrowly traversing a high valley slope with awesome views at every turn.
We returned the way we came, consuming an enormous ham & cheese baguette at the Col de Solour, before a great descent down through Aucun and then direct to Argelés-Gazost, the Voie Vert again, and then the inevitable drag back up to Luz. Today’s ‘twin peaks’ formed part of this year’s Tour de France route.
93.9km, +1919m, 4h 55m. The Prez in good form today.
Day 5
Our task today, just a climb up to Col de Luz-Ardiden at 1735m. A superb route, with 31 hairpin bends and wonderful views throughout. Steep in parts but climbed first thing in comfortable temperatures. Great views from the top and a safe descent on very quiet roads.
Luz-Ardiden 29km, +1079m, 2h 4m. Jan lead the charge today.
But then...a new plan was hatched over coffee and cake back in Luz. Why not carry on and tackle the mighty Col du Tourmalet, the highest road pass in the Pyrenees at 2115m?
Decision made and we committed ourselves to a further sufferfest, especially as the late morning sun sent temperatures soaring. A route of 18.5km with 1385m of ascent at an average slope of 7.5% faced us but, like lambs to the slaughter, we headed up the busy road from Luz. Beyond the attractive ski town of Barèges, with about 700m in our legs, we turned off the main drag on to the ‘old route’ named after Laurent Fignon, a French cyclist nicknamed ‘The Professor’, who won the Tour de France in 1983 and 1984 (and the Giro d’Italia in 1989). Fabulous riding on a road barred to traffic, with massive views, just sheep and cattle to keep us company. Some surface and rockfall challenges in places, but a great way to get a lot of the climbing done, joining the main road again just 4km from the Col. And it’s here that the real work begins, exposed sections with massive drops, some rockfall and some strong wind gusts to contend with too. The last 500m are the hardest, at well over 10%, but were greeted by an ebullient Jan who beat us the top. Chapeau!
A quick refreshment stop at the top and then the long, fast descent on the main road back to Luz. Needless to say, it scared the hell out of the Prez.
A massive day!
Tourmalet 37.6km, 1404m, 2h 58m
Day 6
A van transfer across the Col du Tourmalet for our group (except for Finn who cycled it!) and we were all very pleased to have cycled it from the west the day before rather than the 17km drag from St.-Marie-de-Campan on the east side. From there it takes you through the ugly ski resort of La Mongie before ramping, steeply in places, to the Col itself.
From St.-Marie-de-Campan we rode south-eastwards up the Payolle valley, steadily gaining 300m, before turning off the main road to tackle our first proper climb of the day, the Hourquette d’Ancizan.
Climbing from 1133m to the top at 1564m with an average gradient of 5.1% (max 8.8%), this was a nice start to the day, up through the woods before reaching an expansive area of open pastures surrounded by peaks. Heyddie in good form today.
A huge griffin vulture kept us company on the approach to the Col.
A fine top, only sullied by a challenging 10km descent on a very narrow and roughly surfaced road that took us steeply down through forest to the small hamlet of Ancizan, with tight hairpins and limited forward visibility. It terrified the Prez.
From Ancizan we headed north on the busy D929 to grab a quick lunch in the bustling market town of Arreau.
And then on to our next objective, the Col d’Aspin at 1489m. Incidentally, both of today’s cols were also crossed by the Tour de France earlier this year.
Heyddie continued with his good form and led the way up a great road, nicely surfaced and with huge vistas throughout.
It was a straightforward descent on sweeping hairpins to reach the Payolle valley and then a final charge north to meet the van at St.-Marie-de-Campan.
A lovely day to finish on, and a boozy evening dinner was enjoyed by all.
57.2km, +1616m, 3h 52m.
Summary
A superb week, ably organised by our congenial host Rob with his encyclopaedic local knowledge and a nose for the best rides in changeable mountain conditions.
The team climbed six cols used by the Tour de France and rode 400km over the six days, with a total ascent of 10,319m (34,000 feet). There’s life in these old dogs yet 😀
