Raid Pyrenean Route

Route & Profiles

Day 1 (Hendaye to Gurmencon)
We spend much of the day in the Basque region of France and our ‘home’ for the night is a charming old coaching inn with a reputation for good food and excellent hospitality. Today’s climbs are short, but occasionally sharp and the overall elevation gain, whilst more modest than Days 2-4, still represents a good challenging day’s ride.

Day 1 summary
Riding distance: 159km                       Total ascent: c 1850m                           Major cols: Osquich (500m)

Day 2 (Gurmencon to Arreau)
This is probably the most demanding day of the route, featuring four famous cols in what is likely to amount to close to 9 hours of riding.
We’ll aim to leave base pretty early and we have a healthy warm-up of 45km on the flat before tackling any of the major climbs. Then, out of Laruns, we begin the ascent of the Col d’Aubisque.
Over its 17km length, the Aubisque climbs 1190m, passing through the sleepy old thermal spa town of Eaux Bonnes and the rather less picturesque ski resort of Gourette. The more challenging sections are in the second half, with the final few kilometers consistently at 8-10%. The summit comes at 1709m and has good refreshment facilities if we need extras or shelter.
You then get a 4-5km descent around one of the most dramatic vistas in the Pyrenees, before a short (and not too steep) second climb of 2.5km to the Col de Soulor. From here, it’s a welcome and very enjoyable 20km+ descent into the town of Argeles Gazost where we’ll plan to take lunch.
Post-refreshments, the ride heads through attractive gorges to bring you to Luz St Sauveur and  the foot of the biggest  challenge of the trip – the West face of the Col du Tourmalet. Over another 19km or so, you’ll climb 1400m to the 2115m summit (and the ever-welcome Tourmalet café).
Keep your powder dry for the final kilometre at 10% and the last 250m ramp at 13% !
The descent of the Tourmalet gives you a chance to rest tiring legs before we turn through the Payolle valley to head up the final climb of the day, the last 6km of the Col d’Aspin. From the summit at 1469m, it’s all downhill to our overnight accommodation near Arreau.

Day 2 summary
Riding distance: 190km                 Total ascent: c 4230m              Major cols: Aubisque, Tourmalet, Aspin

Day 3 (Arreau to Tarascon)
Another day for the connoisseur, with several iconic cols and a number of Tour de France ‘regulars’.
First thing, we have around 10km of warm-up to get us to the approaches to the Col de Peyresourde (1579m). This is very much a Tour ‘regular’ (featuring in 2007 and 2008) and is an ‘honest test’ without ever quite scaling the grandeur of a Tourmalet or Aubisque. The crepes at the summit café are legendary and the descent is one of the best in the region, with good road surfaces and a compelling mix of technical hairpins and long straights.
The descent from the Peyresourde skirts around Luchon and leads to a good, pacey flat/downhill section of 25km on the approach to the Col des Ares (797m), also a feature of the 2007 & 2008 Tours.
Next up is the infamous Col de Portet d’Aspet (1069m), scene of the tragic death in 1995 of 1992 Olympic Road Race champion, Fabio Casartelli. Whilst only 4.5km in length, the Portet d’Aspet averages 9.5% and maxes out at 17% on this side of the col.
After the Portet d’Aspet, we’re into pastoral landscapes and a flat riverbank ‘cruise’ into St Girons. Beyond St Girons, the largely flat road continues up to the 130km mark when we get to the Col de Port (1250m). Another to feature in recent Tours (’07 & ’09), this one is a good, steady ‘5%-er’ for most of its 12kms.
The long descent into Tarascon disguises a couple of short ‘digs’ where pedaling is required, but overall it provides a very pleasant finish to another challenging day’s riding.

Day 3 - summary
Riding distance: 172km          Total ascent: c 3000m              Major cols: Peyresourde, Ares, Portet d’Aspet, Port

Day 4 (Tarascon to Prades)
Again, the route provides a short warm-up of about 6km before climbing continuously for the next 47km up to the summit of the Col de Puymorens (1905m). A well-trafficked road, riders should take particular care on this section. From the summit we get a 27km descent before heading uphill again over the final (major) climb of the trip, the  Col de Mont Louis (1520m) at around 100km into the day. From the Mont Louis, it’s the best part of 40km of downhill. PBs for the 25-mile time trial are a strong possibility!

Day 4 summary
Riding distance: 136km                      Total ascent: c 2060m                        Major cols: Puymorens, Mont Louis

Day 5 (Prades to Cerbere)
Bring your bucket and spade – we’re going to the beach. Today is downhills and vineyards; champagne glasses and ‘victory parades on the Champs Elysees’. Almost!
With only 4 hours available today if we are to beat the 100-hour ‘deadline’, it comes as a relief that we start at around 250m above sea level and reach the beaches over a 87km route with no major obstacles and great potential for a very enjoyable group ride. There’s a very obvious coffee stop potential around half-way in Thuir and we reach the coast at a former fishing village which now trades rather more on its sandy beach. There are one or two small but ‘spikey’ little hills along to coast road to Cerbere, but nothing to intimidate ‘seasoned climbers’ at this stage of the ride.

Day 5 summary
Riding distance: 88km                        Total ascent: 560m                             Major cols: None