Itinerary

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Day 1- Arrival and airport transfer; assemble bikes; time-permitting a quick 'leg-stretch' with a local ride from the base in Bertren

Day 2 - Setting off from the PyrActif base we head North through the Barousse valley cycling alongside the pretty river L’Ourse to warm up those legs before tackling the first Col of the trip, the Port De Bales. Summiting at 1755m, this new climb has been used as a time trial and stage finish for the Route de Sud race and in 2007 was included in Stage 16 of the Tour de France (also the 2007 L’Etape de Tour). After a winding descent into the very picturesque valley of the Bourg d' Oueil we join the Peyresourde climb and continue to the Col at 1650m where there is a fantastic little café to pause at and take in the scenery while eating those well-earned crepes. From the top of the Peyresourde we descend into the valley du Louron passing Loudenvielle to continue out of the valley and join the quiet rolling country roads back into the Barousse and our base at Bertren.

Day 3 - We head West today and ride parallel to the mountains to the area of La Barthe de Neste, before turning towards the mountains to tackle the climb of the Col d’Aspin - highly rated as one of the best climbs in the Pyrenees. Having taken in the breathtaking scenery at the summit, we descend through the pine treeline to the foot of the Col du Tourmalet to take the climb to the famous 2115m summit. We'll make a stop at the summit cafe which has great memorabilia of the days when Tour de France riders would ride this climb on fixed gear, heavy gauge steel bikes. We finish the day descending to our overnight stop in the Napoleonic ski town of Bareges.

Day 4 - Leaving the town of Bareges we descend 8km into the Luz valley to climb the Luz- Ardiden, winding its way up to the ski station at the top of the climb. Descending  North through the Gorges de Pradettes we follow the river to take the final climb up to this year's Etape finish at Hautacam.

After the ride we will pack up our bikes and transfer you back to Toulouse.

We also offer an option to stay on for a few more days and base yourself at Bertren, where we can provide guidance and maps on some great local rides.