Plateau de Beille
The climb from Les Cabannes to the Plateau de Beille, in the Ariège Pyrenees of France, has been a Tour de France summit finish seven times since 1998, always rated hors catégorie. In 1998 Jan Ullrich, in yellow, punctured near the foot. Marco Pantani was about to attack, but his teammate Roberto Conti held him back. Pantani waited until 4 km from the top, then went clear, caught the last of the breakaway and won, 1:40 ahead of Ullrich. He went on to win the Tour. On 14 July 2024 Tadej Pogacar won here and broke Pantani’s 26-year-old record for the climb.
The road kicks up steeply out of Les Cabannes and spends about 12 km in the forest before the last 4 km cross open pasture, where cattle sometimes wander onto the road. For centuries the plateau was grazing land, mainly for cattle, until Senator Germain Authie led the creation of a cross-country ski resort, which opened in 1989. The ride ends at the ski station.
Region: Occitanie
City: Pech
Distance: 17.02 km
Elevation Gain: 1240 m
Elevation Loss: 6 m
Difficulty: 1068 (Hard)
FIETS Index: 9.47 FIETS
Avg Grade: 7.66 %
Max cat climb: HC
Min elevation: 548 m
Max elevation: 1784 m
Ride Category: Epic Climb