Col d’Azet (East side)

Col d’Azet (East side)

The Col d’Azet, also called the Col de Val Louron-Azet, links the Louron and Aure valleys in the Hautes-Pyrénées, France. The race has crossed it ten times since 1997. Part of its name comes from the Val-Louron ski station near the top, where a Tour stage finished in 1991, six years before the race first crossed the pass. That day Miguel Indurain took the race lead and kept it to Paris, the first of his five Tours in a row.

This ride follows the valley floor from Avajan to Génos, then climbs to the col. Most of the Tour’s crossings came up this side, and two riders who led over the top went on to win the mountains jersey: Laurent Jalabert in 2001 and Julian Alaphilippe in 2018. Near the top the road passes below the Val-Louron station. The ride ends at the col and on the first bends down towards the Aure valley.