Col du Soulor from Arbéost (North side)
Distance: 8.94 km
Elevation Gain: 704 m
Elevation Loss: 2 m
Difficulty:
617 (Moderate)
FIETS Index: 5.63 FIETS
Avg Grade: 8.00 %
Max cat climb: 1
Min elevation: 771 m
Max elevation: 1474 m
Ride Category:
Epic Climb
The Col du Soulor links the Ouzom valley with the Val d’Azun in the Hautes-Pyrénées, France, and this is its quiet north side, the D126 from Ferrières. The col’s name is a common Pyrenean word for a slope that gets the full sun. In recent years the Tour de France has used this side to reach the high passes straight from the plain. In 2019 Tim Wellens led over the top on the way to the Tourmalet, where Thibaut Pinot won the stage. In 2025 the Soulor was the race’s first category-one climb: Michael Woods led over, and Tadej Pogacar won at Hautacam and took back the yellow jersey.
This ride starts at Arbéost, which began as a summer hamlet of Arrens and Marsous and became a parish of its own in 1743. Until 1930 its goatherds sold their milk in cities as far away as Bordeaux and Paris. Below the village the Ouzom marks the border with the Béarn. The road climbs in hairpins above the Ouzom’s ravine to the col, where it meets the road from the Aubisque.
