Col d’Aubisque via Col du Soulor
Distance: 19.65 km
Elevation Gain: 943 m
Elevation Loss: 326 m
Difficulty:
778 (Hard)
FIETS Index: 4.05 FIETS
Avg Grade: 4.86 %
Max cat climb: HC
Min elevation: 876 m
Max elevation: 1708 m
Ride Category:
Climb
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The first time the Tour de France crossed the Col d’Aubisque, in the Pyrenees of south-western France, the organisers waiting at the top did not recognise the rider in the lead. It was 21 July 1910, on the 326 km stage from Luchon to Bayonne. The man who reached them first was François Lafourcade, a regional rider, and they were astonished that an unknown had dropped all the stars. About a quarter of an hour later Octave Lapize rode by, screamed “Assassins!” at them and swore he would give up. On the descent he recovered, caught Lafourcade and won the stage, then went on to win the Tour.
This ride climbs from Arrens-Marsous over the Col du Soulor to the Aubisque, then drops to Gourette. The riders of 1910 came this way, over the Soulor, and from then on the Aubisque was part of every Tour until 1958. The Soulor is a pass in its own right, but the Tour usually saves its mountain points for the higher pass: between 1973 and 2025 the Soulor counted for the climbers’ classification only 15 times. Beyond it the road is cut into the cliffs of the Cirque du Litor, with two short tunnels. In 1985 a short stage came up from Luz-Saint-Sauveur to finish on the summit of the Aubisque, and Ireland had its great day there: Stephen Roche won, with his compatriot Sean Kelly second.
