Stage 10: Luchon – Peyragudes. 146km (lite 93km) / 4212m (lite 2409m). Tues 6^th July
Year of Stage: 2012

This stage hides some painful efforts in its deceptively short distance. The almost circular route (circular for us because we descend back to our hotel in Luchon at the end) begins with the Col de Menté. It’s a climb steeped in Tour history (21 appearances since the ‘60s), which sets the mood of the day because this is a stage of classics.

A bumpy 60km leads us down from the Menté summit to the Port de Balès which has featured in 6 Tours in the last 20 years: it’s a stunning climb whose brutality is matched by its beauty. To give an idea of how remote and atmospheric it’ll feel as we climb, the road is only open for 5 months a year and until the 1980s there was no road at all. That ‘80s surface wasn’t suitable for anything other than 4x4s and it was the Tour de France itself which instigated paving the road properly in 2006 in order to provide new challenges for its riders.

Our last challenge today is the uphill finish at Peyragudes which is an even more recent addition to the Tour (first appearance on this stage in 2012 and making up for lost time with 5 inclusions since then). It’s a tough finish psychologically because after reaching the Col de Peyresourde, you have to go down to go up (200m down; 240 up) so reaching the end of this stage will be a true landmark of achievement – and you will be treated like the hero you are on your return to Luchon!

Lite: By riding direct from Luchon to Loures-Barousse, you miss the col de Menté and the smaller col des Ares. Effectively this cuts out the first half of the day, leaving you with many more hours to tackle 93km (109km if you include the descent back to our hotel) and 2,409m ascent.

Why we chose it: It really did tick all the boxes; for our second mountains stage we wanted short (in kilometres), tough (in elevation), classic (in feel) and the chance to have a third night in our Luchon hotel (3 nights in one place is a rare and ultimate luxury).

 Le Loop Logistics
Start: Luchon hotel
Finish: Luchon hotel

Stage 11: Luchon – St Lary. 65km (lite 47km) / 3062m (lite 1940m). Wed 7^th July
Year of Stage: 2018

The unusually short parcours of this stage struck fear into the hearts of the 2018 pro peloton (who had to cover the entire stage at a near-sprint) but we’re able to take this stage at a comfortable pace – a necessary tactic given what’s involved…

It’s a treat in many ways – a pretty perfect cycling day. It’s also the shortest full stage in 35 years at 65km, and more than half of that (38km) will be uphill! The first 46km take us up over the Peyresourde, down through the delightful thermal spa town of Loudenvielle, up the Col de Val Louron-Azet and down into St Lary; all of these being roads we’ve ridden in the other direction over the last couple of days and all with spectacular views.

However, once we get to St Lary (one of our all-time favourite Tour towns), it’s very much new climbing territory and an opportunity to tackle the Pyrenees’ highest ever summit finish, a glorious (!) 17km, av 8.3% climb.

As we pass by our hotel, we look up and see the beginning of the mighty Col de Portet climb winding up out of town to the west (you can’t see to the top until the very last couple of kilometres). The Col de Portet was a brand-new climb when it featured first on this stage in 2018, having been especially paved for the race (previously a dirt track), and was described by Christian Prudhomme at the time as having “all the assets to become a new Tourmalet”. It will feel long (it is long!) but by the time you make it to 2,215m above sea level, with views north and south, you’ll be in the heart of the Pyrenees and will have made it to the Tour of Tours’ second highest point of the Tour (with only the Galibier being higher) and our “Souvenir Henri Desgrange”.

Lite: while the day is short in kilometres, it racks up a lot of vertical metres so for anyone who’d like a slightly lesser challenge, you can choose either to stop at the hotel in St Lary or start the climb, happy in the knowledge that you can turn around and descend back to the hotel if or when you’ve had enough. Without the Col de Portet, this stage is 47km and 1,940m of elevation

Why we chose it: A few reasons; firstly, the distance – need we say more. Secondly, the Col de Portet for its height, views and proximity to St Lary. Third, St Lary! It’s one of our all-time favourite towns (and hotels!) and we couldn’t leave it out. And lastly, have you ever cycled a stunning route and wondered what it would look like if you could see the views behind you and descend the roads you just climbed (and climb the descents)? We ponder this all the time on Le Loop and thought it would be nice to include a stage (for Grand Loopers who have also ridden stage 9) which offered the answers.

 Le Loop Logistics
Start: Luchon hotel
Finish: St Lary hotel

Stage 12: St Lary – Tourmalet. 119km (lite 96km) / 3166m (lite 2344m). Thurs 8^th July
Year of Stage: 1974

Today’s ride is an homage to the 1974 Tour de France, which visited Plymouth for Stage 2, and in which Yorkshireman Barry Hoban won the seventh of his eight stages – a record eventually surpassed by Mark Cavendish, 35 years later in 2009. But the first rider to the Col du Tourmalet was Frenchman Jean-Pierre Danguillaume, closely followed by eternal second Raymond Poulidor.

We’ll be taking the day at a more sedate pace, setting out from scenic Saint-Lary-Soulan for a short roll down the Neste valley, before swinging left and heading up the beautiful Col d’Aspin, a reliable Tour favourite. The views get increasingly dreamy as we ascend its 12km of switchbacks (the gradient is fairly steady, and averages 6.5%), and then we plunge down the other side towards Sainte-Marie-de-Campan, site of one of the Tour’s most enduring legends; Eugène Christophe famously repaired his fork here, at a local blacksmith’s shop, after crashing on the Tourmalet in 1913.

But we’re not going up there just yet. First, we get to enjoy a lovely leisurely roll down the valley, alongside the glittering Adour River. This section may look flat, but in reality, we’ll be losing elevation, meaning that it should feel relatively easy, giving us a chance to watch the scenery change as the landscape opens out, the sky gets bigger, and we move away from the high mountains. After passing through the elegant spa town of Bagnères-de-Bigorre, we encounter a 2km climb (around 4.5%) as we cross the watershed and roll through the foothills, passing verdant farmland and small stone villages as we go.

Skirting the pilgrimage town of Lourdes, we then begin a steady climb up the valley and back into the mountains. This time the false flat isn’t in our favour, and there’s a chance this section may feel harder than it looks, especially in the heat of the afternoon. Once we reach Luz-Saint-Saveur, all that remains is the climb we’ve all been waiting for: 19km at 7.4%, and one of the most iconic cols in Tour history – the mighty Tourmalet.

Lite: A lift to the top of the Aspin takes off 23km and 775m of climbing, reducing the stage to just under 100km and only 2,344m of elevation.

Why we chose it: Obviously we were going to include the Tourmalet – so the question was just how and when. With this stage, we skip the more standard long haul from Tarbes or Pau and instead have the treat of already being in the mountains. Another very attractive feature is the unusually long (75km) stretch of descent and flat that links the two big climbs of the day; a chance to get your breath back and enjoy the scenery in groups before the big Pyrenean finale-climb. We also chose this as a sibling to stage 19 (see below!)

Le Loop Logistics
Start: St Lary hotel
Finish: Dinner on Tourmalet, followed by transfer to Toulouse hotel