Top 5 mythical climbs and passes of the Tour de France in Ariège

Plateau de Beille, Ax-3-Domaines, Guzet: so many legendary climbs that are part of the history of Ariège cycling and the Tour de France. The passes, the stations, the stage or finish towns have marked the Tour and thus the many fans of the event, whether they are cyclists or not.

Our selection of fabulous road bike climbs

Beille platter: since 1998, the ascent from Les Cabannes to the plateau has regularly constituted the final ascent of a stage of the Tour de France. The little peculiarity of the Plateau de Beille is that the winners of the stage also won the Tour de France from 1998 to 2007. It seems like Beille is lucky! To see what will happen in 2024 on the Loudenvielle- Plateau de Beille stage 🚵🏼👀

Ascent of the Plateau de Beille © Ariège Pyrénées Tourisme / S.Meurisse

Port of Lers: it is one of the favorite passes of cyclists in Ariège. Many stages of the Tour have paraded at the Port of Lers, seeing Marco Pantani in 1995 or Romain Bardet in 2019 climbing this road linking the Aulus valley to that of Auzat. In 2022, it will be completed on the Carcassonne Foix stage. It will be again in 2024!

Col de Port: passage between Vicdessos and Massat, in Couserans, it is the first great Pyrenean pass entered in the program of a Tour de France on the occasion of the ninth stage Perpignan-Luchon and won by Octave Lapize on July 19, 1910. Since then , there were more than 30 passages at the Col de Port. It is regularly replaced by its very close neighbor: the Péguère wall.

Péguère collar (or wall): the first time that Tour de France cyclists crossed it was very recent: 2012! Contador, Landa and Quintana faced the tough climb of 3.6km on average at 11% with two short portions at 16 and 18% (hence its nickname “wall”). The Mur de Péguère was climbed during the 16th stage of the Tour de France 2022 on the Carcassonne – Foix stage.

Prat d’Albis: unreleased! The Prat d’Albis was the finish of the Tour de France in 2019 for the first time! At an altitude of 1205m and a sublime view of the town of Foix, the Prat and its 11.8km at 6.9% was a great last climb for runners who had already passed the Col de Montségur, Port de Lers and Mur de Péguère.