2019 Climbs of the
Tour de France
TDF CLIMBS | July 5-15 2019
Ride the famous climbs of the Tour de France, from the Alps to the Pyrenees, including Mont Ventoux.
Not forgetting we’ll catch the 2019 TdF live on the tele most afternoons.
With Topbikes ‘Climbs of the Tour de France’ we venture north into the Alps, above Grenoble (nearly into Switzerland) all the way down to the Pyrenees, for 10 days of pointing our bikes up many of the Le Tours grand climbs, all of which appear regularly in the big event.
We move across the passes of Col du Joux Plane, Col de la Madeleine, Col du Telegraphe, Col du Galibier, Alpe d’Huez, Mont Ventoux, Port de Pailheres, Portet d’Aspet, Col de Mente, Col de Peyresourde, Hourquette d’Ancizan, Col d’Aspin and Col du Tourmalet.
“Feast of Ascension” – Climbs of the Tour de France, with Topbike Tours
Starting from Grenoble we’ll have two days up in the valley near Morzine, before moving south to Valloire, which lies between Telegraphe and Galibier. Moving on from Valloire, our next stop is L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, close to Ventoux. From here we move to Camon, and climb the massive Port de Pailheres, before our final destination of Arreau, where the tour has passed many times.
Tour Price: $6150 (AUD) per person
[Places are limited to 13 clients in total (with 3 staff).]
If we complete every ride we’ll have ridden close to 1,000k’s (and climbed over 15,000 metres) including:
- Col du Joux Plane, Col de la Madeleine, Col du Telegraphe, Col du Galibier, Alpe d’Huez, Mont Ventoux, Port de Pailheres, Portet d’Aspet, Col de Mente, Col de Peyresourde, Hourquette d’Ancizan, Col d’Aspin and Col du Tourmalet.
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Destination
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Tour Start / Finish
Grenoble - Toulouse -
Pick Up
July 5 - Pickup 11.00am: Grenoble Railway Station -
Drop Off
July 15 - Drop off 11.00am: Toulouse Railway Station -
Cycling Fitness/Experience
Any + E-Bikes Available
1
Friday July 5: Day 1
11.00am pick up from Grenoble railway station. We’ll use the Topbike vans to travel to our accommodation at Samoens (180k, 2.5h). After everyone arrives and we have assembled bikes, we’ll roll out for ride in the local valley, all the way up to the valley head. Looping back around through the town of Samoens, surrounded by huge hills the entire ride.
2
Saturday July 6: Day 2
Circuit De Joux-Plane. This ride offers stunning views, tough climbs and long descents. Only open in the summer, the first road climb is usually covered in snow from December to April. It was the penultimate climb in a 2016 TdF stage. Once we’re over the Joux-Plane we will descend into Morzine for a coffee, or maybe even a picnic. Here we’ll contemplate the sensibility of climbing up to Morzine d’Avoriaz. Either way, we return via Les Gets, and Taninges, which deliver us back to our own valley, where we finish with a flat ride home.
And let’s not forget the 2019 Tour de France starts today too, so we’ll be able to catch that live, on the tele.
3
Sunday July 7: Day 3
We’ll transport out of Samoens this morning, and start our ride near Albertville (drive 90k, 2h). Here we’ll have a flat warm up, before climbing the Col du Madeleine, from the northern side. It’s a huge bite, with nearly 1600 metres vertical ascent, over 25k. Descending the other side we’ll head up the valley towards Italy, and turn right at St Michel du Maurienne, where we’ll climb the Col du Telegraphe. It’s not a huge mountain, but with the Madeleine in your legs, you’ll know all about it. At the base of Telgraphe is the town of Valloire, where we’ll be spending the night. It’s a spectacular valley, even more so at dusk.
4
Monday July 8 : Day 4
Today’s ride is a replay (almost) of 2011’s TdF stage 19, where Cadel, under a lot of pressure, kept his cool, and positioned himself perfectly to win the Yellow Jersey on the following day. Their stage started in Modane, with the first climb being Telegraphe (from yesterday), and we’ll be starting on Galibier and finishing with Alpe d’Huez. It’s not a huge ride, at 85k, but there is a large amount of vertical. Two of the most famous climbs in cycling here. Post ride, we’ll be in the cars and off to our next destination, in Provence (3.5h, 300k).
5
Tuesday July 9: Day 5
Mont Ventoux is on the menu today, so we’ll be up and out after breakfast on a 35k warm up to Bedoin. Here we commence the infamous 20k climb. Although the initial kilometres amble gently through the grapevines, before the shady forest envelopes us, it’s not long until we are on the bare and exposed upper moonscape parts of the climb, that we all know so well from the TV coverage we have watched over the years. Nothing compares to riding it though, under a hot Provencal sun. Later we’ll continue on to Sault before riding a scenic valley ride, leading back to our hotel.
6
Wednesday July 10: Day 6
We’re on the road, transporting over towards the Pyrenees. We’ll stop near Limoux (drive 300k, 3.5h), enjoying a picnic, before we ride the final few k’s into Camon. We’ll arrive early, so we can spend a bit of time by the pool, before heading out for dinner.
7
Thursday July 11: Day 7
Today we’ve got two choices, no. 1 is to tackle the penultimate climb of 2013’s stage 8. From Camon, it’s a beautiful loop starting through the Gorge of St George, to the base of Port de Pailhères, which at 2001 metres is rated ‘Hors Categorie’, ie an unclassified climb. Once on top we can enjoy a little picnic, before descending and turning right to finish off with a smaller climb. Here we can take the easy route home, back to the chateau again, via the Topbike van, or continue riding and complete the loop. Our second choice is the option to take it easy by the pool. Probably one to call on the day?
In 2010 Christophe Riblon won stage 14, this from letour.com: The first stage in the Pyrenees did provide a showdown with the overall favourites as expected but there was only a little reshuffle of the top 10 of the general classification after the stage from Revel to Ax-3 Domaines. The story of the day was that an opportunist transformed himself into a winner. In 2008, Christophe Riblon’s best result was a silver medal in the points race of the track world championships, two years later he’s claimed a stage win in the world’s biggest road race. He escaped in the first 20km and held off the charge of the GC Brigade on the two huge mountains of stage 14.
8
Friday July 12: Day 8
We’re moving further west into the Pyrenees, about 200k in total. You can ride as much or as little as you like. However, if you want to ride the full distance, which includes about 3,800 metres of vertical, you will need to start EARLY. We recommend a ride of 85k, starting from St Lary, which still includes the final three climbs. Portet d’Aspet, Col de Mente (good picnic spot here) and a flat run down to Bagneres du Luchon before turning right to go up and over Col de Peyresourde. From Peyresourde, it’s pretty close to ‘downhill all the way’ into Arreau, where we will stop for three nights.
9
Saturday July 13: Day 9
In Arreau, there’s col d’Aspin just across the river, north of town, which has been used in Le Tour almost too many times to count. We can preface this with the climb of Hourquette d'Ancizan (used as the first Pyrenean climb in TdF 2016, in stage 9 2013 and in 2011’s stage 12) it’s a 45k loop with just under 1500m of ascent, that may suit us today. Our accommodation tonight is in Arreau, in a hotel we have used many times, conveniently located on a regular tour road. In fact Le Tour has passed out front of our hotel more than 30 times, in it’s vast history.
10
Sunday July 14: Day 10
Today we’ll ride out of Arreau, going over Aspin the opposite direction to yesterday, and have a crack at the eastern approach to Tourmalet. We’ll stop on top of the mountain, maybe enjoy a picnic, before turning around to return to Arreau. If you want to climb Aspin again on the way home, you’ll be well and truly shagged by the time you arrive, no doubt.
11
Monday July 15: Day 11
It’s pack up time for all, we’ll be on the road soon after breakfast, so we can be at Toulouse railway station by 11.00am (85k, 1h) to ensure everyone makes their next connections. doubt.
If we complete every ride we’ll have ridden close to 1,000k’s (and climbed over 15,000 metres) including:
Col du Joux Plane, Col de la Madeleine, Col du Telegraphe, Col du Galibier, Alpe d’Huez, Mont Ventoux, Port de Pailheres, Portet d’Aspet, Col de Mente, Col de Peyresourde, Hourquette d’Ancizan, Col d’Aspin and Col du Tourmalet.
2019 Climbs of the Tour de France
Feast of Ascension - "Eat-Drink-Ride-Suffer"
| Pass | Height | Ascent in metres | Gradient % | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Col du Joux Plane | 1691m | 989m | 8.5% | 11.6 km |
| Col de la Madeleine | 1993m | 1543m | 6.3% | 24.54 km |
| Col du Telegraphe | 1566m | 856m | 7.3% | 11.8 km |
| Col du Galibier | 2646m | 1245m | 6.9% | 18.1 km |
| Alpe d’Huez | 1815m | 1071m | 8.1% | 13.2 km |
| Mont Ventoux | 1912m | 1622m | 7.1% | 22.7km |
| Port de Pailheres | 2001m | 1466m | 7.9% | 15.5km |
| Portet d’Aspet | 1069m | 594m | 4.2% | 14.31km |
| Col de Mente | 1345m | 676m | 6.2% | 10.88km |
| Col de Peyresourde | 1569m | 939m | 6.1% | 15.27km |
| Hourquette d’Ancizan | 1564m | 740m | 7.5% | 9.9 km |
| Col d’Aspin | 1489m | 642m | 5% | 12.8km |
| Col du Tourmalet | 2115m | 1268m | 7.4% | 17.2km |
If we complete every ride we’ll have ridden close to 1,000k’s (and climbed over 15,000 metres) including:
- Col du Joux Plane, Col de la Madeleine, Col du Telegraphe, Col du Galibier, Alpe d’Huez, Mont Ventoux, Port de Pailheres, Portet d’Aspet, Col de Mente, Col de Peyresourde, Hourquette d’Ancizan, Col d’Aspin and Col du Tourmalet.
2019 Topbike Climbs of the Tour de France | July 5–15
Starting from Grenoble we’ll have two days up in the valley near Morzine, before moving south to Valloire, which lies between Telegraphe and Galibier. Moving on from Valloire, our next stop is L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, close to Ventoux. From here we move to Camon, and climb the massive Port de Pailheres, before our final destination of Arreau, where the tour has passed many times.(*NB: Locations shown are approximate only.)
