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58-825: The Col du Tourmalet is the highest paved mountain pass in the French Pyrenees second only to the Col de Portet . So in contrast to frequent claims (see for example ), it is neither the highest paved road in the Pyrenees nor the highest paved mountain pass in the Pyrenees. Paved roads leading to the mountain lakes Lac de Cap-de-Long and Lac d'Aumar in the same French Department Hautes-Pyrénées are higher, as these lakes are at altitudes of 2,161 m (7,090 ft) and 2,192 m (7,192 ft), respectively. However, these roads are not mountain passes. Departing directly from

116-510: A España has also crossed the pass several times. The 2010 edition of the Tour included the pass on two consecutive stages, crossing westward on the 16th stage to Pau and eastward on the 17th stage with a finish at the summit. At the col is a memorial to Jacques Goddet , director of the Tour de France from 1936 to 1987, and a large statue of Octave Lapize gasping for air as he struggles to make

174-460: A broken collarbone and would not start stage 7. In the closing kilometres of the stage, the gap to the breakaway steadily fell as the sprinters teams gave chase. In the final 2 kilometres (1.2 mi), a tight chicane over the Toulouse tramway caused a small crash, distracting the peloton and delaying some riders as they gave chase. With 600 metres to the finish, Norsgaard launched an attack, as

232-405: A correspondent at Barèges, a man called Lanne-Camy. He took him for a bath and provided new clothes. Steines sent a telegram to Desgrange: "Crossed Tourmalet stop. Very good road stop. Perfectly feasible". The Col du Tourmalet featured in the premiere event of Tour de France Femmes in 2023 as the finish of stage 7 on July 29. The Col du Tourmalet features in other bicycle races, including

290-420: A lead of 1 min 50 s ahead of Niewiadoma. Van Vleuten took third on GC , 2 min 28 s behind Vollering. Kopecky fell to fourth overall, just seven seconds behind Van Vleuten and four seconds ahead of Moolman Pasio in fifth place. Niewiadoma took the polka dot jersey of the mountains classification, with a four point lead over Kastelijn. Kopecky retained her green jersey of the points classification. Kerbaol retained

348-615: A maximum race length of six days. Ahead of the race, Annemiek van Vleuten and Demi Vollering were considered pre-race favourites for the general classification (GC), following Van Vleuten's wins earlier in the season at La Vuelta Femenina and Giro Donne , and Vollering's second places at La Vuelta Femenina and the 2022 Tour de France Femmes. Other contenders tipped for the general classification (GC) included Elisa Longo Borghini , Juliette Labous , Ashleigh Moolman Pasio and Veronica Ewers . Lorena Wiebes , Charlotte Kool , and Silvia Persico were considered favourites for

406-664: A row was Katarzyna Niewiadoma (Canyon–SRAM), who finished 21 hundredths of a second behind Kopecky. Vollering retained her lead in the UCI Women's World Tour standings. In the race's other classifications, Kopecky won the points classification . Apart from finishing third in the GC , Niewiadoma also took the polka-dot jersey as winner of the Queen of the Mountains (QoM) classification . Cédrine Kerbaol of Ceratizit–WNT Pro Cycling took

464-535: A stream. He climbed back to the road and again fell in the snow. Exhausted and stumbling, he heard another voice. "Tell me who goes there or I'll shoot". "I'm a lost traveller. I've just come across the Tourmalet". "Oh, it's you, Monsieur Steinès! We were expecting you! We got a phone call at Ste-Marie-de-Campan. Everybody's at Barèges. It's coming on for three o'clock. There are search teams of guides out looking for you". The organising newspaper, L'Auto , had

522-622: A total of 960.5 kilometres (596.8 mi). The race started in Clermont-Ferrand on the same day that the men's tour finished in Paris, before heading south across the Massif Central (including the longest, stage 4) towards the Pyrenees mountains. The penultimate stage was the queen stage of the Tour, with a summit finish at the Col du Tourmalet in the Pyrenees at an elevation of 2,115 m (6,939 ft). The final stage

580-412: Is 19.0 km (11.8 mi) long, climbing 1,404 m (4,606 ft) at an average of 7.4% with a maximum of 10.2% near the summit. Starting from Sainte-Marie-de-Campan , the eastern climb is 17.2 km (10.7 mi), gaining 1,268 m (4,160 ft), at an average of 7.4% with a maximum of 12%. As with most French climbs, each kilometre mountain pass cycling milestones indicate the height of

638-555: The 2024 edition of the race visited the Alps, with a summit finish on Alpe d'Huez . As with the 2022 edition, live television coverage was provided by France Télévisions in conjunction with the European Broadcasting Union . French television coverage moved to the higher profile France 2 channel owing to the high viewership of the 2022 edition. At least two and a half hours of each stage were broadcast, with

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696-683: The Occitanie region . The eastern side of the pass is located in the heart of the skiing area above Saint-Lary-Soulan , and is the winter home of the snowpark of the resort. In summer, it is one of the gateways to the Néouvielle massif and the Pyrénées National Park for hikers. An attempt to reach the Col de Portet had already been considered by the city of Saint-Lary-Soulan for the 1982 Tour de France , after several arrivals at

754-456: The Pla d'Adet ski station. Though, the planned finish was cancelled at the end of May 1982, resulting in a finish at Pla d'Adet. After a further wait of 36 years, the climb to the Col de Portet was introduced in the 2018 Tour de France , as the finish for Stage 17. The Col was also featured in the 2021 Tour de France , again as the finish of Stage 17 . Yellow jersey-holder Tadej Pogačar won

812-529: The Vuelta a España when it has made excursions into France. It is also on the route of cyclosportive competitions. Thousands of amateur riders make the climb every year and many take documents to have rubber-stamped in the shop at the summit to show they have made it. Col de Portet The Col de Portet is a mountain pass in the French Pyrenees in the department of Hautes-Pyrénées and

870-399: The points classification , with Van Vleuten and Vollering tipped for the mountains classification . Eleonora Gasparrini , Cédrine Kerbaol and Alice Towers were considered favourites for the young rider classification , and SD Worx were considered favourites for the team classification . Overall, the field of 154 riders was described as "stacked", with the top 13 finishers from

928-465: The 2022 edition all taking part. Media coverage prior to the event was very positive, with anticipation of the summit finish at the Col du Tourmalet and the time trial in Pau . The start in Clermont-Ferrand was also welcomed, with Rouleur stating it "breaks the shackles that tie it to the men's race". The prize fund remained at €250,000 (compared to €2.3 million for the men's tour), with €50,000 for

986-423: The 2023 edition "was the year of confirmation: we had to prove that the first edition was not just curiosity". Cycling News noted that the "logical next step" for the race would be to visit the Alps, noting that the race organisers ASO seemed "keen to include at least one very famous climb" in each edition of the race following La Planche des Belles Filles in 2022 and the Col du Tourmalet in 2023. Subsequently,

1044-509: The 2023 edition "was the year of confirmation: we had to prove that the first edition was not just curiosity". The 22 teams which participated in the race were announced on 14 April 2023. Each team had seven riders, one more than the 2022 edition. All 15 UCI Women's WorldTeams were automatically invited. They were joined by seven UCI Women's Continental Teams – the two best 2022 UCI Women's Continental Teams ( Ceratizit–WNT Pro Cycling and Lifeplus–Wahoo ) received an automatic invitation, and

1102-421: The Col de Laquets and the observatory is a steep and narrow hiking track. Some terraces of the observatory can be entered for free from the end of the track. Paying an entrance fee, one can enter the actual observatory and also take the cable car down to La Mongie . The Col du Tourmalet is one of the most famous climbs on the Tour de France . It has been included more than any other pass, starting in 1910 , when

1160-643: The Col du Tourmalet, there is a road to the mountain pass Col de Laquets with an altitude of 2,637 m (8,652 ft) However, this road is not paved. Finally, the highest paved mountain pass in the Pyrenees is the Port d'Envalira in Andorra with its altitude of 2,407 m (7,897 ft). Some Frenchmen believe that Tourmalet translates into "bad trip" or "bad detour" because in French Tour translates into "trip" and mal translates into "bad"; however,

1218-562: The Pyrenees were introduced. The first rider over was Octave Lapize , who went on to win the general classification in Paris. In 1913, Eugène Christophe broke his fork on the Tourmalet and repaired it himself at a forge in Sainte-Marie-de-Campan. Up to 2020, the Tour has visited the Col du Tourmalet a total of 87 times. The total includes three stage finishes at the summit and three at La Mongie. Since 1980 it has been ranked hors catégorie , or exceptional. The Vuelta

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1276-420: The Tour has "inspired many young girls and women". Her rival Van Vleuten was disappointed with her performance, and praised Vollering for her victory. She also explained that illness had dampened her performance in both the mountainous stage 7 and the final time trial. Niewiadoma was pleased with her polka dot jersey, while expressing disappointment about losing second place overall. Kopecky's strong performance

1334-406: The ascent of the Col du Tourmalet, the yellow jersey group including Juliette Labous ( DSM–Firmenich ), Moolman Pasio, Reusser, Kopecky, Vollering and Van Vleuten worked to reduce the gap to Niewiadoma to just six seconds. But Niewiadoma kept working, eventually extending her lead to 30 seconds with 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) to go. In thick fog, Vollering attacked with 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) to

1392-424: The climb. The Souvenir Jacques Goddet prize is awarded for the first rider to cross the Col du Tourmalet summit. In 2023 , the climb was featured in the Tour de France Femmes for the first time, as the queen stage of the race. The Pyrenees were included in the Tour de France at the insistence of Alphonse Steinès, a colleague of the organiser, Henri Desgrange . He told the story in a book published soon after

1450-497: The correct language to translate from is Gascon , not French, because of the mountain's location in the Gascony region. Then Tour becomes "distance", which is spelled "tur" but pronounced "tour" and mal is translated into "mountain". The translation from Gascon to English then becomes "Distance Mountain". Tourmalet is also a cheese made from sheep milk produced in these mountains. The western side, from Luz-Saint-Sauveur ,

1508-426: The darkness for thieves. They were youngsters guarding sheep with their dog. Steinès called to one. "Son, do you know the Tourmalet well? Could you guide me? I'll give you a gold coin. When we get to the other top, I'll give you another one" The boy joined him but then turned back. Steinès rested on a rock. He considered sitting it out until dawn, then realised he'd freeze. He slipped on the icy road, then fell into

1566-566: The event. Steinès first agreed that the Tour would pay 2,000 francs to clear the Col d'Aubisque , then came back to investigate the Tourmalet. He started at Sainte-Marie-de-Campan with sausage, ham and cheese at the inn opposite the church and arranged to hire a driver called Dupont from Bagnères-de-Bigorre. Dupont and Steinès made it the first 16 km, after which their car came to a stop. Dupont and Steinès started to walk but Dupont turned back after 600m, shouting: "The bears come over from Spain when it snows". Steinès set off. He mistook voices in

1624-417: The finish. Kastelijn's solo attack won her the stage by 1 min 11 s, her first major stage win in the UCI Women's World Tour . Behind Kastelijn, Vollering attacked in the steep final kilometre to take second place on GC , eight seconds ahead of her main rival Van Vleuten thanks to six bonus seconds at the finish line. Kopecky retained her yellow jersey of the GC , with Anouska Koster (Jumbo–Visma) talking

1682-400: The first maillot jaune (yellow jersey) of the race, as well as the points classification and the Queen of the Mountains (QoM) classification . Cédrine Kerbaol ( Ceratizit–WNT Pro Cycling ) took the lead in the young rider classification. The second stage took the riders south from Clermont-Ferrand to Mauriac , over a hilly course with six categorised climbs. The second half of the stage

1740-431: The first and last stages shown from start to finish. Following the event, broadcasters reported high viewing figures. In France, France 2 reported an average of 2 million viewers over the eight stages (a 25% audience share), and a peak of 4.3 million viewers watching stage 7 on the Col du Tourmalet (a 34.6% audience share). In Belgium, Sporza reported an average of around 393,000 viewers (a 55% audience share), with

1798-459: The gap collapsed behind her. Norsgaard held on to win the stage by a second. Charlotte Kool ( Team DSM–Firmenich ) finished second, with third placed Kopecky in the yellow jersey visibly annoyed not to have caught Norsgaard before the finish line. Riders subsequently criticised the chicane that was located close to the finish, with Ashleigh Moolman Pasio ( AG Insurance–Soudal–Quick-Step ) calling it "super, super dangerous". The seventh stage of

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1856-495: The general public, and the disparity in prize money. L'Équipe called the Tourmalet stage "a key moment in the evolution of women's cycling". Cycling News noted that the French public made "no distinction ... between the men's and women's race", referring to both races as the Tour de France. Les Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace stated that the race was "met with real popular success", and race director Marion Rousse stated that

1914-431: The main bunch, drawing the ire of commissaires . She was subsequently penalised 20 seconds in the general classification, dropping her to seventh place in the GC , 12 seconds behind her rival Van Vleuten. The following day, SD Worx directeur sportif Danny Stam was removed from the race due to "inappropriate comments" made to the commissaires, as well as his "dangerous overtaking ... of cars and riders" while Vollering

1972-481: The other five teams were selected by Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), the organisers of the Tour. A total of 154 riders from 27 nationalities started the race, with the Netherlands having the largest contingent (29 riders). UCI Women's WorldTeams UCI Women's Continental Teams In October 2022, the route was announced by race director Marion Rousse . It comprised eight consecutive days of racing, covering

2030-458: The peloton at the 2007 Grande Boucle , with a summit finish last occurring in the 2000 edition of the race. Prior to the start of the stage, Elisa Longo Borghini ( Lidl–Trek ) who was fourth on GC , withdrew from the race due to a skin infection . After initial skirmishes, the peloton hit the Col d'Aspin with GC contenders immediately powering away from the rest of the field. Van Vleuten launched an attack 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) from

2088-415: The peloton, eventually building up a lead of around 1 min 30 s. The peloton gave chase, however the gap did not fall fast enough to catch her. In the closing kilometres, Lippert and Marlen Reusser (SD Worx) attempted to catch her. Bauernfeind was too strong, and crossed the finish line 22 seconds ahead of the pair. During the stage, Vollering suffered a puncture, before drafting her team car to get back to

2146-508: The polka dot jersey of the QoM classification thanks to the points collected while in the breakaway. Stage 5 to Albi took the riders south over a flat course, heading towards the Pyrenees . Prior to the start, stage 3 winner Wiebes withdrew due to illness. Kastelijn took the QoM points over the first two climbs, taking the lead in the mountains classification. Ricarda Bauernfeind ( Canyon–SRAM ), an experienced time trialist, attacked from

2204-453: The race took the riders over two major climbs in the Pyrenees mountains, and was considered as the queen stage of the race. Starting with the first category Col d'Aspin (12 km with an average gradient of 6.5 percent), riders then ascended the hors catégorie Col du Tourmalet (17.1 km with an average gradient of 7.5 percent), finishing at the summit at an elevation of 2,115 m (6,939 ft). The climbs were last tackled by

2262-437: The stage remaining. Taking QoM points over the final two climbs, she took the lead of the mountains classification while building up a lead of around a minute. In the final sprint, Van de Velde was caught by the peloton with 300 metres to go, with Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx) winning the bunch sprint for the stage. The fourth stage to Rodez was a hilly course, with five categorised climbs, another climb with bonus seconds at

2320-410: The stage was Van Vleuten, who finished 1 min 41 s slower than Reusser. Finishing fourteenth on the stage, she fell off the overall podium into fourth place. Niewiadoma had a 38 second lead over Van Vleuten, and a 45 second lead over Kopecky. Her time trial was 1 min 23 s slower than Reusser, finishing ninth on the stage. Kopecky therefore took second place overall by 21 hundredths of a second. Niewiadoma

2378-442: The stage, Kopecky realised she had a slow puncture that had dampened her sprint. Kopecky retained the yellow jersey of the general classification (GC), with Yara Kastelijn ( Fenix–Deceuninck ) taking the lead of the QoM classification. Stage 3 to Montignac-Lascaux took the riders westwards over a flat course, with a bunch sprint expected. Julie Van de Velde ( Fenix–Deceuninck ) escaped with around 60 km (37 mi) of

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2436-519: The stage. At 13 FIETS , the Col de Portet is ranked by PJAMM Cycling as the second hardest bike climb in France, behind only the Col de la Loze . The Col averages an 8.6% grade for 16.1 km, ascending nearly 1,400 meters. 2023 Tour de France Femmes The 2023 Tour de France Femmes (officially 2023 Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift ) was the second edition of the Tour de France Femmes . The race took place from 23 to 30 July 2023, and

2494-468: The summit, the distance to the summit, and the average gradient of the next kilometre. According to PJAMM Cycling's ranking system, the east side is the 24th hardest bike climb in France, and the west is ranked 26th. From the pass, a rough track leads to the Pic du Midi de Bigorre observatory. Up to the Col de Laquets (elevation 2,637 m (8,652 ft)) this track is a dirt and gravel road. The part between

2552-429: The summit, with Van Vleuten unable to follow. Passing Niewiadoma a few kilometres later, Vollering soloed to the top of the climb, winning the stage by 1 min 58 s ahead of Niewiadoma. Van Vleuten finished the stage 2 min 34 s behind Vollering in third, with the yellow jersey of Kopecky finishing sixth on the stage, 3 min 32 s behind Vollering. Vollering therefore took the yellow jersey of the general classification, with

2610-405: The top and a steep finish into Rodez. It was also the longest stage of the race at 177.1 km (110.0 mi) in length. A breakaway gained 10 minutes over the peloton, before Yara Kastelijn attacked from the break on the final climb. Behind her, GC rivals Demi Vollering (SD Worx) and Annemiek Van Vleuten ( Movistar Team ) attacked each other, overtaking remains of the breakaway approaching

2668-402: The top, followed by her rival Vollering as well as Katarzyna Niewiadoma ( Canyon–SRAM ). Niewiadoma took the QoM at the top of the climb. On the descent, Niewiadoma was substantially faster than both Vollering and Van Vleuten. The two rivals did not wish to work together to chase her, deciding to wait for teammates behind. This allowed Niewiadoma's lead to balloon to nearly 45 seconds. On

2726-504: The white jersey as the winner of the young riders classification , which was awarded to the best-placed GC rider under the age of 23. Yara Kastelijn took the super-combativity award to add to her win on stage 4. SD Worx won the team classification as the team with the lowest aggregate time among their three best-placed riders. Overall, the race was highly praised by the public, media, teams and riders – with large crowds and high TV viewership. Race director Marion Rousse stated that

2784-522: The white jersey as the winner of the young riders classification , which was awarded to the best-placed GC rider under the age of 23. SD Worx won the team classification as the team with the lowest aggregate time among their three best-placed riders. Yara Kastelijn took the super-combativity award to add to her win on stage 4. Out of 154 starters, 123 finished the event. Vollering expressed her delight following her victory, stating that she "still can't believe it". She also expressed her hope that

2842-401: The winner of the general classification – making it one of the richest races in women's cycling. Taking place earlier on the same day of the final stage of the men's Tour , stage 1 of the race looped around Clermont-Ferrand . On the final climb, Lotte Kopecky ( SD Worx ) attacked, accelerating further in the final 5 kilometres (3.1 mi). She took a solo stage win by 41 seconds, taking

2900-466: The yellow jersey for six stages after winning the first stage. The podium was rounded out by Katarzyna Niewiadoma of Canyon–SRAM for the second year in a row. In the race's other classifications, Kopecky won the points classification . Apart from finishing third in the general classification (GC), Niewiadoma also took the polka-dot jersey as winner of the Queen of the Mountains (QoM) classification . Cédrine Kerbaol of Ceratizit–WNT Pro Cycling took

2958-426: The yellow jersey on the stage, in light of her lead over Niewiadoma. However third placed Kopecky was just seven seconds behind Van Vleuten and four seconds ahead of Moolman-Pasio. The fastest time on the stage was set by Reusser, two-time silver medalist at the time trial world championships and silver medalist in the time trial at Tokyo 2020 . Kopecky then set a fast time, 38 seconds slower than Reusser. Next on

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3016-448: The young rider classification, despite losing 44 seconds to her rival Ella Wyllie ( Lifeplus–Wahoo ). The final stage of the race was an individual time trial over a twisting 22.6 kilometres (14.0 mi) course in Pau . The course was similar to one previously used for a time trial at the 2019 Tour de France , as well as for the 2019 La Course by Le Tour de France stage race. It was considered unlikely that Vollering would lose

3074-413: Was affected by heavy rain, with several riders crashing in the last 20 kilometres (12 mi), including Eva van Agt  [ nl ] ( Jumbo–Visma ) who was taken to hospital with a concussion. In the uphill sprint towards the finish line, Demi Vollering (SD Worx) led out her teammate Kopecky, however Liane Lippert ( Movistar Team ) overtook Kopecky in the final 100 metres to win the stage. After

3132-538: Was an individual time trial in Pau , using a similar course to the 2019 edition of La Course by Le Tour de France . 2022 winner Annemiek van Vleuten called the route "an upgrade", with other riders welcoming the inclusion of bigger climbs and a time trial. As with the 2022 edition, the route required a waiver from the Union Cycliste Internationale , as Women's WorldTour races have a maximum stage length of 160 kilometres (99 mi) and

3190-449: Was drafting his car. Stage 6 to Blagnac was the final chance for sprinters to win, given the parcours of the remaining stages. A breakaway including Emma Norsgaard (Movistar Team) was formed with around 70 km (43 mi) to go, establishing a two minute lead. During the stage, GC contender Veronica Ewers ( EF Education–Tibco–SVB ) crashed heavily. She finished the stage, albeit in pain – it later transpired that Ewers had

3248-509: Was praised, with L'Équipe calling her "the Wout van Aert of women's cycling". Overall, SD Worx dominated the event, with 1st and 2nd place in the overall classification, 1st in the points and team classifications, as well as 4 stage wins. Media coverage following the event praised the television viewership, large crowds and the course design (including mountain stages), while others expressed concern regarding awareness of key contenders by

3306-489: Was the 21st race in the 2023 UCI Women's World Tour calendar. The race was organised by the Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), which also organises the men's Tour de France . The race was won by Demi Vollering of SD Worx , beating her rival Annemiek van Vleuten ( Movistar Team ) with a dominant stage win on the Col du Tourmalet . Second place went to Vollering's teammate Lotte Kopecky , who wore

3364-401: Was third overall. The last rider to start was Vollering, who finished second on the stage, 10 seconds behind Reusser – sealing her victory in the Tour de France Femmes. In the final general classification (GC), Demi Vollering (SD Worx) won the Tour de France Femmes with an advantage over her teammate Lotte Kopecky of over three minutes. Finishing in third place for the second year in

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