The col du Tourmalet from Lourdes

1500 cyclists for the climb of the Tourmalet. Nice route and from La Mongie beautiful landscapes

A mountain with the highest category in the Tour de France. For us it was a 19 km climb. That was a real exercise. Great weather. Not too hot. Once we got to the top of the pass we took the obligatory photos. We rode the descent to the other side of the mountain. Very long, very nice.

Today the Col de Tourmalet was on the agenda. First you drive along the railway line to the end and then do the first climb. But it is not the Tourmalet. To the right of the road is a deep gorge and the view is fascinating. After the gorge you continue towards the Tourmalet. The climb is quite challenging at around 7% and 19 km long. Long straight stretches that are always uphill do not make it any easier, but as the weather is great and it is getting warmer and warmer, the good mood remains. When you get to the top there is a strong wind and it cools down the arriving cyclists. So a quick photo stop and then it is back down. The sheep on the right on the slopes find the grass on the other side better and now the whole herd crosses the road to the other side where the grass apparently tastes better. After what feels like a 5 minute drive downhill you come to a ski village. It is not nice what they have built into nature to go skiing in winter. It continues downhill. This side of the Tourmalet is not so nice as an ascent. Long straight roads, little incline and the mountain backdrop is somehow missing. Once you reach the valley, you go over a hill again to arrive in Lourdes. Because riding the Tourmalet is an experience and a challenge in itself.

(Rather 2600m of vertical drop according to Wahoo than 2260m according to Komoot..) New climb of the Tourmalet in the fog, then the sky which clears after a few minutes at the top - splendid! The descent to La Mongie was quite... full of adrenaline thanks to the returning fog and the cows and sheep that are at home on the road!

After more storms and rain finally the sky cleared so i took risk of further rain and headed off at 4pm to be rewarded with a beautiful evening and few vehicles. Never seen Gave de Pau so high and running very fast.

We went from Luz-Saint-Sauveur to the monument in the Pyrenees. The summit was covered in clouds and it was only 10°C. So we quickly took some photos, got dressed and went down quickly, but shivering and shaking, brrr. I was shivering. But it was beautiful. I beat the Gr1 rider by 3 minutes (what a beautiful word), so I was very satisfied.

#sightseeingpace Today we went to the Tourmalet. After we had overcome the reality crash in the first half, the second half was really nice again from the pass. The rest of the tour ran under the motto: 🎼36 degrees and it's getting hotter Never turn the beat down again 36 degrees, no fan Life doesn't seem hard to me at all...🎵 But I found an eagle feather on the Tourmalet🪶!!!

The slopes of the Croix Blanche killed me (12%-13%) after the Col du Tourmalet it was not the right plan in the end...🥵