PUNCH-UP IN THE PYRENEES - Luz Ardiden Vs Col du Tourmalet

Both classics, both starting from the town of Luz-St-Sauveur, but which way do you head, west up to Luz-Ardiden, or east up the Tourmalet?

Opened in 1975, the ski resort of Luz-Ardiden has since become a favourite summit finish of the Tour de France thanks to the truly wonderful road built to reach it. First used in the race in 1985, and seven times since, it already oozes history having witnessed to some of the greatest moments of Tour drama.

Rising from the pit of the valley, the opening couple of kilometres are a relative breeze then that famed Pyrenean gradient kicks in and it hardly drops below eight per cent the rest of the way to the top. The final collection of hairpins are some of the most visually spectacular in the world and it’s in this giant amphitheatre that the most momentous battles have been played out.

“The final hairpins are spectacular”