Photo : Serge Ottaviani / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Col du Tourmalet
The Col du Tourmalet peaks at 2,115 metres in the Pic-du-Midi-de-Bigorre massif, in the heart of the Pyrenees. It links the Gave de Pau valley, on the Barèges and Luz-Saint-Sauveur side, to the Campan and Gripp valley, on the Sainte-Marie-de-Campan and La Mongie side. A road was built there as early as 1730, and the thermal road to the Barèges baths was inaugurated in 1864.
The pass is famous in cycling: in 1910, Octave Lapize was the first Tour de France rider to cross it, on the Luchon-Bayonne stage. The summit has a stele in homage to Jacques Goddet, former director of the Tour, and a sculpture of a cyclist standing on the pedals, nicknamed the Giant. From the pass, the gaze takes in the Pic du Midi de Bigorre to the north, the Pic d'Espade to the south and the La Mongie resort on the east side.
