The 21 turns of the Alpe d’Huez remain forever engraved in the memory of those who have tamed them. From Fausto Coppi to Marco Pantani and Bernard Hinault, the biggest names in world cycling have made their name on the list of this legendary climb.
It is not the most beautiful nor the most difficult of the passes of France but the Alpe d’Huez is a true myth of cycling. Indeed this pass is not very long 13,8kms, it is a progressive but difficult climb in its first kilometers.
So why do we call it a myth?
It is simply the fervor that emerges this climb, it is a real open sky arena, a unique place for cycling. At every passage on the Tour, millions of people congregate to encourage the riders.
For a time it was the Dutch riders who dictated their laws on this tremendous climb, so much that we nicknamed one of 21 turns, “The turn of the Dutch,” reputed to be full of people during the passage of riders. The Italian rider Marco Pantani also left his mark on this pass, because in addition to having conquered twice this mythical climb, he holds the record for the fastest climb in 36min40sec in 1995, record that still has not been beaten. French riders also shone on the Alpe D’huez starting with Bernard Hinault in 1986, with his teammate Greg Lemond, arriving on the line hand in hand which always make it one of the most famous images of the Tour de France. It took 25 years, in 2011 to see a French win in the person of Pierre Rolland, then in 2013 and 2015, 3 consecutive victoires by French riders, the Alpe d’Huez becomes a blue land in the years 2010. The Alpe d’Huez have the particularity to put the name of the winner in one of the 21 curves of the climb, which is why professional riders are want to shine on this legendary climb.
Alpe d’Huez has also written its legend at the amateur level, because the climb is the arrival of a famous cyclosportive called « La Marmotte ». The Granfondo Marmotte Alpe is a famous and legendary cycling race of 174 km and 5000 m altitude difference. From Bourg-d’Oisans, the arrival is at Alpe d’Huez after crossing the passes of Glandon, Telegraph, Galibier and Lautaret. Huge popular success for this event which brings together 7500 participants.
A Dutch telethon against cancer has also been created, it is called “L’Alpe d’Huzes” it takes place in Alpe d’Huez. Participants climb the mythical climb up to six times by bike (“Zes” meaning six in Dutch) running or walking under the slogan “abandonment is not an option” to collect money.
In the last 11 editions, the participants raised a total of 141 million euros.
The sports side : Although this is not the hardest, Alpe d’Huez is a pass to take seriously, it requires a good enough condition to climb without suffering too much. It is a pass of 13.8kms at 8.2% average with a maximum slope at 13% and composed of 21 turns.
Geoffroy Lequatre former professional cyclist, gives you all the details for you to climb :
In a general way it is a ascent that mounts easily, it is a progressive climb. Its initialpart is the most difficult during 3kms. This climb has a particularity is that in its turns the slope becomes gentler, which allows riders to put a higher gear to revive the rhythm. It is a climb that is exposed so in hot weather the difficulty increases. Question gear, a 36 X 28 or 36 X 30 will be ok for amateur.
At professionals a gear of 39×28 will be used! The ideal is to take it between May and October, we must not forget that it still rises to more than 1800 meters above sea level. On a cloudy day, it is wise to bring a windvest especially to attack the descent.
For the sportsmen curious of their rise time, terminals have been installed and detect permanently and automatically the passage of the riders. To access the data of these terminals, you need to be equipped with a timing chip available in the tourist offices of the massif. This system makes it possible to compare his time with his own previous performances and those of other riders.
How to approach it ?
Either you just want to climb the pass, in this case a little warm up is vigorous passing through Bourg d’Oisans and then attacking the climb.
Are you staying at Alpe d’Huez? You can go down to Bourg d’Oisans and go up the pass but you can also reach Bourg d’Oisans by going down the Sarenne pass as a warm-up before tackling the Alpe d’Huez. You have a lot of possibilities around the surrounding valleys to make very good rides. And of course do not worry if you feel tired there are many villages and water points to eat and drink.
Finally to stay, this is the ideal place the massif des alpes brim with high-altitude housing and resorts, perfect for breathing fresh air.
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