Tour Type
Tour de France REK
Riding Level
Avid
Location
The French Pyrenees
Duration
7 days / 6 nights / 5 stages
Length
698 + km
Climb
15,000 + m
The 112th edition of the Tour de France returns to the Pyrenees for the second week. And many of the iconic climbs will be included to challenge the teams after the predominantly flat and hilly stages of the Grand Depart and Week 1. Seven big climbs over 3 days - Soulor, Hautacam, Peyragudes, Tourmalet, Aspin, Peyresourde and Luchon-Superbagneres. Don’t be deceived by the low kilometres, the total elevation over the 3 stages is nearly 10,000 metres!
It is not all mountains – your first day of riding will be Stage 11 and relatively ‘flat’; and Stage 15, the final riding day, is hilly encompassing some challenging climbs in La Montagne Noire above Carcassonne.
Stage 13, if you dare, is an 11 kilometre lung busting ITT sprint – an excellent opportunity to compare your result against the pros who will ride it the next day! You will have the rest of the day to recover. And of course, the chance to enjoy French gastronomy and local dishes and wine.
The Grand Tours Project “Ride Every Kilometre” (REK) provides support and guidance along the full race route the day before the race.
For the professional riders, the Week 2 route is 698 kilometres long, and several thousand metres vertical – for Grand Tours Project REK riders, it’s the same and possibly more.
Are you ready to join us and ride every kilometre of the Tour de France Pyrenees Week 2 – 5 stages from Toulouse into the mountains and finishing in Carcassonne?
We will meet you at Toulouse Airport and take you to your hotel nearby. After check in, we will help assemble your bike or fit you to your rental bike and if there is time, set out on a Welcome ride to stretch the legs and test the bikes. Back at the hotel we will meet for pre-dinner drinks to present the GTP musettes and discuss the logistics for the coming week.
Straight after breakfast you are on the road riding the same Stage 11 route as the pros will do the next day. Deemed flat and a sprinter’s stage – it will be fast but there is the possibility of the Autan, a strong wind from the south east . Plus there are a few bumps, Montée Pech David with 900 m and a 9% gradient, to add some colour. An ‘easy’ start to the TDF Week 2 Ride Every Kilometre before heading into the mountains.
Now for the reason you decided to join us on the TDF Ride Every Kilometre Week 2 – the Pyrenees mountains beckon. Current calculations estimate 3,850 metres of climbing and much of that from Ferrieres after 120 odd kilometres of rolling terrain. To put it bluntly, you will ride the last 60 km over Co du Soulor, Col des Borderes to the summit of Hautacam AND the last 2 km is steep. Welcome to the Pyrenees!
Continuing the theme, albeit on an individual time trial stage – one 11 kilometre climb from the valley to Peyragudes and the final kilometre showing up to 16% gradient!! If you aim to ride your best time to compare against the pros riding the next day, don’t underestimate this short stage. After you reach the finish and have recovered, we suggest you enjoy the descent to Arreau before the transfer to your hotel to rest before the next day.
Classic, iconic and epic – this is a massive day, close to 5,000 metres of climbing. After 70 km of easy riding there is the Col du Tourmalet – the 89th time that it has featured in the Tour de France – 19 km with an average of 7.7%. A brief respite before Col d’Aspin and then Col de Peyresourde, both 7% + gradients. The final climb, Luchon-Superbageres, was last visited in 1989 and the last 5 km are challenging.
Everything is relative, so after yesterday, this is an ‘easy’ day…only about 2,500 m of climbing! No big mountains but after some flat riding to Revel, and here you will head into the forests of beautiful La Montagne Noire, forests providing shade from the summer heat. The first two climbs are mellow but the final, Pas du Sant from Escoussens is steep and will be hard fought before the 40 km descent to the famous walls of Carcassonne.
Celebrate the completion of the REK Week 2 with your favourite drink – icy cold beer, local wines or a simple soft drink. When everyone is ready the team will transfer those finishing Week 2 to Toulouse.
Five stages of the Tour de France, France’s premier sporting event. A short week with a little flat, a hilly day and 3 big mountain stages…one of those a short yet steep ITT.
The GTP team will support and encourage you to complete your goal to Ride Every Kilometre. If you don’t, no problem, you will have tasted a small part of what the pros experience and you can always return and test yourself again in future Tours.
The team will assist you in checking out and take you to Toulouse Airport for your flight home or to your next destination.
The “Ride Every Kilometre” tours will give you the opportunity to ride the entire journey – every single kilometre – with your friends. You can choose to ride 3, 6, 9 or even all 21 stages of the race. You and your companions will need to be strong cyclists to achieve this challenge, but you don’t need to be a pro athlete … ours is a journey, not a race, and we’ll leave enough time on each day to enjoy our lunch breaks and photo stops. This tour is designed to ride 24hrs prior to the official stage.
For our “Ride Every Kilometre” tours:
What’s Not Included?
