LE GÉANT DU TOURMALET

A giant statue, a band playing in the back of a pickup truck, a journey up Col du Tourmalet and cyclists with painted moustaches...add them all together and what do you get?

A fantastic cycling festival on one of the most iconic climbs of the Tour de France!

Niamh Mooney

Owner of the Pyrénées Cycling Lodge

Saint Savin, Hautes Pyrenees 65400

Email: pyreneescyclinglodge@gmail.com

Website: www.pyreneescyclinglodge.com

Facebook: @pyreneescyclinglodge

Instagram: @pyreneescyclinglodge

Twitter: @CyclingLodge

Anyone who’s climbed the Col du Tourmalet will know of the mighty statue of a cyclist that sits at the top of the climb, waiting for you as you wind your way up this legendary Tour de France pass. This statue is known as ‘Le Géant du Tourmalet’. After a long and arduous climb, the grimace on your face soon turns to a smile when you see the Géant waiting for you at the top...he’s been there and he knows your pain! Whether you’re on or off the bike everyone stops at the top for their obligatory photo with this monumental sculpture.

The Pyrenees were first introduced to the Tour de France in 1910 with a gruesome 326km stage from Luchon to Bayonne which included 7 brutal climbs on single track gravel roads. Octave Lapize, a French professional road and track cyclist, was the first rider over the Col du Tourmalet on that stage. As the race continued over Col du Soulor and Col d’Aubisque, when Octave reached the top of Aubisque, apparently he screamed ‘Vous êtes des Assassins! Oui des Assassins’ (You are murderers! Yes murderers) at the organisers for the brutality of the route.

To commemorate this epic achievement of being the first rider over the top of Col du Tourmalet on the premier Pyrenean stage, in 1999 a monumental statute created by the French Sculptor Jean-Bernard Métais was erected on the top of the col. Le Géant du Tourmalet is part of a series of monumental sculptures called ‘La Grande Boucle’ which pays tribute to the riders of the Tour de France.

Each winter the statue is brought down to the valley to protect it from the harsh conditions on Col du Tourmalet. The following June, on the first Saturday of the month, the statue packs his bags & bike and heads back up to his summer home at the top of the col.

To help him make this journey the valley organise a cycling festival called ‘La Montée du Géant du Tourmalet’ to guide Octave back up to his summer home at 2115m. Each year the festival alternates between climbing the east and west side of Col du Tourmalet. When the festival climbs from the east, it starts in Bagnères-di-Bigorre, 30km from the top of the col. After 13km you reach Saint-Marie de Campan where the official Tour de France climb starts and from there it’s a 17km climb with a 7.5% average gradient.

From the west, the Festival leaves from Pierrefiette-Nestlas, 36km from the top of Tourmalet. After 16km you reach Luz Saint Sauveur where the official Tour de France climb up the west side of Tourmalet starts. From there it’s a 19km climb with a 7.5% average gradient.

In a nutshell, it’s a tough climb from either side but it doesn’t get Tour de France status for being easy!

On the morning of the Festival, local dignitaries, French sporting heroes, past Tour de France cyclists and all amateur cyclists are invited to accompany the Géant on his journey up to his summer home. At the start, the local community puts on a pre-ride spread of coffee, juice & local products such as Pyrenean Gateaux (a typical Hautes-Pyrénées sponge cake that is golden on the outside & soft on the inside). So, after fuelling your ride you can make your way to the moustache station and paint a moustache on your face in honour of Octave!

After a few farewell speeches by the Festival organisers the Géant is placed on the back of the pickup truck along with his favourite band and he leaves his winter home with the peloton. A peloton made up of cyclists of all ages and on every type of bike; road, mountain, electric, tandem, recumbent bikes...it’s a cycling festival for everyone!

The music starts, you clip in and off you go following the Géant up the valley. From both sides, the climb starts with a gentle gradient until the official start of the climb. This is a perfect time to soak up the atmosphere, spin along to the music, wave at the locals

out in support and chat with fellow cyclists before your real work begins.

As you start up the official climb and the gradient increases, you might not be chatting so much but you’ve got fellow cyclists by your side, the locals at the roadside are handing out fruit & beverages as you climb and you have stunning mountain scenery all around you to take in. And when the going gets really tough you’ve got the Géant on a pickup truck with a band to lift your spirits...which makes a big climb a little easier.

The festival allows everyone lots of time to get to the top and the Géant (gentleman that he is) makes lots of stops en-route to make sure everyone taking part gets to ride with him up the mountain. As you near the top, you’ll be encouraged by hundreds of supporters cheering you on for those last few kilometres, making you feel a bit like of a pro in the Tour de France! At the summit, a welcome party greets you and your tired legs with coffee & local cake, this time the delicious local Petit Basque, a crisp buttery crust cake traditionally made with creme or myrtilles (blueberries). It’s worth climbing Tourmalet just for this!

The official ceremony to welcome Octave and all the cyclists back to the top of Col du Tourmalet starts with some speeches and marks the official opening of the pass for the summer season. The band begin to play, the Géant is hoisted up from the pickup truck and placed onto his summer home above the plaque of Col du Tourmalet, from where he can watch over the many cyclists that climb these steep slopes over the summer months. As the crowd bursts into cheers and applauds this special moment, you know that this is one of those lifetime memories you’ll never forget.

To climb the legend of Tourmalet is one thing but to climb the legendary pass with the camaraderie of fellow cyclists and the Géant himself is a truly unique experience. So come on! Get your moustache on, get on your bike and join us for an unforgettable experience on the iconic Col du Tourmalet!