5 of the best Sportives and Challenge Rides in the French Pyrenees
When it comes to planning a cycling holiday, you can either book a package with a tour or cycling holiday company, work with a tour or holiday company who know the area well to create package tailored to you, your cycling club, or your group — or you can find your own accommodation — in a hotel, B&B or self-catered property — and plan everything yourself. The latter is a tricky one to pull off if you don’t know the area but it can be done. One way to turn a cycling holiday into an event is to plan it around a well-organised sportive.
If you do decide to plan your bike trip yourself — or are looking for some challenges around which create a custom itinerary with a local company — here are some of the best cyclo-sportives in the French Pyrenees that you might want to add to your bucket list.
Marmot Grandfondo Pyrenees, Hautes-Pyrenees
The Marmot Granfondo Pyrenees is the less well-known relation of the Alpine version of the same. With 5,500 meters of climbing over 165 km it is a significant challenge, packing a punch that will satisfy most club riders and surrounded by scenery every bit as breathtaking as it’s Alpine equivalent. The ride starts in Luz-Saint Sauveur in the Hautes-Pyrénées, summits the iconic Col de Tourmalet, and ends at the ski station in Hautacam, which will be the location for the final mountain stage — Stage 18 — of the 2022 Tour de France. As with all Grandfondo rides places are limited and, if you don’t have a race license, you will need to pay an additional fee that covers for the event.
Cyclosportive Le Matthieu Ladagnous, Pau
The Cyclosportive Le Matthieu Ladagnous is organised by Vélo Club Nayais, the local club of it’s namesake — Matthieu Ladagnous, captain of Groupama-FDJ. There are four rides to choose from, all with punishing climbs given their distances.
- LA VICTOR is a 56 km loop with 629m of ascent and is classed as a “randonnée” — which means “tour”
- LA RAYMOND is a 85 km loop with 1846m of ascent and includes the Col de Aubisque.
- LA HUBERT is 91 km loop with 2220m of climbing that summits the Col des Spandelles and Col de Soulor.
- LA MATTHIEU — the big one — includes 3663m of ascent over a 142 km distance and include all three cols.
Registration is via the club website.
Challenge No Limits Pyrénées
Challenge No Limits Pyrénées is an epic event that combines three well-known (locally) sportives and is a showcase of some of the best cycling to be found in the Pyrenees. The challenge is completed by riding each of these events:
- 3 Nations by AQUAdrink starts just across the border in the Spanish town of starting in Puigcerdà. During the course of the ride riders pass three countries: the Spanish Pyrenees, the French Pyrenees and Andorra on this 140 km ride with 2,400 metres of ascent.
- Cyclosportive l’Ariégeoise, now in it’s 26th season [2022] comes in many flavours: a 178 km ride with 4888m of ascent, and the slightly “easier” version, covering of ascent 3638 metres over 162 km. Five other variations, with one that is exclusively for e-bikes and another for female cyclists, can also count towards completing the challenge.
- Quebrantahuesos Gran Fondo, the third ride in the challenge, is a 200 km ride starting and ending in Puigcerdà. An easier ride also takes place on the same day — Treparriscos Medio Fondo — for a less intense but no less intersting 85 km ride.
Figure of Hate
Fairly new to the scene, the Figure of Hate — described as, “Probably one of the hardest sportives in the World” by the organisers — has two routes: one of 85 km with 2500m of climbing and the second of 195 km with 5000m of climbing. The ride takes in several Tour de France “HC” (“Hors category”) and Category 1 climbs and takes you into some wild and spectacular scenery on rarely used moutain roads.
Unfortunatley it’s cancelled this year [2022] but is definitely worth keeping an eye on for future dates.
66 Degrés Sud
Often the focus on cyclosportives is on the more well-known cycling areas, in around the Tourmalet and the Haute Pyrenees but at the southern end of the Pyenees, as you move closer to the Mediterranean, there’s the advantage that it’s usually a few degrees warmer than inland. Another Gran Fondo event, , takes place in April each year — so nice and early in the season. With a limit of 500 places this ride starts and ends in Perignan and covers 2000m of elevation over 165 km. For anyuone looking for something less brutal there are two other events: the Médio Fondo, which is a 125km route with 1,425m of ascent, and a Cyclo Tourist route, with 98 and 50 km variations and, in the scheme of things, relative flat as the loop stays largely in the plateau between the coast ad the mountains beyond.
Map of Cyclosportives in the Pyrenees
Plan Your Bike Trip
If you’re looking for a challenge there are plenty of opportunities to base a cycling holiday around organised races and events in the Pyrenees.
If you are looking for an organised holiday or prefer to DIY and are looking for cyclist-friendly accommodation, take a look at the listings from the our teams below.
Accommodation
The Free Range Chalet, Bagneres-de Luchon, France — offering B&B and half-board accommodation, the owners of this renovated villa in a cyclist’s paradise also organise cycling holidays and can help you to tailor-make your trip.
Chez Montagnes, Aude, France — a high-end self-catering property in the Pyrenean foothills, with access to the vineyards or the mountains, equipped with an outdoor pool and gym.
Travel Options
Details coming soon…
Featured Image by Brandon DesJarlais on Unsplash
Originally published at https://cyclingholidayseurope.com on April 5, 2022.