L'Alpe d'Huez () is a
ski resort
A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area – a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In North ...
in southeastern
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
at . It is a mountain pasture in the Central French
Western Alps
The Western Alps are the western part of the Alpine Range including the southeastern part of France (e.g. Savoie), the whole of Monaco, the northwestern part of Italy (i.e. Piedmont and the Aosta Valley) and the southwestern part of Switzerland ( ...
, in the
commune
A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to:
Administrative-territorial entities
* Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township
** Communes of ...
of
Huez
Huez () is a commune in the Isère department in southeastern France. The mountain resort Alpe d'Huez is located in the commune. L'Alpe d'Huez is often an ascent on the Tour de France.
Population
Twin towns
Huez is twinned with:
* Bormio ...
, which is part of the
department
Department may refer to:
* Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility
Government and military
*Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...
of
Isère
Isère ( , ; frp, Isera; oc, Isèra, ) is a landlocked department in the southeastern French region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Named after the river Isère, it had a population of 1,271,166 in 2019.[region
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...]
of
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (ARA; ; frp, Ôvèrgne-Rôno-Ârpes; oc, Auvèrnhe Ròse Aups; it, Alvernia-Rodano-Alpi) is a region in southeast-central France created by the 2014 territorial reform of French regions; it resulted from the merger of Au ...
.
It is part of the massif, over the
Oisans
L'Oisans () is a region in the French Alps, located in the départements of l'Isère and Hautes-Alpes, and corresponding to the drainage basin of the River Romanche and its tributaries (Eau d'Olle, Lignarre, Sarenne, Vénéon and Ferrand). Betw ...
, and is from
Grenoble
lat, Gratianopolis
, commune status = Prefecture and commune
, image = Panorama grenoble.png
, image size =
, caption = From upper left: Panorama of the city, Grenoble’s cable cars, place Saint- ...
. The Alpe d'Huez resort is accessible from Grenoble by the , which runs along the
Romanche
The Romanche () is a long mountain river in southeastern France. It is a right tributary of the Drac, which is itself a tributary of the Isère. Its drainage basin is .[Livet-et-Gavet
Livet-et-Gavet () is a commune in the Isère department in southeastern France.
Population
Geography
Livet-et-Gavet is located in Oisans on the Romanche river, halfway between Grenoble and the winter sports resorts of The Alpe d'Huez and ...]
and
Le Bourg-d'Oisans
Le Bourg-d'Oisans () is a commune in the Isère department in southeastern France.
It is located in the Oisans region of the French Alps. Le Bourg-d'Oisans is located in the valley of the Romanche river, on the road from Grenoble to Briançon, ...
as well as Haut-Oisans via the
Col de Sarenne.
Alpe d'Huez is known internationally as an iconic cycling venue, as it is used regularly in the
Tour de France
The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...
cycle race, including twice on the same day in
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...
. In 2019, it became the site of the first
Tomorrowland Winter festival.
History
The site of the Alpe has been permanently occupied since the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
. East of ''L'Alpe veti'', a medieval agglomeration had grown from the end of the 11th to the 14th century under the name of
Brandes. It was composed of a castle, a parish church with a cemetery, a village with about 80 homes, surface and underground mine workings, as well as several industrial districts. Its occupants operated a silver mine on behalf of the Dauphin. It is currently the only medieval known and preserved in its entirety, making it a unique site in Europe and classified as
historical monuments by a decree of 6 August 1995.
Excavated and studied continuously since 1977 by a team of the
CNRS
The French National Centre for Scientific Research (french: link=no, Centre national de la recherche scientifique, CNRS) is the French state research organisation and is the largest fundamental science agency in Europe.
In 2016, it employed 31,637 ...
, this site is registered as an historic monument. The medieval mining operation stretched from Gua (the Valley) to the Lac Blanc
hite Lake(Massif des Rousses). The massif was also the subject of mining operations, including copper, from the
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...
.
It is also at Alpe d'Huez where
botanist
Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...
Gaston Bonnier
Gaston Eugène Marie Bonnier (9 April 1853 in Paris – 2 January 1922) was a French botanist and plant ecologist.
Biography
Bonnier first studied at École Normale Supérieure in Paris from 1873 to 1876. Together with Charles Flahault, he st ...
began his study of
flora
Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''.
E ...
of France in 1871.
The station was developed from the 1920s. This is where the first
platter lift for skiers was opened in 1936 with perches by , creator of the
Poma
Poma, incorporated as Pomagalski S.A., and sometimes referred to as the Poma Group, is a French company which manufactures cable-driven lift systems, including fixed and detachable chairlifts, gondola lifts, funiculars, aerial tramways, people ...
company.
Economy
Each year, the
Alpe d'Huez Film Festival is held in January.
Alpe d'Huez also has an
altiport An altiport is an aerodrome for small airplanes and helicopters, situated on or within mountainous terrain. The term is generally confined to describing small mountainous aerodromes in the French Alps.''Flying Magazine'', November 1975, page 5 Altip ...
, the
Alpe d'Huez Airport
Alpe D'Huez Airport (french: Altiport de l'Alpe d'Huez) is a small altiport serving the town of L'Alpe d'Huez
L'Alpe d'Huez () is a ski resort in southeastern France at . It is a mountain pasture in the Central French Western Alps, in the c ...
, built for the
10th Winter Olympics held at Grenoble in 1968. It was named for on 15 April 2000, in memory of the famous mountain pilot. The altiport hosts helicopters including those of
civil securitySAF Helicopteresand the Dauphiné flying club. A gourmet restaurant is located on the edge of the platform.
Local culture and heritage
Sites and monuments
The church
Alpe d'Huez has a modern and original church, the appearance of which recalls a silhouette of the
Virgin Mary
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...
. Under the leadership of Father Jaap Reuten, head of the parish from 1964 to 1992, it was designed by the architect Jean Marol in the 1960s (completed in 1970), and decorated with colour-rich stained-glass windows by the artist
Arcabas
Jean-Marie Pirot (December 26, 1926 – August 23, 2018), popularly known as Arcabas (a name given to him by his pupils), was a French contemporary sacred artist.
Pirot was born in Trémery. He studied in the ''École Nationale Supérieure des ...
.
This church houses a
pipe organ
The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ''ranks ...
which is unique in the world. The organ takes the form of a hand drawn up towards the sky, designed by composer
Jean Guillou
Jean Victor Arthur Guillou (18 April 1930 – 26 January 2019) was a French composer, organist, pianist, and pedagogue. Titular Organist at Saint Eustache in Paris, from 1963 to 2015, he was widely known as a composer of instrumental and vocal ...
and the German organ builder
Detlef Kleuker. Each year, concerts are held around this instrument on Thursday night, winter and summer, as well as organ, pan flute and choral courses during the summer.
Cultural heritage
* The (or ''Musée d'Huez et de Oisans''), of the .
Winter sports
Alpe d'Huez is primarily used for
downhill, or Alpine skiing.
Skiing at Alpe d'Huez
![L'Alpe d'Huez et la chaîne de Belledonne 028](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/de/L%27Alpe_d%27Huez_et_la_cha%C3%AEne_de_Belledonne_028.jpg)
Alpe d'Huez is one of Europe's premier
skiing
Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IO ...
venues. The site of the
Poma
Poma, incorporated as Pomagalski S.A., and sometimes referred to as the Poma Group, is a French company which manufactures cable-driven lift systems, including fixed and detachable chairlifts, gondola lifts, funiculars, aerial tramways, people ...
galski's first surface lift in the mid thirties, the resort gained popularity when it hosted the
bobsleigh events of the 1968 Winter Olympics. At that time the resort was seen as a competitor to
Courchevel
Courchevel () is a French Alps ski resort. It is a part of Les Trois Vallées, the largest linked ski areas in the world. Courchevel also refers to the towns of Courchevel 1300 (Le Praz), Courchevel 1550, Courchevel 1650 (Moriond), and Courc ...
as France's most upmarket purpose built resort but the development of
Les Trois Vallées
Les Trois Vallées (; ''The Three Valleys'') is a ski region in the Tarentaise Valley in the Savoie department of Southeastern France, to the south of the town of Moûtiers, partly in Vanoise National Park.
Since 1971, it has been possible to ...
,
Val d'Isère
Val may refer to: Val-a
Film
* ''Val'' (film), an American documentary about Val Kilmer, directed by Leo Scott and Ting Poo
Military equipment
* Aichi D3A, a Japanese World War II dive bomber codenamed "Val" by the Allies
* AS Val, a So ...
,
Tignes
Tignes () is a commune in the Tarentaise Valley, in the Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France, known for the highest skiable area and the longest ski season in Europe. It is located in the Savoie region with good tr ...
,
La Plagne and
Les Arcs saw Alpe D'Huez fall from favour in the 1970s and early 1980s.
With of piste and 84 ski lifts, the resort is now one of the world's largest. Extensive snowmaking facilities helped combat the ski area's largely south-facing orientation and helped Alpe d'Huez appeal to beginner skiers, with very easy slopes. The expansion of the skiing above the linked resorts of Vaujany, Oz-en-Oisans, Villard Reculas and Auris boosted the quantity and quality of intermediate grade slopes but the resort is mostly known for freeskiing, drawing many steep skiing enthusiasts to its high altitude terrain.
Aside from the Tunnel and Sarenne black runs, the latter the world's longest at , many
Off-piste
Backcountry skiing ( US), also called off-piste (Europe), alpine touring, or out-of-area, is skiing in the backcountry on unmarked or unpatrolled areas either inside or outside a ski resort's boundaries. This contrasts with alpine skiing, which ...
opportunities exist both from the summit of the Pic Blanc and the Dome des Petites Rousses. These include the 50-degree Cheminees du Mascle couloirs, the open powder field of Le Grand Sablat, the Couloir Fleur and the Perrins bowl. Up to of vertical descent are available with heli drops back to the resort's altiport. The proximity to the exclusively off-piste resort of
La Grave
La Grave (; oc, La Grava) is a commune in the Hautes-Alpes department in southeastern France.
It is a small ski resort in the French Alps, dominated by La Meije (3982 m). It was the birthplace of Nicolas de Nicolay; adventurer and Geograp ...
as well as tree skiing at
Serre Chevalier
Serre Chevalier () is a major ski resort in Southeastern France, near the Italian border, located in the Hautes-Alpes department, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated to the northeast of Écrins National Park in the French Alps, the reso ...
and the glacier and terrain parks of
Les Deux Alpes
Les 2 Alpes () is a ski resort in the French '' department'' of Isère, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. The village sits at and lifts run to . It has the largest skiable glacier in Europe and is France's second oldest ski resort behind Chamonix. It h ...
have made Alpe d'Huez a popular base for skiers looking to explore the Oisans region.
1968 Winter Olympics
Alpe d'Huez hosted the
bobsleigh
Bobsleigh or bobsled is a team winter sport that involves making timed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sleigh. International bobsleigh competitions are governed by the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Feder ...
events at the
1968 Winter Olympics
The 1968 Winter Olympics, officially known as the X Olympic Winter Games (french: Les Xes Jeux olympiques d'hiver), were a winter multi-sport event held from 6 to 18 February 1968 in Grenoble, France. Thirty-seven countries participated. Frenchm ...
based at
Grenoble
lat, Gratianopolis
, commune status = Prefecture and commune
, image = Panorama grenoble.png
, image size =
, caption = From upper left: Panorama of the city, Grenoble’s cable cars, place Saint- ...
away.
[1968 Winter Olympics official report.]
pp. 104–105. – accessed 27 February 2008. The track, built in spring 1966 for
FRF 5.5 million, hosted the
World Championships
A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
in
1967. The cooling could not keep the ice solid in bright daylight – not least because the track faced south. The four-man event was cancelled because of thawing ice, and modifications were made that spring to prepare for the Games.
[ The ]refrigeration
The term refrigeration refers to the process of removing heat from an enclosed space or substance for the purpose of lowering the temperature.International Dictionary of Refrigeration, http://dictionary.iifiir.org/search.phpASHRAE Terminology, ht ...
system was strengthened in turns 6, 9, 12, and 13; turn 12 was covered with stone
In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...
and earthwork to prevent concrete coming up, turn 12 was cooled with liquid nitrogen
Liquid nitrogen—LN2—is nitrogen in a liquid state at low temperature. Liquid nitrogen has a boiling point of about . It is produced industrially by fractional distillation of liquid air. It is a colorless, low viscosity liquid that is wide ...
, and shades were built on turns 6, 9, 12, and 13 to minimise direct sunlight.[ Thawing remained a problem and Olympic bobsleigh events had to be scheduled before sunrise. The track closed in 1972 due to high operating costs; the structure remains as demolition was not economical.
:
:No turn names were given for the track.
]
Cycle racing
Details
The climb to the summit starts at Le Bourg d'Oisans in the Romanche
The Romanche () is a long mountain river in southeastern France. It is a right tributary of the Drac, which is itself a tributary of the Isère. Its drainage basin is .[hairpin bends
A hairpin turn (also hairpin bend or hairpin corner) is a bend in a road with a very acute inner angle, making it necessary for an oncoming vehicle to turn about 180° to continue on the road. It is named for its resemblance to a bent metal hai ...]
and a maximum gradient of 13%. Despite its notoriety, Alpe d'Huez is only the 56th hardest bike climb in France.
Tour de France
L'Alpe d'Huez is climbed regularly in the Tour de France
The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...
. It was first included in the race in 1952 and has been a stage finish regularly since 1976.[ The race was brought to the mountain by Élie Wermelinger, the chief commissaire or referee.] He drove his Panhard
Panhard was a French motor vehicle manufacturer that began as one of the first makers of automobiles. It was a manufacturer of light tactical and military vehicles. Its final incarnation, now owned by Renault Trucks Defense, was formed ...
Dyna car between snow banks that lined the road in March 1952, invited by a consortium of businesses who had opened hotels at the summit.[Chany, Pierre (1988), La Fabuleuse Histoire du Tour de France, Nathan, France] Their leader was Georges Rajon, who ran the Hotel Christina.[Procycling, UK, August 2002] The ski station there opened in 1936. Wermelinger reported to the organiser, Jacques Goddet
Jacques Goddet (21 June 1905 – 15 December 2000) was a French sports journalist and director of the Tour de France road cycling race from 1936 to 1986.
Goddet was born and died in Paris. His father, Victor Goddet, was co-founder and finance di ...
, and the Tour signed a contract with the businessmen to include the Alpe. It cost them the modern equivalent of €3,250.
That first Alpe d'Huez stage was won in 1952 by Fausto Coppi
Angelo Fausto Coppi (; 15 September 1919 – 2 January 1960) was an Italian cyclist, the dominant international cyclist of the years after the World War II, Second World War. His successes earned him the title ''Il Campionissimo'' ("Champio ...
.[Vélo, France, June 2004] Coppi attacked from the summit to rid himself of the French rider Jean Robic
Jean Robic (; 10 June 1921 – 6 October 1980)L'Équipe, 9 July 2003 was a French road racing cyclist, who won the 1947 Tour de France. Robic was a professional cyclist from 1943 to 1961. His diminutive stature (1.61m, 60 kg) and appearance ...
.[L'Équipe Magazine, 17 July 2004] This was the year that motorcycle television crews first came to the Tour. It was also the Tour's first mountain-top finish. The veteran reporter, Jacques Augendre, said:
:"The Tourmalet, the Galibier and the Izoard were the mythical mountains of the race. These three cols were supplanted by the Alpe d'Huez. Why? Because it's the col of modernity. Coppi's victory in 1952 was the symbol of a golden age of cycling, that of champions uch as
Uch ( pa, ;
ur, ), frequently referred to as Uch Sharīf ( pa, ;
ur, ; ''"Noble Uch"''), is a historic city in the southern part of Pakistan's Punjab province. Uch may have been founded as Alexandria on the Indus, a town founded by Alexand ...
Coppi, Bartali, Kubler, Koblet, Bobet. But only Coppi and Armstrong and Carlos Sastre have been able to take the maillot jaune on the Alpe and to keep it to Paris. That's not by chance. From the first edition, shown on live television, the Alpe d'Huez definitively transformed the way the ''Grande Boucle'' ran. No other stage has had such drama. With its 21 bends, its gradient and the number of spectators, it is a climb in the style of Hollywood."
Augendre omitted Laurent Fignon
Laurent Patrick Fignon (; 12 August 1960 – 31 August 2010) was a French professional road bicycle racer who won the Tour de France in 1983 and 1984 and the Giro d'Italia in 1989. He is former FICP World No. 1 in 1989. He nearly captured ...
, who, along with Coppi and Armstrong, took yellow on the Alpe without winning the stage in 1983, 1984
Events
January
* January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888.
* January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...
, and 1989. He held it into Paris in 1983 and 1984
Events
January
* January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888.
* January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...
but in 1989 he lost it on the final stage to Paris, a time trial, to Greg LeMond
Gregory James LeMond (born June 26, 1961) is an American former professional road racing cyclist, entrepreneur, and anti-doping advocate. A two-time winner of the Road Race World Championship (1983 and 1989) and a three-time winner of the Tou ...
to finish second by 8", the closest finish in tour history.
After Coppi's win, the Alpe was dropped until 1964, when it was included as a mid-stage climb, and then again until 1976, both times at Rajon's instigation. The hairpin bends are named after the winners of stages. All hairpins had been named by the 22nd climb in 2001 so naming restarted at the bottom with Lance Armstrong
Lance Edward Armstrong (''né'' Gunderson; born September 18, 1971) is an American former professional road bicycle racing, road racing cyclist. Regarded as a sports icon for winning the Tour de France seven consecutive times from 1999 Tour de ...
's name added to Coppi's.
Stage 18 of the 2013 Tour de France
The 2013 Tour de France was the 100th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It started on the island of Corsica on 30 June and finished on the Champs-Élysées in Paris on 21 July. The Tour consisted of twenty-one stage ...
included a double ascent of the climb, reaching on the first passage, and continuing to the traditional finish on the second.
Only one rider has won the Alpe stage while in yellow, Geraint Thomas
Geraint Howell Thomas, (; born 25 May 1986) is a Welsh professional racing cyclist who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam , Wales and Great Britain. He is one of the few riders in the modern era to achieve significant elite success as both a tra ...
in the second of two back to back Alpine stage wins in 2018. He also held on to win the overall Tour.
French journalist and ''L'Équipe
''L'Équipe'' (, French for "the team") is a French nationwide daily newspaper devoted to sport, owned by Éditions Philippe Amaury. The paper is noted for coverage of association football, rugby football, rugby, motorsport, and cycle sport, ...
'' sportswriter Jean-Paul Vespini wrote a book about Alpe d'Huez and its role in the Tour de France: ''The Tour Is Won on the Alpe: Alpe d'Huez and the Classic Battles of the Tour de France''.
Spectators
The Alpe has chaotic crowds of spectators. In 1999, Giuseppe Guerini won despite being knocked off by a spectator who stepped into his path to take a photograph. The 2004 individual time trial
An individual time trial (ITT) is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock (in French: ''contre la montre'' – literally "against the watch", in Italian: ''tappa a cronometro'' "stopwatch stage"). There are also track-b ...
became chaotic when fans pushed riders toward the top. Attendance figures on the mountain have to be treated with caution. A million spectators were claimed for 1997. Eric Muller, the mayor of Alpe d'Huez, however, said there were 350,000 in 2001, four years later despite acceptance that the number rises every year. "We expect more than 400,000 for the centenary race in 2003", he said. The author Tim Moore wrote:
As a variant on a sporting theme, Alpe d'Huez annoys the purists but enthrals the broader public, like 20/20 cricket or beach volleyball
Beach volleyball is a team sport played by two teams of two or more players on a sand court divided by a net. Similar to indoor volleyball, the objective of the game is to send the ball over the net and to ground it on the opponent's side of the ...
. Last year, a full-blown tent-stamping riot had required heavy police intervention. During this year's clean-up operation, down in a ravine with the bottle shards and dented emulsion tins, a body turned up. He'd fallen off the mountain and no one had noticed. When the Tour goes up Alpe d'Huez, it's a squalid, manic and sometimes lethal shambles, and that's just the way they like it. It's the Glastonbury Festival
Glastonbury Festival (formally Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts and known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts that takes place in Pilton, Somerset, England. In addition to contemp ...
for cycling fans.
Alpe d'Huez has been nicknamed the "Dutch Mountain", since Dutchmen won eight of the first 14 finishes in le Tour De France. British author Geoffrey Nicholson wrote:
The attraction of opposites draws utch spectatorsfrom the Low Countries
The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...
to the Alps each summer in any case. But all winter in the Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
coach companies offer two or three nights at Alpe d'Huez as a special feature of their alpine tours. And those Dutch families who don't come by coach, park their campers and pitch their tents along the narrow ledges beside the road like sea-birds nesting at St Kilda. The Dutch haven't adopted the Alpe d'Huez simply because it is sunny and agreeable, or even because the modern, funnel-shaped church, Notre Dame des Neiges, has a Dutch priest, Father Reuten (until a few years ago, it was used as a press room and was probably the only church in France where, for one day at least, there were ashtrays in the nave and a bar in the vestry, or where an organist was once asked to leave because he was disturbing the writers' concentration). No, what draws the Dutch to Alpe d'Huez is the remarkable run of success their riders have had there".
Significant stages
1952: Jean Robic attacked at the start of the climb and only Fausto Coppi could stay with him. The two climbed together until Coppi attacked at bend five, from the top. He won the stage, the lead in the general classification
The general classification (or the GC) in road bicycle racing is the category that tracks overall times for riders in multi-stage races. Each stage will have a stage winner, but the overall winner in the GC is the rider who has the fastest cumulat ...
, and kept it till the end of the race.
1977
Events January
* January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group.
* January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...
: Lucien Van Impe
Lucien Van Impe (; born 20 October 1946) is a Belgians, Belgian cyclist, who competed professionally between 1969 and 1987. He excelled mainly as a climbing specialist, climber in multiple-day races such as the Tour de France. He was the winner ...
, a Belgian rider leading the climbers' competition, broke clear on the Col du Glandon. He gained enough time to threaten the leader, Bernard Thévenet
Bernard Thévenet (; born 10 January 1948) is a retired professional cyclist. His sporting career began with ACBB Paris. He is twice a winner of the Tour de France and known for ending the reign of five-times Tour champion Eddy Merckx, though bo ...
. He was still clear on the Alpe when a car drove into him. The time that Van Impe lost waiting for another wheel may have been enough to cost him the Yellow Jersey, as Thévenet and Hennie Kuiper
Hendrikus Andreas "Hennie" Kuiper (born 3 February 1949) is a Dutch former professional road racing cyclist. His career includes a gold medal in the Olympic road race at Munich in 1972, becoming world professional road race champion in 1975, a ...
charged on to the finish with Thévenet remaining in the lead by eight seconds over Kuiper.
1978
Events January
* January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213.
* January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...
: Another Belgian leading the mountains race also came close to taking the yellow jersey as leader of the general classification
The general classification (or the GC) in road bicycle racing is the category that tracks overall times for riders in multi-stage races. Each stage will have a stage winner, but the overall winner in the GC is the rider who has the fastest cumulat ...
. Michel Pollentier
Michel Pollentier (born 13 February 1951 in Diksmuide, West Flanders) is a Belgian former professional road bicycle racer.
He became professional in 1973. The highlight of his career was his overall win in the 1977 Giro d'Italia. Pollentier is ...
also finished alone, but he was caught soon afterwards defrauding a drugs control and was disqualified. Due to this disqualification Dutch rider Joop Zoetemelk
Hendrik Gerardus Joseph "Joop" Zoetemelk (; born 3 December 1946) is a Dutch former professional racing cyclist. He started and finished the Tour de France 16 times, which were both records when he retired. He also holds the distance record in T ...
, who finished 3rd on the stage and would have climbed to 2nd in the General Classification, took over the yellow jersey, but would lose it on the final time trial to Bernard Hinault. Zoetemelk has his name on two of the hairpin turns at Alp d'Huez being one of the select few riders to win this stage twice; once in 1976
Events January
* January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force.
* January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea.
* January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...
and once in 1979.
1984
Events
January
* January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888.
* January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...
: The Tour invited amateurs to take part in the 1980s. The best was Luis Herrera, who lived at altitude in Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
. None of the professionals could follow him. He won alone to the cacophony of broadcasters who had arrived to report his progress.
1986
The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles.
**Spain and Portugal ente ...
: Bernard Hinault
Bernard Hinault (; born 14 November 1954) is a French former professional road cyclist. With 147 professional victories, including five times the Tour de France, he is often named among the greatest cyclists of all time. In his career, Hinault ...
said he would help Greg LeMond
Gregory James LeMond (born June 26, 1961) is an American former professional road racing cyclist, entrepreneur, and anti-doping advocate. A two-time winner of the Road Race World Championship (1983 and 1989) and a three-time winner of the Tou ...
win the Tour but appeared to ride otherwise. The two crossed the line arm in arm in an apparent sign of truce creating a moment that has become one of the most iconic photographs in Tour history.
1997
File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...
: Marco Pantani
Marco Pantani (; 13 January 1970 – 14 February 2004) was an Italian road racing cyclist, widely regarded as the greatest climbing specialist in the history of the sport by measures of his legacy, credits from other riders, and records. He rec ...
, who won on the Alpe two years earlier, attacked three times and only Jan Ullrich
Jan Ullrich (; born 2 December 1973) is a German former professional road bicycle racer. Ullrich won gold and silver medals in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, Sydney. He won the 1999 Vuelta a España and the HEW Cyclassics in fro ...
could match him. He lasted until from the summit and Pantani rode on alone to win in what is often quoted as record speed (see below).
1999
File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...
: Giuseppe Guerini, who broke away on his own, collided with a spectator but got up and went on to win the stage.
2001
The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...
: Lance Armstrong
Lance Edward Armstrong (''né'' Gunderson; born September 18, 1971) is an American former professional road bicycle racing, road racing cyclist. Regarded as a sports icon for winning the Tour de France seven consecutive times from 1999 Tour de ...
feigned vulnerability earlier in the stage, appearing to be having an off-day. At the bottom of the Alpe d'Huez climb, Armstrong moved to the front of the lead group of riders and then looked back at Jan Ullrich
Jan Ullrich (; born 2 December 1973) is a German former professional road bicycle racer. Ullrich won gold and silver medals in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, Sydney. He won the 1999 Vuelta a España and the HEW Cyclassics in fro ...
. Armstrong later commented that he wasn't looking back at Ullrich but was actually looking back to see the position of his teammate Chechu Rubiera. Seeing no response from Ullrich, Armstrong accelerated away from the field to claim the victory, 1:59 ahead of Ullrich. Armstrong would later be stripped of this achievement and his tour win by his conviction for doping in 2012. His name however, is still honored on one of the 21 signs of previous winners, lining the hairpin turns of Alpe d'Huez.
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...
: Christophe Riblon
Christophe Riblon (born 17 January 1981) is a French former road and track racing cyclist who competed as a professional for the team for 13 seasons between 2005 and 2017. He also competed for France at the 2008 Summer Olympics.
Career
Born in ...
won the stage at the summit of Alpe d'Huez during the 100th edition of the Tour. For the first time ever, riders rode up the climb twice with the descent over the Col de Sarenne in between.
2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
: Geraint Thomas
Geraint Howell Thomas, (; born 25 May 1986) is a Welsh professional racing cyclist who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam , Wales and Great Britain. He is one of the few riders in the modern era to achieve significant elite success as both a tra ...
, Tom Dumoulin
Tom Dumoulin (; born 11 November 1990) is a retired Dutch professional road bicycle racer who last rode for UCI WorldTeam . He has won nine stages across the three Grand Tours, five medals in three different World Championships and two Olympic s ...
, Chris Froome
Christopher Clive Froome ɹɪs fɹuːm (born 20 May 1985) is a Kenyan/British Road bicycle racing, road racing cyclist who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . He has won seven Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours: four editions of the Tour de ...
, Romain Bardet
Romain Bardet (born 9 November 1990) is a French professional racing cyclist who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Bardet is known for his climbing and descending abilities, which make him one of the top general classification contenders in Gra ...
and Mikel Landa
Mikel Landa Meana (born 13 December 1989) is a Spanish professional road cyclist who rides for UCI WorldTeam . His career breakthrough came at the 2015 Giro d'Italia where he won two stages and finished third overall.
Career Early career
Lan ...
were able to catch Steven Kruijswijk
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Nuenen, Netherlands
, height =
, weight =
, currentteam =
, discipline = Road
, role = Rider
, ridertype = Climber
, proyears1 = 2006
, proteam1 =
, proyears2 = 2007–2009 ...
, who had been on a 70 km solo attack, about 2/3 of the way up the climb and with about 500 meters to go Thomas dropped the remaining elite riders to become the first rider to win the Alpe d’Huez stage while wearing the yellow jersey
The general classification is the most important classification, the one by which the winner of the Tour de France is determined. Since 1919, the leader of the general classification wears the yellow jersey (french: maillot jaune ).
History
Th ...
.
2022
File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...
: World cyclo-cross and Olympic mountain-bike champion Tom Pidcock
Thomas Pidcock (born 30 July 1999) is a British cyclist who currently competes in the cyclo-cross, mountain bike and road bicycle racing disciplines of the sport for UCI WorldTeam .
After a prodigious junior and under-23 career with World C ...
, riding his first Tour, broke away on the Galibier descent, before going solo from a break including four-time Tour winner Chris Froome
Christopher Clive Froome ɹɪs fɹuːm (born 20 May 1985) is a Kenyan/British Road bicycle racing, road racing cyclist who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . He has won seven Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours: four editions of the Tour de ...
with around 8 km to go and won on the Alpe, the youngest winner on the Alpe in Tour de France history.
Winners
*In 1979 there were two stages at Alpe d'Huez.
† Stage 18 of the 2013 Tour climbed to Alpe d'Huez twice. Moreno Moser
Moreno Moser (born 25 December 1990) is an Italian former professional road racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2012 and 2019 for the , , and the teams.
Born in Trento, Moser comes from a family of professional cyclists; his uncles ...
was the leader at the first time over the summit.
Fastest ascents
The climb has been timed since 1994 so earlier times are subject to discussion. From 1994 to 1997 the climb was timed from from the finish. Since 1999 photo-finish has been used from . Other times have been taken from the summit, which is the start of the climb. Others have been taken from the junction from the start.
These variations have led to a debate. Pantani's 37m 35s has been cited by ''Procycling
''Procycling'', or ''ProCycling'', was a bicycling sport magazine owned by Future. First published in April 1999, there were 13 issues a year distributed in all countries where there are English-speaking readers.
Andrew Sutcliffe, the former e ...
'' and World Cycling Productions, publisher of Tour de France DVDs, and by ''Cycle Sport''. In a biography of Pantani, Matt Rendell notes Pantani at: 1994 – 38m 0s; 1995 – 38m 4s; 1997 – 37m 35s. The Alpe tourist association describes the climb as and lists Pantani's 37m 35s (23.08 km/h) as the record.
Other sources give Pantani's times from 1994, 1995 and 1997 as the fastest, based on timings adjusted for the . Such sources list Pantani's time in 1995 as the record at 36m 40s. In ''Blazing Saddles'', Rendell has changed his view and listed it as 36m 50s as does CyclingNews.[ Second, third, and fourth fastest are Pantani in 1997 (36m 55s), Pantani in 1994 (37m 15s) and Lance Armstrong in 2004 (37m 36s). ]Jan Ullrich
Jan Ullrich (; born 2 December 1973) is a German former professional road bicycle racer. Ullrich won gold and silver medals in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, Sydney. He won the 1999 Vuelta a España and the HEW Cyclassics in fro ...
's time in 1997 (37m 41s) makes him the fifth fastest, highlighting how the 1990s had faster ascents than other eras.
A number of cycling publications cite times prior to 1994, although distances are typically not included, making comparisons difficult. Coppi has been listed with 45m 22s for 1952.
In the 1980s Gert-Jan Theunisse
Gert-Jan Theunisse (born 14 January 1963) is a Dutch former road bicycle racer. He won the 1988 edition of the Clásica San Sebastián one-day race. In the 1989 Tour de France, he won the King of the Mountains competition.
Biography
Theuniss ...
, Pedro Delgado
Pedro Delgado Robledo (; born 15 April 1960), also known as Perico (), is a Spanish former professional road bicycle racer. He won the 1988 Tour de France, as well as the Vuelta a España in 1985 and 1989.
Delgado is 171 centimetres tall (5&nb ...
, Luis Herrera, and Laurent Fignon
Laurent Patrick Fignon (; 12 August 1960 – 31 August 2010) was a French professional road bicycle racer who won the Tour de France in 1983 and 1984 and the Giro d'Italia in 1989. He is former FICP World No. 1 in 1989. He nearly captured ...
rode in times stated to be faster than Coppi's, but still not breaking 40m. Greg LeMond
Gregory James LeMond (born June 26, 1961) is an American former professional road racing cyclist, entrepreneur, and anti-doping advocate. A two-time winner of the Road Race World Championship (1983 and 1989) and a three-time winner of the Tou ...
and Bernard Hinault
Bernard Hinault (; born 14 November 1954) is a French former professional road cyclist. With 147 professional victories, including five times the Tour de France, he is often named among the greatest cyclists of all time. In his career, Hinault ...
have been reported as having the times of 48m 0s in 1986.
It was not until Gianni Bugno
Gianni Bugno (; born 14 February 1964) is a retired Italian professional road racing cyclist.
Biography
Bugno was a versatile rider, able to do well in different types of races. He won numerous stages in the Tour de France, and the Milan–S ...
and Miguel Indurain
-->
Miguel is a given name and surname, the Portuguese and Spanish form of the Hebrew name Michael. It may refer to:
Places
* Pedro Miguel, a parish in the municipality of Horta and the island of Faial in the Azores Islands
* São Miguel (disam ...
in 1991, that times faster than 40m were reported, including in the 39m range for Bjarne Riis
Bjarne Lykkegård Riis (; born 3 April 1964), nicknamed ''The Eagle from Herning'' ( da, Ørnen fra Herning), is a Danish former professional road bicycle racer who placed first in the 1996 Tour de France. For many years he was the owner and lat ...
in 1995 and Richard Virenque
Richard VirenqueRichard Virenque's name is pronounced Ree-shah Vee-rahnk. Virenque considers himself a man of the South but pronounces his name in standard French. Confusion is caused by the southern habit of pronouncing "en" as "ang" or "eng", ...
in 1997.
Ascent times
Some times based on 14.454 km according to Matt Rendell's first book, other times based on 13.8 km.
* The 2004 stage was an individual time trial
An individual time trial (ITT) is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock (in French: ''contre la montre'' – literally "against the watch", in Italian: ''tappa a cronometro'' "stopwatch stage"). There are also track-b ...
.
†Lance Armstrong
Lance Edward Armstrong (''né'' Gunderson; born September 18, 1971) is an American former professional road bicycle racing, road racing cyclist. Regarded as a sports icon for winning the Tour de France seven consecutive times from 1999 Tour de ...
, and Floyd Landis
Floyd Landis (born October 14, 1975) is an American former professional road racing cyclist. He finished first at the 2006 Tour de France, and would have been the third non-European winner in the event's history, but was disqualified after test ...
admitted to doping and had the Tour de France titles withdrawn. Jan Ullrich
Jan Ullrich (; born 2 December 1973) is a German former professional road bicycle racer. Ullrich won gold and silver medals in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, Sydney. He won the 1999 Vuelta a España and the HEW Cyclassics in fro ...
also admitted to doping, Marco Pantani also had a confirmed hematocrit
The hematocrit () (Ht or HCT), also known by several other names, is the volume percentage (vol%) of red blood cells (RBCs) in blood, measured as part of a blood test. The measurement depends on the number and size of red blood cells. It is norm ...
level over 50 in 1999
File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...
and Virenque was implicated in what, at the time, was the biggest doping scandal in Tour history.
Based on 13.8 km
Other cycle races
The peak is also the finish of La Marmotte, a one-day, ride with of climbing.
Mountain biking
The resort caters for mountain bikers during the summer months, the pinnacle of which is the Megavalanche
Megavalanche (nicknamed "Mega") is a enduro mountain bike race held annually at the Alpe d'Huez ski resort in the French Alps since 1995, and annually on the island of Réunion.
The Alps event, being the more widely publicized and famous among ...
, a 'Downhill Enduro' Event that takes riders from lift station at the highest peak, Pic Blanc, to Allemont in the valley floor.
Triathlon
Since 2006 Cyrille Neveu has organized the Triathlon EDF Alpe d'Huez
The Triathlon EDF Alpe d'Huez, named after its sponsor Électricité de France (EDF), was established in 2006 by World Triathlon Champion .See http://www.triathlon.org/athletes/profile/cyrille_neveu. Retrieved 30 July 2010.Cyrille Neveu (born 197 ...
, which has become a major summer attraction.
Zwift
In 2018, the virtual cycling training and racing program Zwift
Zwift is a massively multiplayer online cycling and running physical training program that enables users to interact, train, and compete in a virtual world.
Zwift was developed by Zwift Inc., which was co-founded by Jon Mayfield, Eric Min, Scot ...
released a recreation of the Alpe d'Huez climb called Alpe du Zwift. This virtual version of the climb was created using GPS data from the original route to copy it perfectly in both gradient and distance.
International relations
Twin towns – Sister cities
Alpe d'Huez is twinned with:
* Bormio
Bormio ( lmo, Bormi, rm, italic=yes, , german: Worms im Veltlintal) is a town and ''comune'' with a population of about 4,100 located in the Province of Sondrio, Lombardy region of the Alps in northern Italy.
The centre of the upper Valtellina ...
, Italy, since 2005.
See also
* List of highest paved roads in Europe
This is a list of the highest paved roads in Europe. It includes roads that are over long and whose culminating point is at least above sea level. This height approximately corresponds to that of the highest settlements in Europe and to the t ...
* List of mountain passes
This is a list of mountain passes.
Africa
Egypt
* Halfaya Pass (near Libya)
Lesotho
* Moteng Pass
* Mahlasela pass
* Sani Pass
Morocco
* Tizi n'Tichka
South Africa
* Eastern Cape Passes
* Western Cape Passes
* Northern Cape Passes
* Kwa ...
References
External links
Ski Resort Website (in French & English)
Oz-en-Oisans info
Map and details of 5 Cycling Routes up Alpe d'Huez (in English)
Alpe d'Huez
– Independent guide to Alpe d'Huez in English
Google Map of Various Cycling Routes and Landmarks
Cycling up to Alpe d'Huez: data, profile, map, photos and description
Snowcomparison
Ski Resort Trail Map
Interview with historian Jean-Paul Vespini's book "The Tour Is Won On The Alpe" by Matt Wood
{{Authority control
Venues of the 1968 Winter Olympics
Bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton tracks
Climbs in cycle racing in France
Geography of Isère
Olympic bobsleigh venues
Ski stations in France
Sports venues in Isère
Tourist attractions in Isère