Col d'Aspin ( oc, Còth d'Aspin) (elevation ) is a
mountain pass
A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since many of the world's mountain ranges have presented formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both Human migration, human a ...
in the French
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to C ...
in the department of the
Hautes-Pyrénées. It connects
Sainte-Marie-de-Campan
Campan (; oc, Campan) is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Occitanie region of south-western France.
Geography
Campan stands in a valley of the same name at the confluence of the rivers Adour and Adour de Payolle. It is s ...
, in the upper
Adour valley, with
Arreau
Arreau (; oc, Àrreu) is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in southwestern France.
It is situated on the former Route nationale 618, the ''Route of the Pyrénées''. Arreau is at the crossroads of the Louron valley and the Aure val ...
, on the
River Neste.
Details of the climbs
![2005 Mountain Pass Cycling Milestone - Col d'Aspin Arreau](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5d/2005_Mountain_Pass_Cycling_Milestone_-_Col_d%27Aspin_Arreau.JPG)
From
Sainte-Marie-de-Campan
Campan (; oc, Campan) is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Occitanie region of south-western France.
Geography
Campan stands in a valley of the same name at the confluence of the rivers Adour and Adour de Payolle. It is s ...
(west), the ascent is in length, gaining in height, at an average of 5%. In comparison with its neighbour, the
Col du Tourmalet
Col du Tourmalet (; elevation ) is one of the highest paved mountain passes in the French Pyrenees, in the department of Hautes-Pyrénées. Sainte-Marie-de-Campan is at the foot on the eastern side and the ski station La Mongie two-thirds of ...
, this is considered an "easy" climb, with only the last five kilometres, at about 8%, being difficult.
From
Arreau
Arreau (; oc, Àrreu) is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in southwestern France.
It is situated on the former Route nationale 618, the ''Route of the Pyrénées''. Arreau is at the crossroads of the Louron valley and the Aure val ...
(east), the climb is more difficult; over the climb averages 6.5%, gaining in height.
On both sides of the Col de l'Aspin
mountain pass cycling milestones Mountain pass cycling milestones are signposts that provide cyclists with information about their current position with regard to the summit of the mountain pass. They always provide information for cyclists going uphill. Sometimes the signs are two ...
are placed every kilometre. They indicate the height of the summit, the distance to the summit, the current height, and the average slope in the following kilometre. Such signposting for cyclists has become common in most major mountain passes in the French Pyrenees and Alps.
Tour de France
The pass has been part of 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 ...
71 times, largely because it is the middle link in a chain of three road climbs, the other links being the
Col du Tourmalet
Col du Tourmalet (; elevation ) is one of the highest paved mountain passes in the French Pyrenees, in the department of Hautes-Pyrénées. Sainte-Marie-de-Campan is at the foot on the eastern side and the ski station La Mongie two-thirds of ...
() and
Col de Peyresourde
The Col de Peyresourde ( oc, Còth de Pèira Sorda) (elevation ) is a mountain pass in the central Pyrenees on the border of the department of Haute-Garonne and Hautes-Pyrénées in France. It is situated on the D618 road between Bagnères-de-L ...
(). The first time the Col d'Aspin was crossed was in
1910, when the leader over the summit was
Octave Lapize
Octave Lapize (; 24 October 1887 – 14 July 1917) was a French professional road racing cyclist and track cyclist.
Most famous for winning the 1910 Tour de France and a bronze medal at the 1908 Summer Olympics in the men's 100 kilometres ...
.
In the
1950 Tour, there was an altercation at the pass, with bottles and stones being thrown at the riders, and the Italian team with
Gino Bartali
Gino Bartali (; 18 July 1914 – 5 May 2000), nicknamed Gino the Pious and (in Italy) Ginettaccio, was a champion road cyclist. He was the most renowned Italian cyclist before the Second World War, having won the Giro d'Italia twice, in 19 ...
and
Fiorenzo Magni
Fiorenzo Magni (; 7 December 1920 – 19 October 2012) was an Italian professional road racing cyclist.
Biography
Magni was born to Giuseppe Magni and Giulia Caciolli, and had an elder sister Fiorenza. Bulbarelli, pp. 14–15 He started c ...
, the leaders at the time, withdrew from the Tour at the end of the stage from
Pau to
Saint-Gaudens.
Appearances in Tour de France since 1947
References
External links
Cycling profile of both sidesComplete list of leaders over summitCol d'Aspin on Google Maps (Tour de France classic climbs)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aspin
Mountain passes of Hautes-Pyrénées
Mountain passes of the Pyrenees
Climbs in cycle racing in France