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 ...
between
Massat
Massat () is a commune in the Ariège department in southwestern France.
It is situated on the former Route nationale 618, the "Route of the Pyrenees".
History
The area dates back to paleolithic times, when tribes left some traces in painte ...
and
Tarascon-sur-Ariège
Tarascon-sur-Ariège (, literally ''Tarascon on Ariège''; Languedocien: ''Tarascon d’Arièja'') is a commune in the Ariège department in southwestern France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primari ...
in the "massif de l'Arize". It links the Couserans and Ariège valleys.
The pass is used occasionally 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 ...
and is popular with touring cyclists.
The name of the pass is tautological as ''Col'' means ''pass'' in French and ''Port'' means
pass
Pass, PASS, The Pass or Passed may refer to:
Places
* Pass, County Meath, a townland in Ireland
* Pass, Poland, a village in Poland
* Pass, an alternate term for a number of straits: see List of straits
* Mountain pass, a lower place in a moun ...
in
Occitan Occitan may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Occitania territory in parts of France, Italy, Monaco and Spain.
* Something of, from, or related to the Occitania administrative region of France.
* Occitan language
Occitan (; o ...
.
Details of the climb
Starting from the D8/D618 junction, (Tarascon-sur-Ariège) (east) the Col de Port is long. Over this distance, the climb is (an average gradient of 4.6%). The steepest section is 9.2%.
Starting from Massat, (west) the Col de Port is long. Over this distance, the climb is (an average gradient of 4.7%).
From Massat, the D18 to the south links with the route from
Aulus-les-Bains
Aulus-les-Bains (; oc, Aulús) is a commune in the Ariège department in the Occitanie region of south-western France.
The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Aulusiens'' or ''Aulusiennes''.
Geography
Aulus-les-Bains is located at t ...
and
Vicdessos
Vicdessos is a former commune in the Ariège department in southwestern France. On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the new commune Val-de-Sos.Col d'Agnes () and the
Port de Lers
The Port de Lers (or Port de l'Hers or Port de Massat) (elevation ) is a mountain pass in the French Pyrenees in the department of Ariège (department), Ariège, between the communities of Aulus-les-Bains (west), Massat (north) and Vicdessos (ea ...
().
Tour de France
The Col de Port was first used in the Tour de France in 1910. The first cyclist 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, ...
.
Appearances in the Tour de France (since 1947)
The Tour de France has crossed the summit 11 times since 1947, including on stage 16 of the 2021 tour. The 15th stage was selected for the 2007
L'Étape du Tour
L'Étape du Tour de France (also called L'Étape du Tour or just L'Étape) is an organised mass participation cyclosportive that allows amateur cyclists to race over the same route as a Tour de France stage. First held in 1993, and now organised by ...
, in which amateur and club riders ride over a full stage of the tour.