Col de Marie-Blanque (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 western
Pyrenees in the department of
Pyrénées-Atlantiques in
France. The pass is situated south-east of
Oloron-Sainte-Marie and connects the valleys of the
Aspe and the
Ossau
The Ossau Valley (French: ''Vallée d'Ossau''; Gascon: ''Aussau'' / ''la vath d'Aussau'') is a valley of the French Pyrénées, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques ''département''.
Administration
18 communes belong to the Valley: Arudy, Aste-Béo ...
rivers.
Details of the climb
The western side of the climb, starts from
Escot on the N134. The climb is long at an average gradient of 7.7% (height gain – ). Although relatively short, there are several long sections with gradients in excess of 11%.
From
Louvie-Juzon (east), the climb is long. Over this distance, it gains at an average gradient of 4.1%. The climb proper starts at
Bielle
Bielle (; oc, Vièla) is a commune of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in southwestern France.
See also
* Ossau Valley
*Communes of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department
The following is a list of the 546 communes of the Pyrénées-At ...
on the D934 from where it is long, gaining at an average gradient of 5.1%, with a maximum of 8.5% near the start. En route, the climb passes the Plateau de Bénou.
Tour de France
The pass was first used in the
Tour de France in
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 ...
and has been crossed 15 times by the tour, including on stage 9 of the
2020 tour from
Pau to
Laruns
Laruns (; oc, Laruntz) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France.
It is situated at the confluence of two mountain streams, the Gave d'Ossau and its tributary, the Valentin.
Formerly part of the province ...
.
Appearances in Tour de France
[
]
References
External links
Preview Stage 17 2010 Tour de France with Cycling Profile for Marie-Blanque
Profiles and Tour de France appearancesCol de Marie-Blanque on Google Maps (Tour de France classic climbs)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marie-Blanque
Mountain passes of Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Mountain passes of the Pyrenees