Pas de Peyrol (el. 1,589 m) 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 ...

located in

Auvergne Auvergne (; ; oc, label=Occitan, Auvèrnhe or ) is a former administrative region in central France, comprising the four departments of Allier, Puy-de-Dôme, Cantal and Haute-Loire. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region Auverg ...

, France, and is the highest road pass in the

Massif Central The (; oc, Massís Central, ; literally ''"Central Massif"'') is a highland region in south-central France, consisting of mountains and plateaus. It covers about 15% of mainland France. Subject to volcanism that has subsided in the last 10,00 ...

. The pass is on the slopes of

Puy Mary The Puy Mary is a summit in the mounts of Cantal in Massif Central in France. It is classified as a "Grand National Site" in France. Nearly 500,000 visitors come to this site every year. Geography and geology The mountain is an extinct volcano ...

(1,787 m) and is situated at the junction of three roads: * D17 to the south-west towards

Aurillac Aurillac (; oc, Orlhac ) is the prefecture of the Cantal department, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Aurillacois'' or ''Aurillacoises''. Geography Aurillac is at above sea leve ...

, via the Col de Redondet (1,531 m), then down the valley of the River Jordanne. * D680 to the north-west towards

Salers Salers (, ) is a commune in the Cantal department in south-central France. It is famous for the Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) cheeses Cantal and Salers. It is also famous for the Salers breed of cattle that originated in this commu ...

* D680 to the east, towards Dienne, down the valley of the River Santoire

Tour de France

The pass is regularly used on 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 ...

, most recently in the 2020 tour. The pass was first used in the

1959 Tour de France The 1959 Tour de France was the 46th edition of the Tour de France, taking place between 25 June and 18 July. The race featured 120 riders, of which 65 finished. The Tour included 22 stages over . The race was won by Spanish cyclist Federico Bah ...

, on the 231 km stage 14 from

Clermont Ferrand Clermont-Ferrand (, ; ; oc, label=Auvergnat, Clarmont-Ferrand or Clharmou ; la, Augustonemetum) is a city and commune of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, with a population of 146,734 (2018). Its metropolitan area (''aire d'attract ...

, with

Louis Bergaud Louis Bergaud (born 30 November 1928) is a French former professional road bicycle racer. Major results ;1954 :Tour de Corrèze :Tour de France: ::7th place overall classification ;1955 :Felletin :Montluçon :Issoire ;1956 :Belvès ;1957 : Poly ...

first across the summit. In the 2004 tour, the pass was used on stage 10 from

Limoges Limoges (, , ; oc, Lemòtges, locally ) is a city and Communes of France, commune, and the prefecture of the Haute-Vienne Departments of France, department in west-central France. It was the administrative capital of the former Limousin region ...

Saint-Flour Saint-Flour (; Auvergnat: ''Sant Flor'') is a commune in the Cantal department in the Auvergne region in south-central France, around 100 km south of Clermont-Ferrand. Its inhabitants are called ''Sanflorains''. Geography The upper city ...

, approaching from the

direction which includes a final three kilometres at an average of 12% and a maximum gradient of 15%, with

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", ...

first over the summit. The same ascent was used as the finish of stage 13 in the 2020 Tour de France, which was won by Daniel Martínez.

Appearances in the Tour de France

The Tour de France has crossed or finished at the summit 11 times since 1947. The 10th stage of the 2004 tour was selected for the 2004

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.

External links

Le Pas de Peyrol ou (Puy-Mary) dans le Tour de France

Climb profile from Dienne (2008 Tour de France route)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Peyrol Landforms of Cantal Transport in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Mountain passes of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Mountain passes of the Massif Central

Tour de France

Appearances in the Tour de France

See also

External links