The Col de Pailhères (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 Ariège department of 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 ...

, located on the secondary road D25 between Mijanès (south-east) and

Ax-les-Thermes Ax-les-Thermes (; oc, Ax or ) is a commune in the Ariège department in the Occitanie region of south-western France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Axéens'' or ''Axéennes''. The commune has been awarded one flower by the ''N ...

(west). ''Port de Pailhères'' (elevation ) is located nearby, 400 m southwest. It is the lowest point between the valleys but from there the road D25 to Mijanès direction runs via the Col de Pailhères.

Details of climb

Starting from Mijanes, the Col de Pailhères is long. Over this distance, the climb is (an average gradient of 8.2%) with a maximum gradient of 10.2%. Starting from Ax-les-Thermes, the Col de Pailhères is long. Over this distance, the climb is , (an average gradient of 6.9%) with a maximum gradient of 10.4% near the summit.

Tour de France

The climb has been used in five stages 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 ...

cycle race with its first appearance coming in 2003. 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 ...

, it was used on the eighth stage, when the riders also competed for the

Souvenir Henri Desgrange The Souvenir Henri Desgrange is an award and cash prize given in the yearly running of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tour races. It is won by the rider that crosses a particular point in the race, mostly the summits of the highest a ...

Appearances in Tour de France

References

External links

Profile/Photos/Video: Cycling Ax-les-Thermes and Port de PailheresPort de Pailhères on Google Maps (Tour de France classic climbs)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pailheres Mountain passes of Ariège (department) Mountain passes of the Pyrenees