L'Étape Du Tour
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L'Étape du Tour de France (also called L'Étape du Tour or just L'Étape) is an organised mass participation
cyclosportive A cyclosportive, or often simply sportive, is a short to long distance, organised, mass-participation cycling event, typically held annually. The Italian term ''Gran Fondo'' is commonly used for these events in the United States, Australia and som ...
that allows amateur
cyclist Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the world fo ...
s to race over the same route as a
Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage cycle sport, bicycle race held primarily in France. It is the oldest and most prestigious of the three Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours, which include the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a ...
stage. First held in 1993, and now organised by the
Amaury Sport Organisation The Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO and also A.S.O.) is a private company, founded in 1992, that is part of the privately-owned French media group Éditions Philippe Amaury (EPA). ASO organises the Tour de France and other cycling races, as well a ...
(ASO), it takes place each July, normally on a Tour rest day. From 2025, a L'Étape du Tour will also take place alongside Tour de France Femmes. Most often the stage chosen for L'Étape du Tour is the queen stage of the Tour de France, which normally is a high mountain stage in either the
Pyrenees The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. ...
or
French Alps The French Alps are the portions of the Alps mountain range that stand within France, located in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur regions. While some of the ranges of the French Alps are entirely in France, others, such a ...
. 15,000 entries are being sold by the organizers, with many participants travelling from foreign countries to compete. The event takes place on roads closed by the police to other traffic, with refreshment stops, mechanical assistance, and medical support provided along the route. International versions of L'Étape, marketed under the name Étape by Tour de France series, are held annually in various countries around the world to give local riders a Tour de France-like experience. Events are currently being staged in Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Greece, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, and the USA.


All male winners

*1993 – Christophe Rinero. Rinero went on to finish 4th at the 1998 Tour de France. *1994 – Igor Pavlov. This edition was poorly coordinated and a number of incidents including cows standing in the middle of the road on the Tourmalet were reported. *1995 – Thierry Bourguignon. There was tragedy in this event as young cyclist Sylvain Chaigneau died on the descent of the Croix De Fer. *1996 –
Frédéric Bessy Frédéric Bessy (born 9 January 1972 in Villefranche-sur-Saône) is a French former professional road bicycle racer, last riding for UCI ProTeam Cofidis (cycling team), Cofidis. Major results * Prix des Blés d'Or (1998) * 1st Stage 5 TTT 2001 ...
. Bessy went on to ride in the professional peloton and won the 2004 GP Lugano in Switzerland. He retired in 2007. *1997 – Patrick Bruet. The man who finished second, Grzegorz Gwiazdowski, arrived late and set off ten minutes behind everyone else and he technically was the real time winner *1998 – Joe Doran, an Australian cyclist racing in France. For security reasons the organisers held two qualifying heats on 3 and 10 May. *1999 – Cyril Bastière. There were no qualifying heats this time and the police helped with organization which made the race much safer. *2000 – Igor Pavlov. Pavlov recorded his second win at the Étape. Some very well known cyclists rode the event including
Greg LeMond Gregory James LeMond (born June 26, 1961) is an American former Road bicycle racing, road racing cyclist. He won the Tour de France thrice and the UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race, Road Race World Championship twice, becoming t ...
, Éric Boyer, Bruno Cornillet, Atle Kvålsvoll, François Lemarchand,
Ronan Pensec Ronan Pensec (born 10 July 1963) is a former French professional road bicycle racer. He was professional from 1985 to 1997. Racing career Pensec was born in Douarnenez, Finistère, France. He became professional in 1985 with the Peugeot cycling ...
and Jérôme Simon. The race finished on
Mont Ventoux Mont Ventoux (; ) is a mountain in the Provence region of southern France, located some northeast of Carpentras, Vaucluse. On the north side, the mountain borders the department of Drôme. At , it is the highest mountain in the region and h ...
*2001 – Igor Pavlov. Pavlov got a back to back victory and his third victory at the Étape. *2002 – Laurent Marcon. Astonishingly, there was a high rate of finishers. 7,108 finished from 7,500 starters. Nearly 95% of people finished. *2003 – Loic Herbreteau. Really hot temperatures made some of the climbs unbearable. Spanish cycling legends,
Miguel Induráin Miguel Induráin Larraya (; born 16 July 1964) is a retired Spanish road racing cyclist. Induráin won five Tours de France from 1991 Tour de France, 1991 to 1995 Tour de France, 1995, the fourth, and last, to win five times, and the only five- ...
and Abraham Olano, both competed. *2004 – Jean-Christophe Currit. It was the longest route ever. French cycling legend
Raymond Poulidor Raymond Poulidor (; 15 April 1936 – 13 November 2019), nicknamed "Pou-Pou" (), was a French professional road bicycle racing, racing cyclist, who rode for his entire career. His distinguished career coincided with two other outstanding ride ...
started the race. Abraham Olano competed for the second year in succession. *2005 – Laurent Marcon. Marcon took his second victory at the Étape. 8500 people entered the Étape. *2006 – Blaise Sonnery. Sonnery went on to ride for Ag2r–La Mondiale He rode for them until 2009. *2007 – Nicolas Fritsch. Fritsch was a former professional peloton rider and he rode for Marc Madiot on the Française Des Jeux team. Olano and LeMond competed in the event once more. *2008 – Laurent Four. It was extremely cloudy which prevented the riders from seeing the sights of the race. *2009 – Dimitri Champion. Dimitri Champion was racing for Bretagne–Schuller at the time and he was also the French national road race champion. It was an extremely hot day with many riders having to dismount on Mont Ventoux because of the heat. *2010 – Jean-Christophe Currit. Currit took his second Étape victory. The race finished on 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 ...
. 10,000 people entered the race. *2011 – There was a change in 2011 and a two-day race occurred rather than just the one day. **Stage one Jean-Christophe Currit. Currit took the first stage which went over the
Col Du Galibier The Col du Galibier (el. ) is a mountain pass in the southern region of the France, French Dauphiné Alps near Grenoble. It is the eighth List of highest paved roads in Europe, highest paved road in the Alps, and recurrently the List of highe ...
and finished at the
Alpe d'Huez L'Alpe d'Huez () is a ski resort in Southeastern France at . It is a mountain pasture in the central French Western Alps, in the Communes of France, commune of Huez, which is part of the Isère Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-R ...
. **Stage two Lilian Jégou Jégou was a former professional peloton rider who retired the previous at Bretagne–Schuller. He had previously ridden for Française des Jeux for a number of years. Heavy rain meant poor conditions and only 2094 people crossed the line at the end. *2012 – Once more a two-day event **Stage one Robin Cattet. A day of high climbing with a lack of preparation hindered many participants. **Stage two Nicolas Roux. As it was Bastille day it was a day of celebration. Frenchmen Nicolas Roux took the victory. Rain meant the sights of the Pyrenees couldn't be seen. *2013 – Nicolas Roux. Back to the original one day format. Roux took a second Étape win. Climbed up to Annecy Semnoz for the win. 11,475 started which is the best ever participation. Over 10,000 finished. *2014 – Loic Herbreteau. Eleven years after his first Étape victory, Herbreteau struck again beating Peter Pouly by nearly four minutes. Former winner Lilian Jégou was sixth and Nicolas Roux, 2013 winner, finished sixteenth. Former professional rider Julien Belgy finished 44th. 2008 Winner Laurent Four finished 133rd *2015 – Jérémy Bescond. Former Cofidis rider Bescond won the race. Former winner Lillian Jegou finished 74th. *2016 – French rider Tao Quéméré won this year's race. *2017 – This years edition was won by Norwegian rider Jonas Abrahamsen. *2018 – French rider Victor Lafay took the victory. He went on to win the 8th stage of the 2021 Giro d'Italia. *2019 – Cédrick Dubois claimed this year's victory. *2022 – Stefan Kirchmair from Austria took the victory in the 2022 edition. *2023 – Artus Jaladeau from France won this year's race. *2024 – French rider Damien Jeanjean took the victory.


Recent Étapes du Tour


2007

Greg LeMond Gregory James LeMond (born June 26, 1961) is an American former Road bicycle racing, road racing cyclist. He won the Tour de France thrice and the UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race, Road Race World Championship twice, becoming t ...
rode this Étape along with his son, after being inspired by his son riding it previously. LeMond said "I had the time of my life", despite getting "650th place" and being "impressed that I even finished". "I decided that day that nobody's going to keep me from cycling, not Trek, not Armstrong, not Verbuggen, not anybody.". British comedian
Hugh Dennis Peter Hugh Dennis (born 13 February 1962) is an English comedian, presenter, actor, Impressionist (entertainment), impressionist and writer. He was a panellist in every episode of the comedy show ''Mock the Week'' (2005–2022) and is one half ...
also rode this Étape.


2008

In 2008, the 167 km stage 10 from Pau to Hautacam, including a passage over 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 ...
was selected for L'Étape du Tour with Laurent Four coming home in the fastest time of 5 hours 38 minutes. Unfortunately, the weather on the day was very poor and visibility at the summit of the Tourmalet was down to 10m.


2009

The 2009 edition started in Montélimar (Drôme) and covered 172 km and four smaller climbs (Côte de Citelle, Col d'Ey, Col de Fontaube, Col de Notre-Dame des Abeilles) before finishing at the summit of
Mont Ventoux Mont Ventoux (; ) is a mountain in the Provence region of southern France, located some northeast of Carpentras, Vaucluse. On the north side, the mountain borders the department of Drôme. At , it is the highest mountain in the region and h ...
.


2010

The 2010 event started in Pau and finished at 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 ...
on 18 July 2010. Nearly 7000 cyclists completed the event, thanks to weather far better than the pros had several days later.


2011

For 2011, ASO organised two "Étapes". The first, on 11 July, on the Modane –
Alpe d'Huez L'Alpe d'Huez () is a ski resort in Southeastern France at . It is a mountain pasture in the central French Western Alps, in the Communes of France, commune of Huez, which is part of the Isère Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-R ...
stage covering 109 km, was the shortest in history. This is the same stage the pros rode in Stage 19 on 22 July. The second Étape for 2011, on 17 July, was actually the longest in history, covering 208 km, from Issoire to Saint Flour in the massif central (south of Clermont-Ferrand). The pros rode this stage on 10 July in Stage 9 of the 2011 Tour de France. The second Etape in 2011 was also the most attritional, with hailstones, rain and sub-zero temperatures in places. Only 2,094 people finished.


2012

In 2012 there were two events. The first event was from
Albertville Albertville (; Franco-Provençal, Arpitan: ''Arbèrtvile'') is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Savoie Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region in Southeastern France. It is best k ...
to La Toussuire on 8 July, following the 140 km route of stage 11 of the Tour de France and including the Col de la Madeleine and the
Col de la Croix de Fer Col de la Croix de Fer () (el. 2067 m.) is a high mountain pass in the French Alps linking Le Bourg-d'Oisans and Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne. Details of climb The approach from the northeast from Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne is 29.5 km at an average ...
, finishing at La Toussuire, part of the
Les Sybelles Les Sybelles () is a linked ski area, located in the Savoie department in the French Alps. It is one of the largest skiable domains in France. The resort was the home base of Jean-Pierre Vidal, winner of the gold medal in slalom at the 2002 Wint ...
ski area. The second event held on 14 July followed the route of stage 16 from Pau to
Bagnères-de-Luchon Bagnères-de-Luchon (; ), also referred to as just Luchon, is a Communes of France, commune and spa town in the Haute-Garonne Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie region of south-western France. T ...
, crossing the Col d'Aubisque,
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 ...
,
Col d'Aspin Col d'Aspin () (elevation ) is a mountain pass in the French Pyrenees in the department of the Hautes-Pyrénées. It connects Sainte-Marie-de-Campan, in the upper Adour valley, with Arreau, on the Neste (river), River Neste. Details of the climbs ...
, and Col de Peyresourde for a total distance of 197 km. Only about 60% of entrants finished either event within the official cut-off times.


2013

ASO reverted to a single event for 2013 partly because the 2012 event lost money due to logistics associated with deploying buses and trucks to recover riders who were unable to finish. On 7 July, the Étape recreated stage 20 of the 2013 Tour de France, starting in the town of
Annecy Annecy ( , ; , also ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Haute-Savoie Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, regi ...
and finishing at the ski station of Annecy-Semnoz at an altitude of 1,655m. The 130 km route included the climb of the 1,142m des Prés and the 1,463m Mont Revard.


2014

The 2014 event on 20 July 2014 followed a similar route to the 2008 event, beginning in Pau and finishing at Hautacam.


2015

The 2015 route began in the
Savoie Savoie (; Arpitan: ''Savouè'' or ''Savouè-d'Avâl''; English: ''Savoy'' ) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, Southeastern France. Located in the French Alps, its prefecture is Chambéry. In 2019, Savoie had a population o ...
town of
Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne (; or ''Sant-Jian-de-Môrièna''; ) is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Savoie Departments of France, department, in the regions of France, region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (formerly Rhône-Alpes), in south ...
, and covered a 140 km course, climbing the Col de Chaussy,
Col de la Croix de Fer Col de la Croix de Fer () (el. 2067 m.) is a high mountain pass in the French Alps linking Le Bourg-d'Oisans and Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne. Details of climb The approach from the northeast from Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne is 29.5 km at an average ...
, Col du Mollard, with a summit finish at La Toussuire.


2016

In 2016, the event began in
Megève Megève (; ) is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Southeastern France with a population of more than 3,000 residents. The town is well known as a ski resort near Mont Blanc in the French Alps. Co ...
and ended in
Morzine Morzine (; ), alternatively known as Morzine-Avoriaz (), is an alpine commune on the Swiss border in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Southeastern France. It is located in the French-Swiss Chablais historical ...
in the Haute Savoie. The race was shortened to 122 km and three mountain passes after Col de la Ramaz had to be skipped due to rockfall danger on the descent. 11,471 participants set off from Megève to climb the 1,487m Col des Aravis, the 1,618m Col de la Colombière and the 1,691m Col de Joux Plane. A record 11,212 finishers reached Megève. The winner was Tao Quemere in 3h33'35" and the first woman was Edwige Pitel in 3h56'37".


2017

The 2017 event, held on 16 July, followed a nearly identical route to what was used four days later for Stage 18 of the 2017 Tour de France. Both L'Étape and the Tour's Stage 18 started in
Briançon Briançon (, ) is the sole Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Hautes-Alpes Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region in Southeastern France. It is the highest city in France at an a ...
and ended atop the 2,360m Col d'Izoard, with L'Étape listed as 181 km and Stage 18 as 179.5 km.


2018

L'Étape du Tour 2018 was held on 8 July and featured a 169 km route from
Annecy Annecy ( , ; , also ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Haute-Savoie Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, regi ...
to Le Grand-Bornand, taking in four significant climbs, and totalling 4,756m of vertical ascent.


2019

The 2019 edition was held on 21 July on the course of stage 20 of the Tour de France of the same year. The 135 km route from
Albertville Albertville (; Franco-Provençal, Arpitan: ''Arbèrtvile'') is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Savoie Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region in Southeastern France. It is best k ...
to Val Thorens featured 4,563m of climbing up to Cormet de Roselend (Catégorie 1), Côte de Longefoy (Catégorie 2), and the final climb to Val Thorens (Hors Catégorie). The actual Tour de France stage six days later had to be cut short to just 59 km, due to a heavy hailstorm that caused landslides the day before.


2020 and 2021

The 2020 event, which was set to follow the route of stage 2 of the 2020 Tour de France from Nice to Nice, had to be cancelled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. The organizers attempted to run the same route in 2021, but ultimately this plan also had to be cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.


2022

The 30th edition of L'Étape du Tour took place on 10 July 2022 on the same route as stage 12 of the Tour de France between
Briançon Briançon (, ) is the sole Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Hautes-Alpes Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region in Southeastern France. It is the highest city in France at an a ...
and
Alpe d'Huez L'Alpe d'Huez () is a ski resort in Southeastern France at . It is a mountain pasture in the central French Western Alps, in the Communes of France, commune of Huez, which is part of the Isère Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-R ...
over 167 km with more than 4,700m of climbing, including the
Col du Galibier The Col du Galibier (el. ) is a mountain pass in the southern region of the France, French Dauphiné Alps near Grenoble. It is the eighth List of highest paved roads in Europe, highest paved road in the Alps, and recurrently the List of highe ...
(Hors Catégorie),
Col de la Croix de Fer Col de la Croix de Fer () (el. 2067 m.) is a high mountain pass in the French Alps linking Le Bourg-d'Oisans and Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne. Details of climb The approach from the northeast from Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne is 29.5 km at an average ...
(Hors Catégorie), and the final climb to Alpe d'Huez (Hors Catégorie). In the COVID-19 aftermath only 11,000 riders out of 16,000 inscriptions showed up at the starting line, and 8,685 finished within the official time limit, with many suffering in temperatures exceeding 40°C.


2023

The 31st edition of L'Étape du Tour was held on 9 July 2023 on the same route as stage 14 of the Tour de France between
Annemasse Annemasse (; Franco-Provençal, Arpitan: ''Anemâsse'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Haute-Savoie Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region in Eastern France. Even though it covers a relativ ...
and
Morzine Morzine (; ), alternatively known as Morzine-Avoriaz (), is an alpine commune on the Swiss border in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Southeastern France. It is located in the French-Swiss Chablais historical ...
over 157 km with more than 4,100m of climbing, including the Col de Saxel (Catégorie 3), Col de Cou (Catégorie 1), Col de Feu (Catégorie 1), Col de la Ramaz (Catégorie 1), and Col de Joux Plane (Hors Catégorie).


2024

The 2024 L'Étape du Tour was held on 6 July 2024 on the course of stage 20 of the Tour de France, starting in Nice, a 138 km route with more than 4,600m of climbing, including the Col de Braus (Catégorie 2), Col de Turini (Catégorie 1), Col de La Colmiane (Catégorie 1), and finishing on Col de la Couillole (Catégorie 1).


2025

From 2025, two editions of L'Étape du Tour will take place – one that uses the same route as stage 19 of the
Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage cycle sport, bicycle race held primarily in France. It is the oldest and most prestigious of the three Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours, which include the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a ...
(
Albertville Albertville (; Franco-Provençal, Arpitan: ''Arbèrtvile'') is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Savoie Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region in Southeastern France. It is best k ...
to La Plagne) on 20 July 2024, and another that will use the same route as stage 8 of the Tour de France Femmes (
Chambéry Chambéry (, , ; Franco-Provençal, Arpitan: ''Chambèri'') is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Savoie Departments of France, department in the southeastern ...
to Col de la Madeleine) on 2 August 2025.


References


External links


Official l'Étape du Tour siteVelo Magazine Étape du Tour site
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20080830092328/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/men/article2690582.ece Sunday Times article about riding and suffering during the 2007 Etape
atomicecho.com/etape A blog about training for and riding the Etape du TourVery detailed article on 2007 Étape
The charity which helps raise funds for children and young adults to enter the paralympics
Preview videos and trailers on Vimeo Channel

2011 Etape Alps report with photos2010 Etape Pyrenees report on the epic stage to the Tourmalet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Etape Du Tour Tour de France Cycle racing in France Cyclosportives Recurring sporting events established in 1993