Col d'Aspin ( oc, Còth d'Aspin) (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 and animal migr ...

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 ...

in the department of the

Hautes-Pyrénées Hautes-Pyrénées (; Gascon/ Occitan: ''Nauts Pirenèus / Hauts Pirenèus'' awts piɾeˈnɛʊs es, Altos Pirineos; ca, Alts Pirineus alts piɾiˈneʊs English: Upper Pyrenees) is a department in the region of Occitania, southwestern France. ...

. It connects Sainte-Marie-de-Campan, in the upper

Adour The Adour (; eu, Aturri; oc, Ador) is a river in southwestern France. It rises in High-Bigorre (Pyrenees), in the commune of Aspin-Aure, and flows into the Atlantic Ocean ( Bay of Biscay) near Bayonne. It is long, of which the uppermost ca. ...

valley, with

Arreau Arreau (; oc, Àrreu) is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in southwestern France. It is situated on the former Route nationale 618, the ''Route of the Pyrénées''. Arreau is at the crossroads of the Louron valley and the Aure vall ...

, on the River Neste.

Details of the climbs

2005 Mountain Pass Cycling Milestone - Col d'Aspin Arreau

From Sainte-Marie-de-Campan (west), the ascent is in length, gaining in height, at an average of 5%. In comparison with its neighbour, 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 of ...

, this is considered an "easy" climb, with only the last five kilometres, at about 8%, being difficult. From

(east), the climb is more difficult; over the climb averages 6.5%, gaining in height. On both sides of the Col de l'Aspin

mountain pass cycling milestones Mountain pass cycling milestones are signposts that provide cyclists with information about their current position with regard to the summit of the mountain pass. They always provide information for cyclists going uphill. Sometimes the signs are two ...

are placed every kilometre. They indicate the height of the summit, the distance to the summit, the current height, and the average slope in the following kilometre. Such signposting for cyclists has become common in most major mountain passes in the French Pyrenees and Alps.

Tour de France

The pass has been part 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 ...

71 times, largely because it is the middle link in a chain of three road climbs, the other links being the

() and

Col de Peyresourde The Col de Peyresourde ( oc, Còth de Pèira Sorda) (elevation ) is a mountain pass in the central Pyrenees on the border of the department of Haute-Garonne and Hautes-Pyrénées in France. It is situated on the D618 road between Bagnères-de-L ...

(). The first time the Col d'Aspin was crossed was in

1910 Events January * January 13 – The first public radio broadcast takes place; live performances of the operas '' Cavalleria rusticana'' and ''Pagliacci'' are sent out over the airwaves, from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York C ...

, when the leader 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, h ...

. In the 1950 Tour, there was an altercation at the pass, with bottles and stones being thrown at the riders, and the Italian team with

Gino Bartali Gino Bartali (; 18 July 1914 – 5 May 2000), nicknamed Gino the Pious and (in Italy) Ginettaccio, was a champion road cyclist. He was the most renowned Italian cyclist before the Second World War, having won the Giro d'Italia twice, in 19 ...

and

Fiorenzo Magni Fiorenzo Magni (; 7 December 1920 – 19 October 2012) was an Italian professional road racing cyclist. Biography Magni was born to Giuseppe Magni and Giulia Caciolli, and had an elder sister Fiorenza. Bulbarelli, pp. 14–15 He started c ...

, the leaders at the time, withdrew from the Tour at the end of the stage from Pau to Saint-Gaudens.

Appearances in Tour de France since 1947

References

External links

Cycling profile of both sides

Complete list of leaders over summit

Col d'Aspin on Google Maps (Tour de France classic climbs)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aspin Mountain passes of Hautes-Pyrénées Mountain passes of the Pyrenees Climbs in cycle racing in France