Col de la Pierre Saint-Martin (elevation ) is a

mountain pass A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since mountain ranges can present formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both Human migration, human and animal migration t ...

on the

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

–

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

border in the western

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. ...

in the department of

Pyrénées-Atlantiques Pyrénées-Atlantiques (; Gascon language, Gascon Occitan language, Occitan: ''Pirenèus Atlantics''; ) is a Departments of France, department located in the Regions of France, region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine in the southwest corner of metropolitan ...

(France) and

Navarra Navarre ( ; ; ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre, is a landlocked foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Autonomous Community, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and New Aquitaine in France. ...

(Spain). The climb from the Spanish side was used in the

2007 Tour de France The 2007 Tour de France the 94th running of Tour de France, the race, took place from 7 to 29 July. The Tour began with a prologue in London, and ended with the traditional finish in Paris. Along the way, the route also passed through Belgium and ...

. Close to the summit of the pass, there is the ski station of Arette-Pierre-Saint-Martin. In 2015, on

Bastille Day Bastille Day is the common name given in English-speaking countries to the national day of France, which is celebrated on 14 July each year. It is referred to, both legally and commonly, as () in French, though ''la fête nationale'' is also u ...

, the tenth leg of the Tour climbed the Col in the other direction, from

Arette Arette (; ) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of southwestern France. It is located in the arrondissement of Oloron-Sainte-Marie and the canton of Oloron-Sainte-Marie-1. Geography Arr ...

up to the village of Pierre Saint Martin, which hosted the end of a stage for the first time ever. Every year on 13 July since 1375, the ceremony of the Tribute of the Three Cows takes place on the summit of the mountain pass.

Details of the climb

The southern side of the climb, starting from

Isaba Isaba () is a town and municipality located in the province and autonomous community of Navarre, northern Spain. Is the main town of the Roncal valley and is sited in the Pyrenees The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of Fra ...

(Navarra, Spain) is long at an average gradient of 3.6% (height gain – ). The final stages of the climb start at Larra Belagua (1026m.) with at 5.2%, with a maximum of 7.4%. The pass is situated south east of

Oloron-Sainte-Marie Oloron-Sainte-Marie (; ; ) is a commune in the southwestern French department of Pyrénées-Atlantiques. History The town was founded by the Romans in the 1st century, then known as ''Illoronensium''. Situated on the Roman way between the ...

. Starting from

(north east), the climb is long gaining (an average gradient of 5.5%). En route, the climb passes over the Col de Labays (), the Pas de Guilhers () and the

Col du Soudet A col is the lowest point on a mountain ridge between two peaks; a mountain pass or saddle. COL, CoL or col may also refer to: Computers * Caldera OpenLinux, a defunct Linux distribution * , an HTML element specifying a column * A collision sign ...

().

Tour de France

The climb from the south featured in 2007 in 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 ...

for the first time on the stage 16 from

Orthez Orthez (; ; , ) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, and region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. It lies 40 km NW of Pau on the Southern railway to Bayonne. The town also encompasses the small village of Sai ...

Gourette Gourette (; Béarnese: ''Goreta'') is a winter sports resort in the French Pyrenees. It is located in the commune of Eaux-Bonnes in the department of Pyrénées-Atlantiques and the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine on the D 918 road which passes th ...

–

Col d'Aubisque The Col d'Aubisque () (elevation ) is a mountain pass in the Pyrenees south of Tarbes and Pau in the department of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, in the Aquitaine region of France.Chany, Pierre (1988), La Fabuleuse Histoire du Tour de France, La Ma ...

. In 2015, the climb, coming from the north was featured as a stage finish for the first time on the stage 10 from

Tarbes Tarbes (; Gascon language, Gascon: ''Tarba'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region of southwestern France. It is ...

Tour de France stage finishes

Passages in the Tour de France

References

External links

Detailed summary of climb
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pierre Saint-Martin Mountain passes of Nouvelle-Aquitaine Mountain passes of the Pyrenees Mountain passes of Spain France–Spain border crossings