French Pyrenees Cycling Climbs

Mountains

The French Pyrenees are home to some of the most famous cycling climbs in the world. Hosting three or four stages of the Tour de France each year, these slopes have hosted battles between the greatest riders to have ever turned a pedal.

The mountains here are spectacular, challenging and steeped in history, making them a pleasure to ride for all cyclists - while sometimes causing pain in equal measure!

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Scenery

The Pyrenees is a spectacular mountain range. In France, most of the high climbs are in the Central Pyrenees, an area which boasts numerous peaks over 3,000m. The scenery is more green and rugged than the Alps (and in our opinion more spectacular).

Roads

The road surfaces are of a consistently high quality in the French Pyrenees and are a pleasure to ride on a road bike. The one slight exception are the climbs in Catalonia, at the far eastern edge of the range. Here the surfaces can be a bit bumpy at times, but are still perfectly fine to ride on a road bike.

In peak season (august) there can be some traffic in the valleys, but most of the climbs are very quiet. The busier climbs are ones that are still active passes (e.g. Tourmalet / Peyresourde), but even here the traffic is not at all bothersome for cyclists.

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Roads

The road surfaces are of a consistently excellent quality throughout Catalonia and are a pleasure to ride on a road bike.

The traffic varies depending on the climb. Some are completely empty, while others can carry a lot of heavy goods traffic. Local knowledge of the area is essential.

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Getting There

It can be quite tricky to get into the heart of the Pyrenees. Lourdes is the closest town with an airport and major train station, and is within cycling distance of several well known climbs.

Toulouse is the closest large airport to the Central Pyrenees, while Girona and Barcelona provide options if you are prepared to transfer further.

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Weather

These are high mountains and the weather is predictably unpredictable! Summers are usually hot with a chance of thunderstorms in the late afternoon. Many of the climbs are open and cleared throughout the year, but most of the higher and more famous ones are closes from around late October to the end of May.

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Cycling Holidays

We run two cycling holidays in the French Pyrenees. Our Best of the Pyrenees tour is centered on the High Pyrenees and tackles the most famous and spectacular climbs in the region.

Whilst our Pyrenees Coast to Coast tour crosses the entire range from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean. You can find out more details about our tours in the links below.