Shorter but steeper than the Alps
The premise may be the same – cycling uphill for what feels a long, long time – but the Alps and Pyrenees are quite different beasts.
While the Alps top the Pyrenees in terms of altitude (the Col d’Iseran rises to a huge 2,770m, while the highest pass in the Pyrenees, the Tourmalet, summits at 2,115m), the Pyrenees trump the Alps on gradient. Climbs in the Alps are normally longer but those in the Pyrenees are generally steeper and often with an inconsistent gradient which can make it difficult to find a rhythm.
That just adds to the challenge. The climb to the ski station of Hautacam is a case in point and typical of the Pyrenees. Starting from Ayros-Arbouix, the hors categorie ascent rises for 13.6km at an average gradient of 7.8 per cent, but that disguises an inconsistent gradient, where the eighth, ninth and 11th kilometres of the climb are comfortably over ten per cent, with ramps steeper still.
The Pyrenees tend to suit the lighter, pure climbers of the peloton, whereas diesel engines in the mould of Cadel Evans and Bradley Wiggins are more at home in the Alps. But let’s not beat around the bush – for you and I, either range will bring both pain and pleasure in equal measure. That’s what we signed up for, right?
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