France · Pyrenees · Béarn
Col d'Aubisque — 1,709 metres on the Pyrenean balcony
Profile of the Col d'Aubisque — 1,709m in the French Pyrenees, a Tour de France regular linked to Col du Soulor by a spectacular balcony corniche.
Col d'Aubisque has been a Tour de France fixture since 1910 and is still one of the race's defining climbs. What makes it special is not really the climb itself but what comes after: a four-kilometre balcony corniche traversing the Cirque du Litor to Col du Soulor, one of the most photographed stretches of mountain road in France.
History
Aubisque was on the original Pyrenean stage in 1910, when the Tour first dared to cross this range on what were then dirt cart tracks. The summit has been a finish-line fixture since; three giant steel bike sculptures painted in the green, polka-dot and yellow jersey colours now mark the saddle, a standard cyclist photograph. The Cirque du Litor balcony that connects Aubisque to Soulor was cut into the cliff face in the 1920s, pure tourism engineering, and it hasn't been meaningfully widened since.
Riding it
From Laruns it is 17 km at an average close to 8%, steady for the first half and then steepening through the ski station at Gourette. The surface is good, the corners are broad, and the middle section gives you a rhythm that suits a long-cadence climb.
East of the summit the road turns into the corniche. Four kilometres of narrow tarmac cut into the cliff, unprotected on the downhill side in places, short tunnels carved straight through the rock. It is a slow ride by necessity, and better for it.
Along the way
- The balcony road to Col du Soulor — A traversing corniche cut high above the Cirque du Litor, narrow and exposed, and one of the unforgettable stretches of road in the Pyrenees.
- Cirque du Litor — The amphitheatre of limestone cliffs the balcony crosses, with griffon vultures circling overhead most summer afternoons.
- Painted bike sculpture at the summit — The three giant Tour de France bikes in race colours, a fixture of finish-line photographs.
- Gourette ski station — A small ski resort two-thirds of the way up, the last services stop before the summit and a practical rest point.
- Pyrenees Grand Tour — Aubisque pairs with Col du Tourmalet on the classic multi-day route.