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Road Cycling | Mountain
Biking
Road Cycling
The French
Pyrénées is a road cyclists' heaven offering
challenging climbs, high speed descents and gentle rolling
terrain to spin out the legs on virtually traffic free roads.
This is probably why many professional teams from around the
world choose to cycle and train in this region.
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Being located
in the central Pyrénées, we have great
access to some of the most famous and popular cols such
as the col des Ares, Aspin, Portillon and Peyresourde,
etc. The cols can range from anything between 800 and
2,100 metres altitude connecting valley to valley. There
are many cul-de-sac climbs that are well worth cycling
as well, some finishing at
beautiful high altitude lakes amidst superb scenery.
For information, profiles and views of cols accessible
from our base, please see our Pyrénées
Cols page.
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The valleys
- linked by the cols - and around the mountain foothills
provide miles of beautiful rolling routes, via a good
network of virtually traffic free roads. It is possible
to see more cyclists than cars on some roads. The roads
are generally well surfaced and maintained. Dotted throughout
the foothills you will find many small rural villages
with interesting architecture and history.
There is a huge variety of routes
from our base. If you wish, you can cycle across the
border to Spain and enjoy the
scenic Val d'Aran or incorporate several TDF climbs
into a days ride.
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Navigation is
generally very easy. We have a portfolio of route guides with
maps and profiles for guests. We are happy to advise, tailor
an itinerary to you or cycle with guests (if we are available)
as a complimentary service ensuring that you get the most
out of your holiday or training.
Here is a sample route profile:
On a good day - depending on the weather
and your legs! - you can cycle from the summit of the Tourmalet
to the Pic du Midi at an altitude of 2,872m - reported to
be higher than any surfaced route in the Alps. For information,
profiles and views of cols accessible from our base, please
see our Pyrénées
Cols page.
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Mountain
Biking
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The
Pyrénées seems to be a well kept secret in the world
of mountain biking and offers a huge variety of trails
for all abilities. Following the old shepherd's tracks,
challenging single-track and fast flowing forestry trails,
it is easy to see why these dramatic mountains are such
an exciting area for bikers.
The trails
can vary immensely in technicality and gradients, but
can include routes of undulating hard-pack dirt with
occasional rock outcrops, single-track through pastoral
land, switch-back descending on loose stone or challenging
rocky sections with drop-offs.
There are many sign-posted Mtb routes around the foothills
of our valley and also further up at altitude and in
adjacent valleys.
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These
routes use a grading system to suit all abilities
and tells you the difficulty level with green
for very easy, then blue, red and black for very
difficult. These are determined by the length,
technical ability needed for the terrain and the
amount of climbing involved.
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Non sign
posted, wild and often highly technical routes can be
easily explored with a little knowledge. We provide
A4 laminated route guides plus the option of using GPS
bike computers with programmed routes to follow.
We are close to several cross country and downhill ski
stations where you can free-ride on alpine tracks or
use the cable car at Luchon with your bike during the
summer. This takes you 1,200 metres vertically up to
Superbagnères which sits at an altitude of 1,830
metres.
For the less energetic, there are scenic routes passing
medieval villages with interesting architecture, history
and of course, typically French cafe's or bars to refuel.
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