Luz-Ardiden

Luz Ardiden is a Cat HC climb to a ski station in Hautes Pyrenees. About 30km south of Lourdes in a valley known as Pays Toy (country of the small people). The climb starts in the spa town of Saint Sauveur at 710m altitude and climbs for 13.1km @ 8% to the summit at the ski station at 1720m. The max is 12%. It is a very well engineered road constructed in the 1970â€™s, with 25 hairpin bends and long straight sections in between. A beautiful ride up, the descend is the best there is anywhere. Period.

Luz-Ardiden, from the finish looking down on the switchbacks.

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Luz-Ardiden Profile

Climb Luz-Ardiden

Cat HC. 13.1 km @ 8%. Total climb is 982m. Road D12.

Luz-Ardiden is a very steady climb on a very good road. The gradient does not differ very much on the climb so it is easy to get and maintain a rhythm. The climb offers spectacular views of the grand peaks of Haute PyrÃ©nÃ©es, it is mostly wooded until 4km to go where it opens up and you can see the ski station.

Remember to keep left at the junction 1.5km from the summit.

From the ski station you can look back down at the hairpins you have just climbed and wonder at you own awesomeness (thatâ€™s what I do anyway). You can also see Hautacam and Col du Tourmalet. In summer there is nothing open at the summit.
It can also be climbed from Gorge de luz via Viscos, this route is substantially harder to climb, being longer, steeper and with a poorer road surface. It is not recommended to descend this way.

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Luz-Ardiden 500m from the finish

Tour de France

Luz Ardiden has 8 stage finishes in Le Tour de France.

Year	Stage	Category	Start of stage	Distance (km)	Stage winner	Yellow jersey
2011	12	HC	Cugnaux	211	Samuel SÃ¡nchez	Thomas Voeckler
2003	15	HC	BagnÃ¨res de Bigorre	159.5	NA	NA
2001	14	HC	Tarbes	144	Roberto Laiseka	NA
1994	12	HC	Lourdes	204.5	Richard Virenque	Miguel Indurain
1990	16	HC	Blagnac	215	Miguel Indurain	Claudio Chiappucci
1988	15	HC	Saint-Girons	187.5	Laudelino Cubino Gonzalez	Pedro Delgado
1987	14	HC	Pau	166	Dag Otto Lauritzen	Charly Mottet
1985	17	HC	Toulouse	209.5	Pedro Delgado	Bernard Hinault