Hannibal Pyrenees Bike Tour France Spain

Day 4, Long, High and Rain

On the Road – Distance: 141km I 87miles I Elevation: 2905m I 9530ft

Another big climbing day as we headed into the picturesque Ariege Department. Whilst we wouldn’t take on any of the iconic Grand Tour climbs we will still experienced a number of the climbs that have been featured regularly in the Tour de France. The 3 Cols on the agenda today – Col de Portet d’Aspet, Col des Ares and Col de Port – don’t reach the altitude of previous days but in terms of accumulated elevation were still a serious undertaking. The Portet d’Aspet has a sobering place in TdF history. We passed the monument to Fabio Casertelli – the 1992 Olympic Champion who crashed and died on the descent. The final 4ks from the monument to the summit are very difficult (10% avg). We cycled through an area which is renowned for its Neolithic caves which added to the ambience of this ride really getting us off the beaten track as we headed towards the region of the Languedoc.

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