MONTÉE DE L'ALPE D'HUEZ
L'Alpe-d'Huez is famous for its emblematic climb, which is a recurring feature of the Tour de France, even though it is not the steepest. The Tour's regular visits, and the often decisive importance of this stage, have contributed to its international renown. Every day, some 300 cyclists of all nationalities tackle this climb. Every July, the resort is also the venue for the finish of the La Marmotte cyclosportive, bringing together some 6,000 to 7,000 participants.
The climb has 21 bends, a vertical drop of 1,121 metres, an average gradient of 7.9% and a maximum of 14%. Alpe-d'Huez also offers an exceptional mountain biking area, with over 250 km of marked trails, including 5 downhill runs, and the Mégavalanche, the world's longest downhill run over 30 kilometers, linking the resort to neighboring villages in the Grandes Rousses massif.
Alpe-d'Huez hosted the first Tour de France finish in 1952, won by Fausto Coppi. It took almost a quarter of a century for the Oisans resort to return to the Tour schedule. Since then, the finishes have multiplied, building the legend of the climb, with memorable duels such as those between Bernard Thévenet and Hennie Kuiper, or Greg LeMond and Laurent Fignon, as well as the famous photo finish of Bernard Hinault and Greg LeMond hand in hand. Since 1995, Italy's Marco Pantani has held the record for the fastest climb in 36 minutes and 40 seconds, at an average speed of over 23 km/h!
