larrau tour de france

Port de Larrau

All the cycling data and info you'll need to climb port de larrau.

Page Contributor(s): Carl Hansen, Guernsey, UK

MEMBER RATING

Current weather, pjamm trips adventure starter bundles, nearby climbs (0) radial proximity, member reviews & comments, drag knobs to select segment.

Port de Larrau

Don’t rain on my parade

After riding the Col du Soudet , I hoped that the pleasant weather would continue.

My optimism, however, was soon to be tested.

Distant thunder rumbled, and the skies darkened as large vertical raindrops bounced off the nearby path.

“Keep calm Mr Mannering,” I told myself as I packed a few things away from the wet stuff.

I thought the rain was ‘in’ for a while, but as the wind picked up, it passed.

As entertaining as it was, I wasn’t keen on revisiting the Massat Old Testament experience.

Good news, though, was that my new tent survived its soak test.

Huddled in the shelter of my new tent, I checked on tomorrow’s forecast; dire.

All the weather apps forecast high percentage rain risks for the day.

One weather app forecast was an hour rain break at 10:00, while the other forecast a two-hour rain break at 14:00.

Too many weather apps, I concluded.

(A man with a clock knows time. A man with two clocks is never sure. It’s the same principle with weather apps).

I woke up bright and early and stuck my head out of the tent for a weather check.

Ooh, the cloud base was high and patches of blue.

A sign from above

My decision was to take a gamble on the 10:00 slot.

If it wasn’t clear, then I was prepared to wait until it was. I had to make the climb today.

The mighty Yaris roared, and I was Laugibar bound for climb No.1, the Port de Larrau.

I went out to check the sky after finding a car park close to the start point.

It’s a sign from above Phil. A rainbow!!!

FERME – WTF

A short distance down the road was the bridge, which signalled the start of the segment.

There was also a sign.

Port de Larrau Espagne–Ferme.

My blood drained until I thought about it.

“Hmmm, probably just a barrier across the road.”

I was confident/hopeful/praying that there would be no gun toting gendarmes on guard, so I went for it.

A reasonable 1Km then the usual latest trend for climbs in this area of undulating medium to high percentages inclines.

When I first rode this type of climb, it felt like being straight jabbed to the face.

You can take a few, but after a while they tell, but now I had a face that was used to it.

With very few hairpins to help you out, it was just a steady 10-11% push.

The mountain felt that things were going well and so threw in some light rain.

I decided against a rain jacket on the assumption that I would have drowned in my sweat, as it was still quite warm.

Undaunted, I pressed on, making my way over the 15% section.

I got smashed

As I rounded the mountain, a strong breeze quickly cleared the rain, and the sun made an appearance.

The previously welcomed breeze now turned into a gale force wind.

The ferocity smashed me sideways and then head on. I felt like I was wearing a parachute.

I had never ridden against such a strong, gusting wind as this.

The vertical drop on my side of the road looked even steeper as the gusts shunted me closer to it.

Going over would have been a helicopter rescue at best. At worst, lost forever.

I moved to the other side of the road for safety and had to drop to an 18-inch gearing.

(An 18-inch gear is ridiculously low. If you tried to ride it on the flat, you would think your chain had come off).

For the first time on my adventure, all my leg muscles ached.

This was not a ride; it was a fight against a gale force and its accomplice, the 11% gradient.

When the climb turned, I gained some composure with the incline now at sedate 7%.

This joy was only short-lived.

The road descended as the climb turned again. The wind, however, was not as kind as the gradient and pushing a 32-inch gear downhill was a struggle!

I approached the final 200m and the unmanned half road barrier (obviously, Spain thought it was ok and kept it open).

The summit couldn’t have come too soon. It was a horrific ride.

The final exam. I had climbed Port de Larrau.

Photos were the next interesting challenge.

The landscape was stunning, and the line of the roads really captured the climb. All I had to do was try to stand the bike up in the wind.

Occasional lulls helped, and I was not always quick enough to stop it crashing to the ground. (sorry).

The descent was interesting too, sometimes descending an 11% I needed to pedal.

On other occasions, it was like being pushed by an express train. (Thank you, Swiss Stop brake shoes, worth every penny).

I was glad to be back down for shelter and the finish.

At the local auberge, I celebrated with sandwiches, a coffee, a coke, and a cake to take stock and reflect.

I asked the owner about the FERME sign for the mountain.

“Yes, they close the mountain when winds are high; it is very dangerous.”

I checked the weather app, and it reported winds were gusting 75Kmh.

Yep, they were for sure.

Nothing happening here

Back at the campsite, it had been a calm and balmy day. ?

After that, I just fell into the pool with the grace of a hammer being thrown into a lake

Things could have been different

My original intention had been to start my adventure with this climb and progress in the opposite direction.

If I had, I am not sure I would have carried on after that battering.

So, the Pyrenees and the Massif Central are complete.

Tomorrow it’s the long drive back to Caen where a Brittany Ferry carpet awaits.

• Cycling Holidays
• French Pyrenees
• Port de Larrau

Port de Larrau (Larrau)

Climb Description

Roads & Traffic

Alternative routes, nearby climbs.

Induráin describes the Larrau pass that ended his chances of winning the 96 Tour and that will be raced in the Vuelta: "It's hard even before starting to climb it"

After winning five consecutive Tour de France , the organizers of the Grande Boucle wanted to pay tribute to Miguel Induráin with a stage through Navarre that ended in Pamplona. On that day the Larrau pass, 'Hors Categorie', was climbed, which will also be climbed this Saturday in stage 14 of the Tour of Spain and which will finish in the Belagua pass.

The Diario de Navarra colleagues have interviewed Miguel Indurain to talk about the mythical summit where he ended up losing his chances of winning his sixth consecutive Tour de France. Interesting what the Navarrese tells about a mountain pass that will be climbed one day after the Tourmalet stage and that can end up destroying the foundations of the Vuelta a España;

"Roglic-Evenepoel, I think that will be the duel for the overall victory" - Miguel Indurain

FIRST CONTACT .

It was one day when I went out to train with Pruden for the Tour de France. I don't remember the year, I don't know if it was 94 or 95. One day we had to do a long lap and studying maps we saw that Larrau existed. We went down through Valcarlos and then we went up that way. The day was very long, too long (we ended up riding almost 300 km of training). We broke a wheel, got half lost and almost didn't make it to Pamplona. It so happened that I had a date with a journalist that day and it was very long, we almost didn't make it. Then the road was very bad.

PORT CHARACTERISTICS .

First of all, it's a pass that to get there, wherever you go, you always have to climb a pass, and they're all hard. And then Larrau itself is very hard even before you start. Before reaching the village there are already two kilometers that demand a lot from you, they break you and from the village to Erroymendi you have no rest. It is a very closed port, if it's hot the humidity hurts you, it seems that the bike does not advance at all because they are very hard percentages. In the curves it seems that you go, that you walk something, but when you get to the straight that leads to the most open part is where you are most punished. The views are beautiful, but in Larrau you see that you don't walk, you don't walk. The small landing allows you to recover a little, but if you are already punished, you pay for it. And the end is stark, with air against it is much harder.

PREVIEW | Vuelta a Espana 2023 stage 12 - Before the high mountains, a return to the bunch sprint

THAT CLIMB IN THE 1996 TOUR .

The climb of the Soudet was the hardest for me, because that stage went out at full throttle. I suffered there, I fell off the pace and from then on we went at the same pace. You don't disconnect from the race, but you go on to something else. The day before, in Hautacam, I tried to get back into the Tour. But I wasn't pulling, Riis and the others were going very fast. I wanted to do well in the stage to Pamplona, because we were coming home and I was looking forward to it, but it went very fast and when we got to Larrau I saw that I had to climb at pace, there was nothing else. It was a hot day, with lots of people. But Larrau was not hard for me because I had no chance of anything.

THE RETURN, DIFFERENT .

It is that you had to go from there through the Abaurreas, Urroz... This year's stage in the Vuelta is different. Belagua will be hard for them with everything they've had before, and the day before. Everyone is waiting for the Tourmalet, that's what people are talking about in the Vuelta these days.

WHAT MAY HAPPEN SATURDAY ON THE RETURN .

It's something interesting, we'll have to see. Until now the Vuelta has had explosive, short passes. This is something else. Friday with the Tourmalet and the Larrau day will be different. They're tougher climbs that demand a lot more. And the stage to Pamplona, be careful, because it will be the third day in a row, and we'll have to see how people recover.

"It's incredible to be in this position doing three Grand Tours, I never wanted to do 2 in the same year" - Lance Armstrong very impressed with Sepp Kuss

Read more about:, place comments.

You are currently seeing only the comments you are notified about, if you want to see all comments from this post, click the button below.

Confirmation

Are you sure you want to report this comment?

UNDER_ARTICLE

Wed 05 Jun 2024

• Tour de France
• Giro d'Italia
• La Vuelta ciclista a España
• World Championships
• Amstel Gold Race
• Milano-Sanremo
• Tirreno-Adriatico
• Liège-Bastogne-Liège
• Il Lombardia
• La Flèche Wallonne
• Paris - Nice
• Paris-Roubaix
• Volta Ciclista a Catalunya
• Critérium du Dauphiné
• Tour des Flandres
• Gent-Wevelgem in Flanders Fields
• Clásica Ciclista San Sebastián
• INEOS Grenadiers
• Groupama - FDJ
• EF Education-EasyPost
• Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team
• BORA - hansgrohe
• Bahrain - Victorious
• Astana Qazaqstan Team
• Intermarché - Wanty
• Lidl - Trek
• Movistar Team
• Soudal - Quick Step
• Team dsm-firmenich PostNL
• Team Jayco AlUla
• Team Visma | Lease a Bike
• UAE Team Emirates
• Arkéa - B&B Hotels
• Alpecin-Deceuninck
• Grand tours
• Countdown to 3 billion pageviews
• Favorite500
• Profile Score
• Top-3 per edition
• Most starts/finishes
• Youngest/oldest winners
• Most top-10s
• Position race ranking
• Most stage wins
• Youngest winners
• Oldest winners
• Fastest stages
• Statistics - Statistics
• Results - Results
• Stages - Stages
• Teams - Teams
• Nations - Nations
• Route - Route
• Points - Points
•   »  
• Hardest climbs
• Most visited cities
• Longest stages
• Transition distance
• Time trial KMs per year

Grand Tours

• Vuelta a España

Major Tours

• Volta a Catalunya
• Tour de Romandie
• Tour de Suisse
• Itzulia Basque Country
• Milano-SanRemo
• Ronde van Vlaanderen

Championships

• European championships

Top classics

• Omloop Het Nieuwsblad
• Strade Bianche
• Gent-Wevelgem
• Dwars door Vlaanderen
• Eschborn-Frankfurt
• San Sebastian
• Bretagne Classic
• GP Montréal

Popular riders

• Tadej Pogačar
• Wout van Aert
• Remco Evenepoel
• Jonas Vingegaard
• Mathieu van der Poel
• Mads Pedersen
• Primoz Roglic
• Demi Vollering
• Lotte Kopecky
• Katarzyna Niewiadoma
• PCS ranking
• UCI World Ranking
• Points per age
• Latest injuries
• Youngest riders
• Grand tour statistics
• Monument classics
• Latest transfers
• Favorite 500
• Points scales
• Profile scores
• Reset password
• Cookie consent

About ProCyclingStats

• Cookie policy
• Contributions
• Pageload 0.0705s

• 14 avr. 2022
• 2 min de lecture

Découverte de Col H.C : Port de Larrau, le Méconnu

Deux fois présents au programme du Tour de France, le Port de Larrau est certainement un des cols H.C les plus méconnus du grand public. L'ascension basque permet de rejoindre la France et l'Espagne. Ce col transfrontalier relie le département des Pyrénées Atlantique à la forêt de Navarre. Partons au pays basque à la découverte de ce splendide lieu de cyclisme. On vous décrit ce col oublié mais qui mérite de passer de l'ombre à la lumière.

Méconnu et pourtant Richard Virenque à ses grandes heures en 1996 y passait en tête pour consolider son maillot à pois versant espagnol. Cette étape fut le théâtre d'une opération d'envergure de l'équipe Festina qui avait pour but de faire basculer la course. L'opération ne fut pas couronnée de succès car elle ne permit pas de décramponner le leader de la course, le Danois Bjarne Riis, mais elle permit d'écarter définitivement le Navarrais Miguel Indurain, quintuple vainqueur du Tour de France, alors que l'étape devait se terminer chez lui à Pampelune. Depuis, le col a été laissé dans l'oublie malgré un passage en 2007 où eu lieu également une attaque d'envergure de Sastre, Mayo et Soler, luttant pour le général et le pois.

Port de Larrau - 14.8km à 7,7% - Indice de difficulté 306

Seul versant français, l'ascension est très irrégulière. Contrairement à la plupart des autres cols, ce sont les deux premiers tiers qui sont excessivement durs. De très nombreux passages à plus de 10% dont les kilomètres 6 à 10 à plus de 10% de moyenne. Une vraie bataille pour faire tourner les pédales... Ce col est d'une difficulté extrême. Néanmoins, l'environnement verdoyant et la vue sur le pays basque est d'une rare beauté. On aperçoit dans l'ascension le terrible col de Bagargui sur la droite. Entre forêt et champs, le Port de Larrau ne laisse aucun répit. Ni pour la vue, ni pour les jambes. Les derniers mètres avant de rejoindre le plateau sont exigeants... 16%.. !

Au sommet du col intermédiaire d'Erroïmendi (le bien heureux!), un "replat" de 2,5 kilomètres permet de se refaire la santé et le souffle avant de repartir sur deux derniers kilomètres très compliqués, dont le dernier à plus de 11%. Mais le spectacle vaut le détour. Téléphone à la main, filmant les montagnes, c'est de cette façon que nous le montons régulièrement. Les moutons feront de formidables spectateurs sur la dernière rampe. Un col XXL.

Le paysage y est très sauvage avec une arrivée avec vue sur vallée et pâture. De toute beauté. Il fait parti de nos cols préférés par sa difficulté irrégulière et de par ses vues magnifiques. Avec un indice de difficulté de 285, il rentre dans notre classement des cols et ascensions les plus dures de France.

Localisation

• Découverte de cols

Posts similaires

Collet d'Allevard : Découverte du monstre du Dauphine 2024

Le Monte Grappa, juge de paix du Giro 2024

Montée d'Oropa, le premier rendez-vous du Giro 2024

Le Port de Larrau dans le Tour de France

© Miroir Sprint

© Courtesy Patricio Saldivia Saldivia Noack www.lesiteducyclisme.net

   Mercredi 25 juillet 2007 Etape 16 Orthez - Gourette-Col d'Aubisque 218,5 km

© 2007 Geoatlas.com

© L'Equipe  / Société du Tour de France

Source des profils de cols : www.salite.ch

© Photo : Roger Krieger / Presse Sports

© ledicodutour.com

© estrepublicain.fr

                                  © Le Miroir des Sports

                                     © Société du Tour de France

                                       © AFP / Lionel Bonaventure

© Miroir du Cyclisme

© Courtesy Graziano Nardini www.dewielersite.net

© www.ledicodutour.com

© Miroir Sprint

© Le Miroir des Sports