Col du Tourmalet — Luz-Saint-Sauveur
Hautes-Pyrénées · Luz-Saint-Sauveur → Col du Tourmalet
The pass the Tour de France has crossed more than any other, from its western foot.
- Distance
- 18.5 km
- Climbing
- +1,409 m
- Est. time
- 2 h 5 min
- Avg gradient
- 7.6 %
Free to ride with a free account. It rides in your browser with any smart trainer or power meter, and your result goes on the leaderboard below.
Ride it in stages
Few riders hold 18 km on a trainer. Ride it a stage at a time: the cuts avoid the middle of the big climbs — a stage ends at a summit, in a valley or on the flat — and this page remembers what you have ridden and what comes next.
3 stages of about 6.2 km — none over 50 minutes at 165 W.
- Stage 1 (next)km 0–5.8Next5.8 km+379 m~32 minMountain
- Stage 2km 5.8–12.36.5 km+509 m~41 minMountain · Cat HC
- Stage 3km 12.3–18.56.2 km+521 m~42 minMountain · summit finish
Times are at a steady 165 W — no stage takes more than 50 minutes. Cross a stage's finish line and it is ticked — feeling good? Keep pedalling and the ride carries on into the next stage. Progress is kept in this browser, and in your account when you are signed in.
Elevation profile
705–2,111 m · 1 categorised climb · Very hard · RoadAbout Col du Tourmalet — Luz-Saint-Sauveur
The Tour first sent its riders over the Tourmalet in 1910, on a dirt track, and it has been the reference climb of the Pyrenees ever since. From Luz-Saint-Sauveur the road follows the Bastan valley up through Barèges, steady and green, before the valley opens out into high pasture.
The top is the part that stays with you: the road swings across an open bowl under the Pic du Midi, the gradient stiffens in the last kilometres, and the pass itself is a narrow notch with a giant steel cyclist standing over it.
Why ride this route indoors?
- A long climb at a gradient you can hold a rhythm on — perfect for sustained tempo or threshold work.
- The steepest kilometres come last, so it teaches the hardest lesson in climbing: keep something back.
- High Pyrenean passes are snowed in until late spring; this one is always open.
Good to know
+Is this the official route of Col du Tourmalet — Luz-Saint-Sauveur?
No. It was recreated by Cycloscape from open map data (OpenStreetMap) following public descriptions of the route, for indoor training. It may differ from the official route or from current road conditions.
+What do I need to ride Col du Tourmalet — Luz-Saint-Sauveur indoors?
A smart trainer or a power meter, and a browser. Cycloscape connects over Bluetooth or ANT+ from the browser, sets the resistance of a smart trainer to the real gradient, and turns the route’s GPX into a 3D world. There is nothing to install.
+Can I ride Col du Tourmalet — Luz-Saint-Sauveur in stages?
Yes. Few riders want more than 50 minutes on a trainer in one go, so Cycloscape offers its 18 km in 3 stages of about 6 km, none longer than 50 minutes at 165 W. The cuts avoid the middle of the big climbs — a stage ends at a summit, in a valley or on the flat. Start from any stage and, if your legs are good at its finish line, keep pedalling: the ride carries on into the next stage and every stage you finish is ticked. The page remembers which stages you have ridden and which one is next.
+Is it free?
Yes. Riding it needs a free account — sign up in seconds with Google or a code by email, no card. Your result is saved and goes on the route’s leaderboard.
Leaderboard
Best effort per rider — a free account puts your ride on it.