Marmotte Granfondo Pyrenees 2019

Sunday 25 August 2019 sees the fourth edition of the Marmotte Granfondo Pyrénées, an epic sportive of 165km with more than 5,500m of climbing.

The cyclosportive starts with a relatively easy warm-up of approximately 20 kilometers. Right in the middle of the massif of the Pyrenees the first challenge will be waiting for you. The Col du Tourmalet (2.115m) is 19 km long and a steady climb with an average percentage of approximately 7,4%. Once you have greeted the statue of former Tour de France director Jacques Goddet at the top, the descent commences.

Following this is the ascent of the Hourquette d'Ancizan (1.564m) and from Arreau you will shortly be starting the climb of the Col d'Aspin (1.489m). Soon after you will arrive in Sainte Marie de Campan and here you will find the bottom of Col du Tourmalet that you will now climb from the other side. At the start the percentages are relatively low but when you cycle past the first view the percentages hit 10% and above.

After a long descent Luz-Ardiden (1.666m) will be the last climb of this tour. This ski area was the arrival for a stage of the Tour eight times previously. The last winner here was the Spaniard Samuel Sanchez. On 28 August all cyclists that get to the finish of the first edition of this cyclosportive can call themselves winners!

It promises to be an exceptional cycling challenge!