Day 4 - Col d'Azet and Pla d'Adet

Today we kept our home base in Arreau and went out to tackle a couple of challenging climbs not far from here.

The morning was beautiful. Sunny, clear and cool temperatures. The four of us (Gordon and me, Daryl from Australia and Joe) started off from our hotel riding down the Valley of Louron for about 12 km until we reached Genos, the start of the climb for the Col d'Azet. Daryl was not interested in doing two climbs today so he went off on his own to ride around the lake between Genos and Loudenvielle (finish of Stage 15 of the 2007 Tour de France). Joe, Gordon and I began the ascent.

Col d'Azet is not considered an incredibly hard climb. It is only 7.5 km to the top, a gain of 620 m for an average grade of 8.5%. But the climb is difficult in the first 5 kilometers, and it is over 10% for much of the early part of the ride. Here is a plot of the ride for those who might be interested. http://www.climbbybike.com/climb.asp?Col=Col-dAzet&qryMountainID=5836.

The climb was worth it. At the top there is a panoramic view throughout the Pyrenees, down to Spain, across to the Peyresourde (which we had ridden up yesterday) and also across to Pla d'Adet, our destination for the second climb. It was spectacularly clear, and we just drank in the beauty that surrounded us. A swift downhill to St. Lary-Soulan added some exhiliration as well.

The climb up to Pla d'Adet begins in St Lary. Pla d'Adet was the site of the 2005 Tour stage win by George Hincapie, beating out Oscar Pereiro in a sprint at the finish. It was the first stage win for Hincapie, serving as he was as part of Lance's army. The last time the Tour included Pla d'Adet was in 2001 and Armstrong won the stage. For Hincapie, the climb came at the end of a 128 mile stage. Our 25 miles before arriving there was a bit more modest.

Pla d'Adet is a ski resort and so the climb is not unlike L'Alpe d'Huez, where you finish at the top. It is about 11km from the bottom and, while this doesn't sound like much, it is a grueling climb. Although the temperature probably hadn't risen out of the 70s, the sun beat down along the course and I consumed all the water I had on my bike. You gain about 860 m from the bottom to the top and much of this is in the first half of the climb. Here is the profile: http://www.climbbybike.com/profile.asp?Climbprofile=Le-Plat-dAdet&MountainID=6929. The scenery was beautiful, looking back into the Valley of Soulan, but it was exhausting. We finished at the top, had a picnic lunch and decided we would ride back to the hotel and not tackle yet another climb. Arrived back the the hotel a little after 3 o'clock, enjoyed a swim in the pool and explored the town of Arreau (which we have now seen the greater part of). It is beautiful and in a gorgeous setting.

Tomorrow we will take on Col d'Aspin and Tourmalet, two climbs we did last year, although this year we are traveling the other way over them. It will likely be quite challenging. If there is time (and perhaps, more importantly, energy), we may try to get in Luz Ardiden.

I've posted a couple of photos from the summit at Col'Azet. Gordon is finishing, and you can see a parasailer going down into the valley. The other photo is atop Pla d'Adet.