Col du Soulor

Col du Soulor (elevation 1,474 m (4,836 ft)) is a mountain pass in the Pyrenees in France, linking Argelès-Gazost with Arthez-d'Asson. It connects the Ouzom and Arens valleys. A road leaves the pass to the west to reach the higher Col d'Aubisque.

Col du Soulor
Road from Col d'Aubisque to Col du Soulor.
Elevation1474 m[1]
LocationPyrénées-Atlantiques, France
Hautes-Pyrénées, France
RangePyrenees
Coordinates42°57′38″N 0°15′40″W
Col du Soulor
Location in the Pyrenees
Col du Soulor
Location in France

The road over the col is regularly used in the Tour de France cycling race, normally in conjunction with the Col d'Aubisque.

Details of the climbs

Starting from Argelès-Gazost (east), the Soulor is 19.5 km (12.1 mi). It rises 1,019 m (3,343 ft), an average gradient of 5.2%. It gets tough after Arrens-Marsous with stretches at 10% or steeper.[2]

The col can also be reached from the north, via the D126. Starting from Arthez-d'Asson, the ascent is 22 km (14 mi) long. Over this distance, the climb gains 1,074 m (3,524 ft), at an average of 4.9%. The real climbing, however, comes at Ferrières, after which the gradient increases to 9%.[3] This was the direction used in the 2010 Tour de France.[4]

Tour de France

The Col du Soulor was first used in the 1912 Tour de France and was most recently featured in the 17th stage of the 2010 Tour de France, as a category 1 climb.[5]

The Col du Soulor is also crossed during the passage over the Col d'Aubisque. When this route is used, for example in stage 16 of the 2012 Tour de France, it is often not a categorized climb,[6] since the amount of re-ascent from the west is relatively small. It has, however, been a categorized climb on 12 occasions, including in 1982 as a hors catégorie climb.[6]

Passages in the Tour de France (since 1947)

The categorized crossings of the Col du Soulor since 1947 were as follows:[6]

Year Stage Category Start Finish Leader at the summit
2019 14 1 Tarbes Col du Tourmalet  Tim Wellens (BEL)
2010 17 1 Pau Col du Tourmalet  Marcus Burghardt (DEU)
2000 10 2 Dax Hautacam  Javier Otxoa (ESP)
1999 16 1 Lannemezan Pau  Pavel Tonkov (RUS)
1997 9 1 Pau Loudenvielle  Laurent Brochard (FRA)
1996 17 1 Argelès-Gazost Pamplona  Pascal Hervé (FRA)
1995 16 1 Tarbes Pau Stage neutralised
1985 18a 1 Luz-Saint-Sauveur Col d'Aubisque  Stephen Roche (IRL)
1982 12 HC Fleurance Pau  André Chalmel (FRA)
1979 3 1 Bagnères-de-Luchon Pau  Mariano Martinez (FRA)
1975 10 1 Auch Pau  Lucien Van Impe (BEL)
1974 18 1 Bagnères-de-Bigorre Pau  Andrés Oliva (ESP)
1973 14 1 Bagnères-de-Luchon Pau  Pedro Torres (ESP)

References
  1. IGN map
  2. "Col du Soulor: Argelès Gazost". www.climbbybike.com. Retrieved 21 July 2012.
  3. "Col du Soulor: Arthez-d'Asson". www.climbbybike.com. Retrieved 21 July 2012.
  4. "2010 Tour de France Stage 17 Preview". www.cycling-challenge.com. 19 July 2010. Retrieved 21 July 2012.
  5. "The history of the Tour de France, Col du Soulor - letour.fr". Archived from the original on 2010-08-19. Retrieved 2011-05-19.
  6. "Le col du Soulor dans le Tour de France depuis 1947" (in French). Retrieved 18 July 2012.

See also
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.