"Merde," curses Robin and pulls his bike round. "Get out of here quickly!" In front of us, half a tonne of Pyrenean cattle are trotting off with their horns down.
We jump out of the saddles and rush after our French guide. We stumble haphazardly into the bushes. Spikes tug at our skin, helmets and bikes, a small embankment breaks off beneath us - no matter, the main thing is to be safe. "Whew, that was close," grins Robin at the end of the slide. At least we land on historic tarmac. The pass road from Luz-Saint-Sauveur up to the Col de Tourmalet is one of the great myths of the Tour de France. You notice this immediately: whoosh - a fast pack of Lycra boys rushes past us into the valley. Krrrks, a puffing racing cyclist maltreats his gears on the steep ramp in the opposite direction.
You can find the GPS data for these tours in the download area below:
- 1st Pic du Midi (47 km, 2300 m elevation gain, 4220 tm, 7:00 h)
- 2nd Into Val D'Azun (49 km, 1739 m elevation gain, 3147 metres, 6:00 h)
- 3. around the Col d'Aspin (28.6 km, 1576 m elevation gain, 3:30 h)
Several hairpin bends below us, we see dozens of large and small groups cranking up the hairpin bends on racing bikes. Further up we see a similar sight: Colourful jerseys glide along the asphalt strip between alpine meadows and steep rock faces, pedalling towards cycling Olympus. "Our Tour de France passes attract racing cyclists from all over the world," explains Robin with obvious pride. Especially the Tourmalet - and not just because it is the highest asphalted road pass in the French Pyrenees at 2115 metres. Its legendary status stems from its history: it was the first high mountain pass ever to be included in the programme of the Tour of France in 1910, although at the time it was just a narrow, stony path. The overall winner of the Tour at the time, Octave Lapize, conquered the Tourmalet, but subsequently called the Tour organisation a murderer because of the extreme route. To this day, the ascent is considered one of the most difficult of the Tour. "So it's no wonder that all hell always breaks loose on the road," says Robin.
Mountain bikers seem to have the mountains around the Pic du Midi de Bigorre less on their agenda. On our almost 24 kilometre descent from the top of the 2877 metre high massif, we don't meet a single person. Strange: the area is criss-crossed by kilometres of single trails. It's a mystery why there are so few bikers here. "Yes, yes, there are more and more every year. Word is slowly getting around that we have brilliant trails here," says Robin, adding that events such as the Downhill World Cup in Lourdes, the pilgrimage site at the foot of the Pyrenees, have made the remote region more popular. There are now bike parks in some ski resorts, and over 1100 kilometres of bike trails have been designated in the valleys between Lourdes, Luz and Cauterets alone: "And there are some really good trails," assures Robin. "But I'll show you my favourite routes - and they're all natural trails."
To kick off our four-day trail discovery trip through the wild High Pyrenees, we started with the toughest challenge of all: the descent from the Pic du Midi. Looking out of the cable car window, we were already wondering whether we should have packed our climbing equipment. The highest observatory in France sits enthroned on a peak that breaks off almost vertically on all sides, and we buzz straight towards it. "On a good day, you can see as far as the Biarritz lighthouse from here, 150 kilometres from here as the crow flies," Robin tries to distract us. But our gaze is fixed on the abrupt precipices around the visitor platform. Until I finally discover a track in the steep south-facing flank that gives the blocked terrain something of a descent.
"It's going to be very technical," Robin announces as we get out of the cable car. I'm shivering - but that could also be due to the strong breeze that greets us up here. "But there are also lots of sections further down where it rolls really well," our guide reassures us.
We zigzag our way down a moon-like scree field for the first 200 metres. I push down the first hairpin bend, slide down the second on my knee pads - but then it's on: The sharp-edged scree starts to slip under the studs, then it hooks more and more firmly into the ground and the tyres gain grip. The boulder pile gradually gives way to the scrubby vegetation of alpine meadows and from the crystal-clear mountain lake Lac d'Oncet, a few bends also widen out. Herds of cows, goats and llamas have trundled along a natural path in the mountain pastures here, not necessarily paying attention to a continuous flow. Again and again, passages with hairpin bends, gullies or boulders in the dusty ground remind us of the challenging terrain we are travelling through. Soon we even discover tracks of other bikers in the ground. At sunrise, Robin tells us, 260 participants in a bike race set off from the summit of the Pic du Midi. The 116-kilometre, two-day challenge is called the Pyr'Epic. The descents are particularly epic: thanks to two chairlifts, there are twice as many metres of descent as metres of ascent to conquer, namely 4,400 metres uphill and 9,000 metres downhill.
We want to follow the route of the Pyr'Epic to Cauterets. Shouldn't be a problem - at least according to the map. The only problem is that in Luz there are already 2700 metres of descent and 500 no less strenuous metres of ascent on the speedometer. We therefore start the kilometre-long ascent to the next col with soft legs. Robin cranks uphill with stoic calm, while I suffer from gasping for breath when we finally reach the Col de Riou a good 1400 metres further up. This is little more than a crossroads of wild paths in the middle of a pristine high mountain landscape. We choose a seven-kilometre-long picture-book trail that combines natural flow with hairpin bends, rocky outcrops with a rush of speed and root steps with fantastically long bends. Only some of the hairpin bends are very tight and some of the riding lines in the washed-out gullies only become apparent when it's almost too late. But at the bottom we get off the bike beaming with satisfaction - completely exhausted.
In the evening in Cauterets, we shuffle on shaky legs into the classicist casino of the spa town. Loud bass booms from the loudspeakers and tired riders from the Pyr'Epic race shovel pasta with meat sauce at the crowded tables in and in front of the building.
Patrice Bordères, the president of the local bike club from Lourdes, beckons us to his table and invites us to dinner. Over red wine from plastic cups, he enthuses: "Nature in the Pyrenees is still intact. Magnificent and wild! There are very, very long descents and very tough climbs here. We wanted to summarise these in one race. We discovered a few trails during the preparation that we didn't even know about beforehand. Fantastic!" Manuel and Adán, two enduro bikers from Zaragoza in Spain, are also very enthusiastic about the trails on the French side of the Pyrenees: "The trails in Spain are even more technical, there's more flow here than here. Fantastic." There's just one thing that isn't quite so fantastic: "Time is also taken on the climbs, it's different here. If we had known that, we would have brought lighter bikes." And they certainly don't mean a hardtail. Who would be crazy enough to venture into these high mountains without suspension? Bruno Valcke is one such person. In summer, Bruno is a bike guide, in winter he leads ski tourers across the glaciers of the Pyrenees peaks. We meet the lanky Frenchman two days later. The Pyr'Epic is long over by then. And it has long been clear that only 160 of the 260 starters made it to the finish. Bruno came fourteenth - on his hardtail. But he assures: "I won't do it again. It was a good experience, but I actually like it quieter." We realise what the light-footed local means by "calm" on the asphalt ascent that takes us to a dream trail in the Gavarnie glacier basin. While he praises the rugged beauty of the surrounding mountains and chats about the history of the area, we can barely keep up with our heavier fullys.
At the top, a semi-circular, gigantic mountain basin with almost vertical walls opens up before us - the Cirque de Gavarnie. The circumference of the wall is 14 kilometres. Bruno points to the highest peak of the rocky circus: "On the far right, that's the Marboré. It's 3248 metres high." The gigantic glacier that created the valley once reached as far as Lourdes. About halfway up, white spray shoots out of the rock: Europe's highest waterfall, fed by an underground glacial lake, plunges over 422 metres into the depths. We see dozens of vultures circling over an alpine meadow a little further away. "A cow must have crashed there," surmises Bruno - and that's another thing about the Pyrenees: bearded vultures and brown bears still find refuge here because some gorges and valleys are simply inaccessible or closed to humans. Thank goodness!
REVIER HIGHLIGHTS, GENERAL INFO AND SCENE SPECIALS
Passionate racing cyclists have been making a pilgrimage to the central Pyrenees for many years. A cyclist-friendly infrastructure is therefore already in place. In addition to the first bike parks and shuttle services, you can now also try your hand at a World Cup route and an Epic race.
General information
The precinct
The French High Pyrenees (Hautes-Pyrénées) are characterised in particular by their impressive verticality. Approaching from the French side, a dark, massive wall of staggered mountain giants rises up quite abruptly. The chain of two and three thousand metre peaks forms the central section of the 430 kilometre long folded mountain range, which stretches from the Atlantic coast to the Mediterranean and whose highest ridges form the border between France and Spain. Like the Alps, the Pyrenees were formed around 50 to 100 million years ago.
Ice age glaciers have formed a multitude of hanging valleys, glacial lakes and deep valley incisions. Thanks to the Tour de France, mythical Pyrenean passes such as the Tourmalet, the Col d'Aspin or the Col du Soulor have long been a household name for cycling fans. But while you encounter myriads of racing cyclists from all over the world on the tarmac mountain roads, it's a completely different story on the narrow mountain trails: The trails through the wild high mountain landscape are usually deserted. Even epically long dream descents are usually all to yourself. It is not only the bike parks that are gradually being built that emphasise the high trail quality of the region, but also the UCI Downhill World Cup, which took place in Lourdes in 2017. At 2877 metres, the Pic du Midi du Bigorre may not be the highest peak in the Pyrenees, but thanks to its pyramid-like shape and the observatory on the summit, it is visible from afar. Its huge visitor terrace offers a breathtaking panoramic view of the entire Pyrenees chain, and in the north you can even see the first foothills of the Massif Central.
Journey
The best way to get there is with your own car. Lourdes, at the foot of the Pyrenees, can only be reached by plane with a stopover or three times a day from Paris by TGV.
Guided tours
Guides Robin Sally and Bruno Valcke offer guided bike tours and organise a shuttle service if required. Robin Sally, tel. 0033/63/2225737, www.montavelo.comBruno Valcke, tel. 0033/63/065531, www.bivouac.fr
Bike shop/rental
- Café and hire, Bike & Py, 16, Esplanade du Paradis, 65100 Lourdes, Tel. 0033/562414426, www.bikeandpy.com
- Bike hire and workshop, Alex Sports, Rue de la piscine, 65170 Saint-Lary-Soulan, Tel. 0033/562392895, www.alex-sports.com
Maps/Literature
- IGN hiking maps, Top 25, Série bleue, No. 1647, ET, 1747 ET, 1748 OT, 1748 ET, 1:25000, 12 euros; overview: Michelin Local road map, Hautes-Pyrénées, No. 342, 1:150000, 8.99 euros.
- Travel guide: Midi-Pyrénées, Michael Müller-Verlag,19.90 euros. A well-researched travel guide that covers a much larger area than the Central Pyrenees, but also has some in-depth information about the mountain region.
- Rother hiking guide: Pyrenees 2, French Central Pyrenees: Arrens to Seix, 14.90 euros. The Rother hiking guides: excellently researched, the red hiking bible provides plenty of inspiration for planning your own tours.
Accommodation
Cauterets: Hôtel Christian, 10 rue Richelieu, www.hotel-christian.fr Val d'Azun: Hôtel Le Picors, 6 Rue du Picors, www.hotel-picors.fr
Scene specials
Bike parks in Cauterets and Saint Lary
- From the Cirque du Lys glacier basin above Cauterets, three pistes with artificial flow plunge over 1500 metres into the valley. A day ticket costs 17.50 euros for adults and 14.50 euros for children. The park is open daily from 10 am to 5.15 pm between 13 July and 3 September 2017. www.cauterets.com/bikepark
- The bike park in Saint Lary is somewhat larger, with nine slopes of different levels. The longest measures 5.6 kilometres (600 metres in altitude) and this season a new descent is to be added covering a further 800 metres in altitude to the valley station of the cable car. The park is open between the beginning of July and the end of August, daily from 9.45 am to 4.45 pm. A day ticket for the cable car costs 18.80 euros. There are bike shops and hire outlets at the valley station. Info: www.sancy.com/superbesse/vtt
Mythical passes
Even downhill-orientated bikers keep fit in the Pyrenees on a racing bike. When he's not carving new routes into the slopes or hurtling down into the valley on his enduro bike, Nicolas Bonneau, founder of the bike park in Saint Lary, prefers to climb the legendary Pyrenean passes on narrow tyres. His favourite pass: the 1580-metre-high Col d'Azet near Saint Lary. So if you're ever in the area, a ride up the pass on a racing bike is a must! www.pyrenees-cyclo.com
Lourdes
The pilgrimage town at the foot of the Pyrenees also has a pilgrimage site for bikers: the World Cup downhill plunges over 477 metres in altitude from the Pic du Jer into the valley in just two kilometres. Any bruises sustained are conveniently healed in the local Marian grotto. After the miracle cure, you can take the cog railway back up again. A single journey costs 7.50 euros, a half-day ticket 15 euros. Info: www.picdujer.fr
Pyr'Epic
The all-mountain stage race from Pic du Midi to Lourdes took place for the first time in 2016 - and less than two thirds of the starters made it to the finish line. The bare figures: 2 days, 116 km, 4400 metres in altitude and 9000 metres downhill. Next date: September 2018. www.lourdesvtt.com
General information
en.rendezvousenfrance.com and www.pyrenees-mtb.com
You can read this article or the entire issue of BIKE 8/2017 in the BIKE app (iTunes and Google Play) or the issue in the DK shop reorder:
