Hautacam

Hautacam is a ski resort in the Pyrenees. It is situated in the Hautes-Pyrénées department, in the Midi-Pyrénées region. The winter sports station lies at a height of 1560 meters.

Details of climb

Starting from Argelès-Gazost (465 m.), the climb to Hautacam (1560 m.) is 15.8 km long. Over this distance, the climb is 1170 m. (an average of 6.8%), with some short sections at 10%. The 2008 Tour de France finish is at a height of 1520 m.

Tour de France

Hautacam first held a Tour de France stage in 1994, won by Luc Leblanc.

Tour de France stage finishes

It was on the climb to Hautacam that Lance Armstrong set up his victory in the 2000 Tour de France. In appalling weather, the race arrived at the first mountain stage, with Javier Otxoa the only survivor from an early break. On the final climb, Armstrong went off alone into the wind and rain leaving his challengers struggling, pushing Jan Ullrich into second place by four minutes. Once Armstrong had taken the Maillot Jaune, he was never seriously challenged with his final victory margin over six minutes. [cite book |author= Les Woodland|title= The Yellow Jersey Companion to the Tour de France|year= 2003|publisher= Yellow Jersey Press|isbn=0-224063-18-9]

References

External links

* [http://www.hautacam.com/ Official website]
* [http://www.climbbybike.com/climb.asp?Col=Hautacam&qryMountainID=6855 Climb details on www.climbbybike.com]
* [http://mrambaul.club.fr/villes_etapes/villes_l/lourdes_%20hautacam.htm Lourdes-Hautacam dans le Tour de France fr]