Misplaced Pages

#38961

36-662: The pass is on the northern slopes of the Pic de Ger (2,613 m (8,573 ft)) and connects Laruns , in the valley of the Gave d'Ossau , via Eaux-Bonnes (west) to Argelès-Gazost , in the valley of the Gave de Pau , via the Col du Soulor (east). The road crosses the Cirque du Litor, in the upper part of the Ouzom valley. It is generally closed from December to June. The pass is starting point of excursions and

72-517: A centre for winter sports. In summer, it is popular with cyclists. It is regularly part of the Tour de France , generally rated an hors catégorie climb. The summit of the col is marked by a commemorative plaque to André Bach (1888–1945), a member of Legion of Honour and President of the Cyclo Club of Béarn (C.C.B.). André Bach was mutilated during World War 1 when he lost his left arm in 1916. In 1943 he

108-447: A thick shawl with a walking stick. She was surprised by a bear, also in despair. Awestruck, she threw the baton so hard that it pierced the Pic de Ger at around 2,500 m (8,200 ft) high. The frightened bear fled. This moment of local history, surely inspired by an unsourced true tale, is still carved in the rock. In fact, under the summit of the Pic de Ger, the hole still exists, while at

144-463: A tow rope from the Dutch team's car. It was too short to reach van Est and so to it he tied 40 racing tyres, and thus he was pulled out. Van Est said: "It was all the tyres that Pellenaars had for the team. By the time they'd tugged me up, they were all stretched and they wouldn't stay on the wheels any more! Forty tyres! I wanted to get back on my bike and start racing again. But I couldn't. Pellenaars stopped

180-466: Is climbed after the Col du Soulor (1,474 m (4,836 ft)). Starting from Argelès-Gazost , 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 tougher after Arrens-Marsous with 10% and more. From the Soulor, the climb is 10.6 km (6.6 mi), gaining a further 235 m (771 ft). The road from the Soulor runs along cliffs in

216-540: The Béarn province. The name ger means "mountain meadows" in Gascon . It lies between the Col d'Aubisque and the Pic du Midi d'Ossau . From Laruns , or further up from Eaux-Bonnes or Gourette . It is told in the Ger and in the Col d'Aubisque , that a very old woman named Clara was taken by surprise above 2,000 m (6,600 ft) by the cold and snowy weather, only wearing

252-570: The 2006 Vuelta a España. The organisers of the Tour and London mayor Ken Livingstone announced on 24 January 2006 that the start of the Tour would take place in London. Livingstone noted the two stages would commemorate the victims of the 7 July 2005 London bombings , saying " Having the Grand Départ on the seventh of July will broadcast to the world that terrorism does not shake our city. " The routes for

288-507: The 2007 route in Paris on 26 October 2006. In total, the route covered 3,570 km (2,218 mi). The highest point of elevation in the race was 2,770 m (9,090 ft) at the summit of the Col de l'Iseran mountain pass on stage 9. The first scandal arrived when it was made public on 18 July that rider Patrik Sinkewitz from the T-Mobile Team had tested positive one month before

324-444: The Cirque du Litor, where there are two short, narrow tunnels. From the Cirque du Litor, the climb is 7.5 km (4.7 mi) at 4.6%, a height gain of 350 m (1,150 ft). Writing in Vélo , Gilbert Duclos-Lassalle said: The Aubisque is one of those hors catégorie cols that make the legend of the Tour. The climb is in three parts. The first is fairly easy. The road is good and

360-774: The Prologue in London and the first full stage through Kent , finishing in Canterbury , were announced on 9 February 2006 at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre . This was the first time the Grand Départ was in the United Kingdom and the third time the Tour visited the United Kingdom, including Plymouth in 1974 and two stages in Kent , Sussex and Hampshire in 1994 . Tour director Christian Prudhomme unveiled

396-436: The Tour ended with the smallest-ever spread of only 31 seconds among the top three riders. Alberto Contador also won the young rider classification , indicated by the white jersey, as the best young (under age 25) rider. A total of 21 teams were invited to the 2007 Tour de France. Each team sent a total of nine riders to participate in the Tour, which brought the starting total of the peloton to 189 riders. The presentation of

SECTION 10

#1732868687039

432-556: The Tour started. Sinkewitz had already withdrawn from the race having incurred an injury during the 8th stage. The scandal was big enough to prompt German TV broadcasters ZDF and ARD to drop their coverage. The Tour was dealt a major blow when the first-place Astana team withdrew from the race on 24 July 2007, after team member and pre-race favourite Alexander Vinokourov from Kazakhstan tested positive for an illegal blood transfusion. Vinokourov's teammates Andreas Klöden and Andrey Kashechkin were in 5th and 7th place respectively at

468-419: The Tour, the bookmakers' favourite to win the 2007 Tour de France was Alexander Vinokourov , who was unable to start in 2006 due to lack of team members, but did win the 2006 Vuelta a España . The main challengers were expected to be the 2006 Tour de France second-place finisher Andreas Klöden ; and Alejandro Valverde , who dropped out of the 2006 Tour de France after a crash, but came second to Vinokourov in

504-401: The bottom the face of the woman with her shawl and chapped lips. 2007 Tour de France The 2007 Tour de France the 94th running of the race , took place from 7 to 29 July. The Tour began with a prologue in London, and ended with the traditional finish in Paris. Along the way, the route also passed through Belgium and Spain. It was won by Spanish rider Alberto Contador . The Tour

540-485: The classification was restricted to riders who were born on or after 1 January 1987. For the team classification , the times of the best three cyclists per team on each stage were added; the leading team is the team with the lowest total time. The riders in the team that lead this classification were identified with yellow numbers. The super-combativity award was given to Amets Txurruka . The Souvenir Henri Desgrange given in honour of Tour founder Henri Desgrange to

576-409: The first cyclists that reach the top of these climbs, with more points available for the higher-categorised climbs. The cyclist with the most points led the classification, and wore a white jersey with red polka dots . The fourth individual classification was the young rider classification , marked by the white jersey. This classification was calculated the same way as the general classification, but

612-489: The first rider to pass the summit of the Col du Galibier on stage 9. This prize was won by Mauricio Soler . Riders in the UCI ProTour (therefore not members of the wildcard entries Barloworld or Agritubel ) are awarded UCI ProTour points for their performance in the Tour de France. The winner of a stage receives 10 points, second receives 5 points and third 3 points. UCI ProTour points are also awarded for high places in

648-430: The front wheel and threw Burghardt over the handlebars onto the road. A second incident involving a dog occurred on Stage 18. Sandy Casar and Frederik Willems were in a four-man break when Casar collided with a dog running across the road, causing both him and Willems to fall. Casar was able to rejoin the break with the help of Axel Merckx despite receiving road rash on his right buttock, while Willems returned to

684-410: The last two kilometres. The Col d'Aubisque appeared in the Tour de France in 1910 , crossed by François Lafourcade . It has appeared frequently since then, more than once every two years. It was included at the insistence of Alphone Steinès, a colleague of Henri Desgrange at the Tour de France. Steinès visited the man responsible for local roads, the ingénieur des ponts-et-chaussées , who said: "Take

720-550: The peloton. Casar went on to win the stage. After Stage 16, overall leader Michael Rasmussen was fired by his team, Rabobank , for violating team rules after he told the team that he was in Mexico with his wife in June, then being sighted training in Italy by Italian journalist Davide Cassani. Rasmussen disputed this claim, maintaining that he was in Mexico. Thus, at the start of stage 17 there

756-422: The points classification, cyclists get points for finishing among the best in a stage finish, or in intermediate sprints. The cyclist with the most points led the classification, and is identified with a green jersey. There was also a mountains classification . The organization categorised some climbs as either hors catégorie , first, second, third, or fourth-category; points for this classification were won by

SECTION 20

#1732868687039

792-459: The riders up the Aubisque? You're completely crazy in Paris." Steinès agreed that the Tour would pay 5,000 francs to clear the pass. Desgrange knocked the price down to 2,000. In 1951 , Wim van Est was in the yellow jersey – the first Dutchman to wear it and chasing the leaders towards the Soulor when he slipped on gravel and fell into a ravine. He said: The team's manager, Kees Pellenaars, took

828-501: The second rest day of the Tour, on 24 July. French prosecutors wanted to start a legal case against Vinokourov, Mayo and Moreni, and requested the UCI to hand over the doping samples. The UCI refused to give them, and in May 2011 the investigation was stopped. German cyclist Marcus Burghardt collided with a Labrador Retriever during Stage 9. The bike struck the dog on its backside, which buckled

864-562: The specialists use 39 × 19 or 53 × 21. Then, at Eaux-Bonnes, you turn left and get to the real climb. This part, as far as Gourette, is a lot more difficult. The hardest part swings between eight and ten per cent from the seventh kilometre until Pont-du-Goua at the ninth kilometre and you need 39 × 21. Then, after 300m of flat in Gourette, a hairpin goes up to the Hôtel des Crêtes Blanches. Riders use 39 × 17 over four kilometres before going into 39 × 16 in

900-401: The teams – where each team's roster are introduced in front of the media and local dignitaries – took place at Trafalgar Square in London, the day before the opening prologue held in the city. The teams entering the race were: UCI ProTour teams Invited teams After the retirement of seven-time winner Lance Armstrong and with Ivan Basso and Floyd Landis not entering

936-458: The time. At the start of the 16th stage on 25 July, some teams made a protest against the laxness of the official attitude to doping in the race. After the stage, race officials announced that Cofidis team member Cristian Moreni of Italy had tested positive for elevated levels of testosterone , and the Cofidis team withdrew from the race. Spanish cyclist Iban Mayo tested positive for EPO on

972-412: The watch that he'd worn, with the legend: "My heart stopped, but not my Pontiac." Stage 16 of the 2007 Tour de France finished at the summit of the Aubisque. There has been one previous finish at the summit (in 1985). In 1971 , stage 16a finished at Gourette on the western approaches to Aubisque. Rasmussen won stage 16 in 2007 , confirming himself as favourite for victory in Paris, but that evening

1008-574: The west, the climb to the Aubisque starts in Laruns . From there, the Aubisque is 16.6 km (10.3 mi) and rises 1,190 m (3,900 ft), an average gradient of 7.2%. The first few kilometres, to the spa resort of Eaux-Bonnes , are fairly easy. After the Cascade de Valentin comes a section at 13%. From there to the top, the climb is 8.0 km (5.0 mi) at 8% average, passing the ski resort of Gourette at 1,400 m (4,600 ft). The east side

1044-463: The whole team." Van Est told journalists: "I had the feeling that I was taking that bend badly but I so much wanted to keep the yellow jersey, so I went flat out and off I flew. A monument spot 50 years later, on 17 July 2001, says: "Here on 17 July 1951 the cyclist Wim van Est fell 70 metres. He survived but lost the yellow jersey." A newspaper advertisement in the Netherlands showed van Est displaying

1080-415: The year. The points classification , indicated by the green jersey, was won for the first time by Tom Boonen , who had failed to complete the previous two Tours after leading the points classification at times during each. The mountains classification , indicated by the polkadot jersey, was won by Mauricio Soler in his first Tour appearance. The general classification , indicated by the yellow jersey,

1116-412: Was calculated by adding each cyclist's finishing times on each stage. The cyclist with the least accumulated time was the race leader, identified by the yellow jersey; the winner of this classification was considered the winner of the Tour. There were no time bonuses given at the end of stages for this edition of the Tour. Additionally, there was a points classification , which awards a green jersey. In

Col d'Aubisque - Misplaced Pages Continue

1152-418: Was closely contested until the final time trial on stage 19. The top three riders, Alberto Contador in the yellow jersey as the leader, Cadel Evans in second, and Levi Leipheimer in third, were separated by only 2:49, with both Evans and Leipheimer recognized as far superior time trialists to Contador. In the end, each rider held his place after the final time trial, but with considerably slimmer margins, as

1188-592: Was deported to the Buchenwald concentration camp in Germany, and he died in May 1945 at Boulay-Moselle while returning home. The stele was inaugurated on 26 September 1948, and every year is the focus of a memorial ride. The inscription reads: André Bach 1888–1945 Officier de la Légion d'honneur Grand mutilé – Président du C.C.B. – Mort en Déportation Pour perpétuer son souvenir en ce lieu qu'il aimait tant Ses amis Les Cyclotouristes du C.C.B. 1948 From

1224-423: Was marked by doping controversies , with three riders and two teams withdrawn during the race following positive doping tests, including pre-race favourite Alexander Vinokourov and his Astana team. Following Stage 16, the leader of the general classification , Michael Rasmussen , was removed from the Tour by his Rabobank team, who accused him of lying about the reasons for missing several drug tests earlier in

1260-399: Was no holder of the yellow jersey. Afterward the lead and the jersey were transferred to Discovery Channel 's Alberto Contador . Rasmussen later in 2013 confessed to doping from 1998 to 2010, including at the 2007 Tour de France. There were four main classifications contested in the 2007 Tour de France, with the most important being the general classification . The general classification

1296-455: Was sacked by his team and thrown off the race. There have been 47 passages over the summit since 1947, making it the second most visited mountain in the race's history. Stage 14 of the 2016 Vuelta a España finished at the summit of the Aubisque. Pic de Ger The Pic de Ger is a French Pyrenean summit, culminating at 2,613 m (8,573 ft), located in the Ossau Valley in

#38961