Cycling cols of the Luchonnais and Comminges: the complete guide

Around Bagnères-de-Luchon, a spa town nestled at the foot of the highest Pyrenean summits, nine cols radiate out in a star: enough to build day loops without ever taking the same road twice.

Peyresourde, the gateway to the Luchonnais

18.9 km at 6.2% from Luchon: one of the cols most regularly crossed by the Tour, and the tipping point into the Louron valley. From its summit, the road runs on to Peyragudes (11.3 km at 5.4% from Loudenvielle) and its final altiport ramp at 13%, where Bardet and then Pogačar won.

The hardest: Port de Balès

19.9 km at 5.7% from Luchon, with sections at 8.5%: the road where Contador lost and then regained the yellow jersey in 2010, between two wild valleys.

The balcony and the dead end

• Superbagnères: 18.4 km at 6.3%, the panoramic balcony above Luchon;
• Hospice de France: 11.9 km at 6.3%, a mythical dead end at the gateway to the Port de Vénasque, narrow and wild.

The most accessible

Col de Menté (9.5 km, but up to 11.5%) and col des Ares (8.7 km at 3.8%, the gentlest in the massif) let you put together a shorter ride without leaving the Comminges.

Good to know

The Luchonnais lends itself particularly well to multi-col loops thanks to its star-shaped geometry: use the site's loop planner (in French) to link Peyresourde–Balès or Peyresourde–Menté without going back to the car.