ALPE D'HUEZ

'Alpe d'Huez' is a famous ski resort 1850 metres / 3330 metres (6,069 ft / 10,924 ft) high. Alpe d'Huez was and still is a mountain pasture in the Central French Alps, located on the territory of the commune of Huez, in the Isère ''département''.

Contents

Tour de France

Winners of the Alpe d'Huez stage at Tour de France

Fastest Alpe d'Huez ascents

Skiing at Alpe d'Huez

External links

Tour de France

Alpe d'Huez is the most famous mountain climb in the Tour de France. While the tour route varies from year to year, l'Alpe d'Huez has hosted a stage finish almost every year since 1976. The Tour de France first finished a stage on l'Alpe d'Huez in 1952. That stage was won by the Italian road racing cyclist Fausto Coppi.
The climb up Alpe d'Huez is 13.8 km at an average gradient of 8.1% with 21 hairpin bends marked with panels honouring the winners of each stage that has finished there. Having finished there for the 22nd time in 2001, the authorities had to start again at the bottom with a double panel honouring Fausto Coppi and Lance Armstrong.
As the most legendary climb in recent Tour history, the Alpe has been the scene of chaotic crowds in the past 10 years. In 1999 Giuseppe Guerini won the stage despite being knocked off his bike by an over-enthusiastic spectator who stepped into his path to take a photograph (the photographer later sought out Guerini to apologize). The 2004 Tour de France route featured an individual time trial up Alpe d'Huez, which became a chaotic scene crowded with nearly a million fans, some of whom could not resist pushing their favorite rider toward the top. Armstrong won the stage and his time was only 1 second slower than the official record set by the late Marco Pantani of 37 minutes, 35 seconds.
Alpe d'Huez is also known as the "Dutch Mountain", a Dutchman having won there 8 of the first 14 finishes. Approximately one of every three fans on the mountain is from the Netherlands. The Dutch have won none of the last 11 stages finishing on Alpe d'Huez however; 6 were won by Italian riders, 3 by American riders, one by Basque rider Iban Mayo, and the most recent by Fränk Schleck of Luxembourg.
The peak also serves as the finish of La Marmotte, a one-day, 175-km road cycle ride with well over 5000 m. of climbing. It is also used for downhill, or Alpine skiing.

Winners of the Alpe d'Huez stage at Tour de France

★ In the 1979 Tour de France, there were two stages at l'Alpe d'Huez.

Fastest Alpe d'Huez ascents

★ ITT Stage in 2004.
The climb has been timed since 1994 so earlier times are subject to some discussion. From 1994 to 1997 the climb was timed from a point 14.5km from the finish. Since 1999 a photo-finish system was used from 14km to the finish. These times are all taken from 13.8km from the summit, which is the corner which marks the start of the climb. Other timings have also been taken from the road junction approximately 700m from the start of the climb. [1]
These variations in the distance for timing the climb have led to an ongoing debate as to the fastest times. For example, the 'official' record of Marco Pantani of 37'35" has been cited by sources such as Procycling magazine, and World Cycling Productions - publishers of the Tour de France series of DVDs hosted by Phil Liggett and the magazine Cycle Sport . In his biography of Marco Pantani, Matt Rendell notes the following for Pantani's times: 1994 - 38'00"; 1995 - 38'04"; 1997 - 37'35". The Alpe d'Huez tourist association describes the climb as 14.454km and also lists Pantani's 37'35" as the record. [2]

Skiing at Alpe d'Huez

Alpe d'Huez is also known as a freeskiing venue. The site of the Pomagalski's first surface lift in the early sixties, the resort grew in an organic manner, gaining popularity when it hosted the bobsleigh events of the 1968 Winter Olympics. At that time the resort was seen as a competitor to Courchevel as France's most upmarket purpose built resort but the development of Les Trois Vallées, Val d'Isère, Tignes, La Plagne and Les Arcs saw Alpe D'Huez fall from favour in the Seventies and early Eighties.
With 235km of piste and 87 ski lifts, the resort is now one of the world's largest. Extensive snowmaking facilities helped combat the ski area's largely south-facing orientation and helped Alpe d'Huez appeal to beginner skiers, with very easy slopes. The expansion of the skiing above the linked resorts of Vaujany, Oz-en-Oisans, Villard Reculas and Auris boosted the quantity and quality of intermediate grade slopes but the resort is mostly known for freeskiing, drawing many steep skiing enthusiasts to its high altitude terrain.
Aside from the Tunnel and Sarenne black runs, the latter the world's longest at 16km, many Off-piste opportunities exist both from the summit of the 3330m Pic Blanc and the 2808m Dome des Petites Rousses. The proximity to the off-piste resort of La Grave as well as the tree skiing of Serre Chevalier and the huge glacier and terrain parks of Les Deux Alpes have made Alpe d'Huez a popular base for skiers looking to explore the Oisans region.

External links

★ TierraWiki.org: Information on how to do the ride

★ Ski Resort Website (in French & English)

★ Ski Resort Website (in English)

★ More info, photos and video on cycling Alpe d'Huez and the Marmotte

★ Independent Alpe d'Huez Skiing Guide (in English)