Soulor > Aubisque > Spandelles

About the Route

Welcome to Val d'Azun in the Haute-Pyrenees. This sample route takes in 3 epic Tour de France climbs; Col du Soulor, Col d'Aubisque and Col de Spandelles.

When riding up Val d'Azun towards Soulor/Aubisque, all the locals know to avoid the Route d'Azun D918. It is a deadly road where cars & trucks pass you at +80 km/h. Only unknowing tourists risk their lives riding here. Even though the main road is the traditional Tour de France route, you need to remember that it is closed to traffic when the tour passes through. The best thing to do is ride up the Route D13 via Saint-Savin and Bun. This road is much quieter and very beautiful... just ask the locals!

Once you rejoin the D918 just before Aucun, you'll be back on the "Route des Cols" on your way to Soulor and then on to Aubisque via the spectacular balcony road of Cirque du Litor. After taking photos of the "big bikes" at the top of Aubisque, we'll head back via the balcony road to Soulor. On the way, look out for "Van Est Corner" that has a plaque commemorating Wim Van Est and the 70m plunge off the cliff in the 1951 Tour de France. Luckily he survived but his team had to abandon the race after using all their tyres to hoist him out.

There are possibilities for coffee/lunch stops at both Aubisque and Soulor but, when we descend down to Ferrières, there is only one little cafe in Arbéost. The valley around Spandelles is very remote and wild. It was first featured in the Tour de France in 2022. On the descent to Argelès-Gazost, try to work out which bend that Tadej Pogačar crashed in stage 18 of that year.