Hautes-Pyrenees

About the Route

The Hautes-Pyrenees is a climbers paradise. This #switchbacksaturday route will let you explore some lesser known areas of this Tour de France hotspot.

Ayzac-Ost

The route starts just outside of Argelès-Gazost at the cycling cafe of l'Argalyde. We'll make a quick detour to get in some early switchbacks on the way up to stunning little village of Saint-Savin before rolling down to the valley road to tackle the climbe we have all come to see...

Luz Ardiden (via Viscos)

This quiet road is a local secret. Packed with switchbacks, it joins up with the main road to Luz Ardiden about 4km from the summit. It's mandatory to stop and photograph the switchbacks from the top carpark. After that, we'll descend via the main road to collect more switchbacks on our way down.

Cambasque

Heading back down the valley, we'll turn left at Pierrefitte on our way up to Cauteret. There are some 'chunky' switchbacks half way up the valley but it isn't until you get through the Cauteret that we find the turn off up Cambasque. The gradients get up over 10% for big chunks of the climb and it is one of the only climbs in the Pyrenees where the switchbacks are numbered. This was where Tadej Pogačar took victory in the Tour de France stage, overpowering Jonas Vingegaard in 2023.

Pont d'Espagne

To finish off our switchbacksaturday, we'll duck up to the dead-end climb of Pont d'Espagne. Similar to Cambasque, the switchbacks are buried deep in the forest but there are also wild waterfalls thundering on these bends. After topping out at the huge carpark and hiking up to the Pont, we'll descend all the way back to Pierrefitte before our final little climb back up to Saint-Savin for a well-earned beverage at the Bistrot de l'Abbaye.