Tourmalet, the ‘Spanish’ legend where Indurain won his first Tour

The Tour de France will face this Thursday the road to Tourmalet in the course of the sixth stage, which ends in Cauterets-Cambasque. It is the ‘mountain’ par excellence of the Pyrenees and, together with the mythical Alpe d’Huez, of the gala round, which this year celebrates its 110 edition. Topping it off opens up a place in the golden book of racing and for the simple fan, a photo is an unforgettable memory.

He Tourmalet (2,114 meters) is a 17 kilometer wall located in the middle of the Pyrenees. Its average percentage is 7.4 percent and it has ramps of 10 and 12. This is the place where Federico Martín Bahamontes, the ‘Águila de Toledo’, fears nothing.

The ‘mountain of evil returns’, according to the Gascon translation, It is a mountain in love, a symbolic place of worship for professionals and novices, where the epic of Touring and cycling is kept like a treasure. Also a challenge, a symbol that comes from the desire to test human limits.

The eternal relationship between the Tour and the Tourmalet began in 1910, when L’Auto journalist Alphonse Steines went to investigate the port conditions and passed a false report to the director of the Tour, Henri Desgranges. “I have crossed the Tourmalet. The road is good and passable.” lied

Octave Lapize, in 1910, was the first to conquer the summit of Tourmalet, and days later he wore the yellow jersey as the winner of the Tour. This legendary runner was one of the Tour champions who gave their lives in the First World War.

The last time the Tourmalet was climbed was in 2021 and he was surpassed by the Frenchman Pierre Latour.

Spanish cyclists have crowned the Tourmalet in first place 17 times. The first of them, Vicente Trueba, in 1933; the last David de la Fuente in 2006. The two Cantabrians opened and closed the story.

Not on that popular list Miguel Indurainalthough 22 years later it is still remembered the work he starred in in 1991, including his mythical escape with Claudio Chiappucci on the descent of the Tourmalet to Val Louron which enabled him to seal a victory that he would seal in the final test. This is the first of his five consecutive Tours. A legend was born.

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Other well-known national cycling names have a name in the Tourmalet’s history: Julian Berrendero, Miguel Poblet, and Federico Martin Bahamonte.with 4 steps in the lead, the Spanish leader, Julio Jiménez, Paco Galdos, Lale Cubino….. The golden book of the Tour remembers a summit that also gives the Jacques Goddet prize.

“The first time I went up I remember that I was free and all the rivals were scattered around the harbor. They are very difficult timesthe bikes weighed twice as much as today and we had almost no developments”, recalled Bahamontes, who crowned the Tourmalet the lead in 1954, 62, 63 and 64.

For other legendary cyclists of the time, such as Julio Jiménez, the Tourmalet “This is the most popular port, but not the hardest. It is more difficult to climb the Galibier or the Izoard“, Remember.

The most contemporary Spanish cyclists also remember the Tourmalet for Laudelino Cubino’s 1988 escape, the Pedro Delgado Tour, the culmination of the 1985 Peio Ruiz Cabestany climb. In fact, it is said to be the most ‘Spanish’ port in France.

This Thursday the Tourmalet returns, which is no ordinary port. “You can’t imagine a Tour without the Pyrenees. And Toumalet is the great surname of these mountains together with Aubisque“, recalls Jean François Pescheux, technical and route manager of the Tour de France for 10 years.

At the top of the Tourmalet there is a monolith tribute to Jacques Goddet, director of the Tour de France from 1936 to 1987, and a large statue of Octave Lapize as the pioneer of his ascent to the Tour. Legend awaits the conqueror of Tourmalet 2023.

Spaniards crowned at Tourmalet

1933. Vicente Trueba
1937. Julian Berrendero
1954. Federico Martin Bahamontes
1955. Miguel Poblet
1962. Federico Martin Bahamontes
1963. Federico Martin Bahamontes
1964. Federico Martín Bahamontes and Julio Jiménez
1965. Julio Jimenez
1966. Julio Jimenez
1970. Andres Gandarias
1974. Gonzalo Aja
1976. Paco Galdos
1985. Peio Ruiz Cabestany
1988. Lale Cubino
1990. Miguel Angel Martinez Torres
1997. Javier Pascual Rodríguez
2006. David de la Fuente