THE ROUTE
there’s just 40km to the
finish – and after the long
descent to Foix, riders will
reach the first ramps of the
Prat d’Albis.
Narrow,
winding road
the Tour de France’s name
for it,” explains former
sprinter Frédéric Moncassin,
a long-time resident of
the Ariège. “We’ve always
called it the Col de Péguère.
But the name suits it well,
because it highlights its
steepest side. I spent my
holidays there when I was
a kid. When I turned pro, I
took riders there to catch
them by surprise – the likes
of Stuart O’Grady, Jens
Warren Barguil won the sprint into Foix
ahead of Nairo Quintana in 2017.
Voigt and Laurent Roux, all
those who rode with me in
Toulouse. When we went
on a big eight-hour training
ride of 250km to prepare
for the Classics, we used to
climb the Péguère. Most of
them thought it was horrific.
This is the real Ariège,
one of the most authentic
departments in France,
the most rustic too. My
favourite place is at the top
of Péguère, just to the left,
the Tour Laffont. This is the
starting point of a ridge road
that, in my opinion, provides
the most beautiful view of
the Pyrenees. When you’re
there, you’re in heaven.”
But the Tour’s riders won’t
have time to admire the
panorama at the top of this
steep climb, which features
gradients of 16 and 18% on
some sections of the narrow
road towards the summit.
From the top of Péguère,
High above Foix, the riders
will find themselves in a
landscape voted the second
most beautiful in France,
after Corsica. The sheep,
cows and horses that graze
on the plateau are used
to the quiet pace of rural
pastures that belong to the
National Forestry Office, not
far from the reservoir that
supplies Foix. The peloton
and its entourage will cause
quite an upheaval.
“We will set up just one-
tenth of the usual Tour de
France finish at the top,”
explains Tour Director
Christian Prudhomme.
“There will only be 10 trucks
up there, while around a
100 more will remain at the
bottom of the climb. The
flow of traffic will be carefully
managed, and we’ll focus
on soft modes of access,
like walking and cycling.
We’ll also be very careful to
respect boggy parts of the
mountain and, of course,
waste management. The
Ariège is exceptionally
beautiful and there’s good
reason why this department
achieves record audiences
during the Tour. During the
last stage in Foix, in 2017,
in France alone 6.5 million
viewers tuned in for the
finish. Prat d’Albis is a new
climb for the race and sits
in contrast to the Tourmalet,
which will be tackled the day
before, and is a classic.”
It will certainly be a high
point of the race, both for its
spectacular vistas and for
what should be a fight to the
finish. The narrow, winding
road to the top extends over
11.8km at an average of
6.9%, with the first section
that rises straight out of Foix
the most difficult. Whoever
it delivers to victory will
certainly be a champion. ●
2 0 1 9 TO U R D E FR ANCE
| 79