Isère, French Alps
Alpe d'Huez
Twenty-one numbered hairpins, each named after a stage winner, rising out of Bourg-d'Oisans. Not the hardest climb in France, but the loudest: the Dutch Corner at bend seven turns orange every July and the whole mountain functions as an amphitheatre.
Summit
1,850 m
Length
13.8 km
Average
8.1%
Maximum
13%
Category
Hors catégorie
First used
1952
Appearances
32 summit finishes
Fastest ever
The benchmark
Marco Pantani, 37'35" (1997)
Reference ascent — timings vary with the exact start point, weather and race situation.
History
Famous moments
1952
Fausto Coppi wins the first Alpe stage — the Tour's first mountaintop finish.
1986
Hinault and LeMond cross the line hand in hand, a truce that fooled nobody.
1997
Pantani's 37'35" remains the benchmark ascent.
2015
Thibaut Pinot wins as Quintana takes 1'20" back from Froome, too late.
2022
Tom Pidcock descends the Galibier like a downhill mountain biker and wins alone.
Ride it yourself
Notes for cyclists
- Hardest section is the first 3 km at over 10% out of Bourg-d'Oisans.
- Bends are numbered down from 21, so counting is a countdown.
- Ride it early: the road bakes in the afternoon with almost no shade.
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