Col d'Aspin and the Hourquette d'Ancizan

Just emerging from the treeline on the Hourquette

Always a welcome sight on any Col

Both of these climbs have appeared in the Tour de France in recent years including one after the other in 2022.

These climbs are basically two different ways over the same mountain, starting from Payolle on the west side or the valley of Neste d'Aure (either Arreau or Ancizan) in the east. Both of these climbs are extremely beautiful, my favourites in the area and both are much harder from the east side. To climb both from the Pyrenees Cycling Centre involves a ride of 108km and a total elevation gain of 2148m. A pretty good day out. I did it by climbing the Ancizan from Payolle and descending to Arreau then climbing the Aspin because I had mis-remembered the descent of the Ancizan (lesson here -this is much easier to do when you drive it!) and thought that climbing it in the opposite direction would be soul destroying due to long visible straights and grotty tarmac. In fact either way round is a delight. One thing to consider though, on the Hourquette, there is a sneaky bit of downhill halfway up the climb. Don't you just hate that? It's not as bad as the Col du Glandon but 4km up the hill from Payolle you will hit a 1km descent losing 75m of your hard won gains!

When quoting the stats on these two climbs, some people assume a starting point of Ste Marie de Campan. I prefer to use Payolle since this is where the road splits to tackle each climb. There's no logic in either method since in actual fact, from the moment you leave Bagneres de Bigorre, you're climbing pretty steadily for 10 or 15km before arriving at the foot of the climbs (think 15 then when you do it for real it will seem easier)

Col d'Aspin from Payolle

• Altitude 1493m.

• Length of climb 6km

• Average gradient 8%

• Maximum gradient 9%

• Height gained 413m.

Col d'Aspin from Arreau

• Altitude 1493m.

• Length of climb 12km

• Average gradient 6.6%

• Maximum gradient 9.5%

Height gained 793m.

Hourquette d'Ancizan from Payolle

• Altitude 1556m.

• Length of climb 8km

• Average gradient 8%

• Maximum gradient 9%

• Height gained 413m.

Hourquette d'Ancizan from Ancizan

• Altitude 1556m.

• Length of climb 9.6 km

• Average gradient 7.4%

• Maximum gradient 10%

• Height gained 739m.