In 2022 La Super Planche des Belles Filles was the crowning glory of the Tour de France Femmes, and while it was a challenging and exciting climb that had been home to some crucial moments in the men’s race the depth of its place in the folklore of the French Grand Tour holds no comparison to the Col du Tourmalet.
It’s a mountain that even those with only a passing interest in the race for yellow know is synonymous with the race, its towering presence in the Pyrenees and the race history making it impossible to ignore.
While the 2022 reintroduction of the women’s Tour de France – with much of the fanfare and mystique of the long-running July Grand Tour – helped elevate interest in the women’s side of the sport to a new level, the sheer presence of the 2,115m mountain pass has the potential to lift it to yet another.
The Col du Tourmalet is not just a beast of a climb, but a beast of a climb where very few will be unaware of just how tough it really is. There will be absolutely no room for doubt about the scale of the challenge the women’s peloton is taking on, and every reason for viewers to be attuned to the gravity of the stage and in anticipation of an unforgettable cycling moment, carve out time in their calendar to make sure they don’t miss out.
The race route is missing Paris in 2023, partly due to the organisers’ desire to take in different areas, including the iconic climb. But they’ve perhaps opted for something more crucial to the flavour of the Tour in adding the iconic mountain, which in clear weather provides a vantage point from one of the highest paved passes in the Pyrenees provides that makes it feel like the world is at your feet. The winner of stage 7 on July 29 will probably feel that it is too.
The location
The Col du Tourmalet sits in the Pyrenees, a mountain range which straddles the Spanish border and is just about as far from Paris as you can get while still remaining in France. It will be the southernmost point of the 2023 edition of the race, which will start in Clermont-Ferrand.
The climb
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The Col du Tourmalet takes the Tour de France Femmes to 2,110m, with the heights of the Pyrenean giant coming straight after the more moderate altitude of the Col d’Aspin (12km at 6.5%) with cows grazing roadside and…
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