Superbagnères

Start Town	Altitude	Elevation Gain	Length	Gradient	Difficulty	Rating
Bagnères de Luchon	1,800m	1,163m	17.4 km	6.7%	1,140	*****

Climb Description

Superbagnères is a tough cycling climb to a ski resort in the French Pyrenees. It backs on to some of the most impressive mountains in the range, including Aneto - the highest peak in the entire Pyrenees chain. It also has a rich Tour de France pedigree, having hosted six stage finishes between 1961 and 1989. Winners include Federico Bahamontes, Bernard Hinault, Greg Lemond and Robert Millar - suggesting that Superbagnères is very much a test for genuine climbers and general classification contenders.

It is a beautiful climb to ride on a bike. The road is quiet and the gradients are testing but never get too steep. The lanscape is stunning (our photo below doesn't do it justice!) particularly once you pass the turn to Hospice de France half way up the climb. The upper slopes offer unique views of the high mountains along the France-Spain border, and even the rather ugly Grand Hotel and ski resort at the top of the climb detracts little from the surrounding scenery.

Superbagneres is kept open throughout much of the winter to enable access to the ski resort, but it can get very cold. We recommend cycling here from June to October.

Roads & Traffic

The road surface is in very good condition throughout and there is usually very little traffic on the climb.

Alternative Routes

This is the only way to climb to Superbagnères.

Nearby Climbs

Col de Peyresourde

Port de Bales

Hospice de France

Col du Portillon

Artigue

Col de Menté

Col des Ares

Cycling Holidays

Superbagnères is climbed on our Pyrenees Coast to Coast and Best Of The Pyrenees cycling holidays.

Check out the information below for details of these and some of the other tours that we run in high mountains.