Pas de Peyrol
Encyclopedia
Pas de Peyrol is a mountain pass
located in Auvergne
, France, and is the highest road pass in the Massif Central
. The pass is on the slopes of Puy Mary (1,787 m) and is situated at the junction of three roads:
, most recently on stage 9 of the 2011 tour
. The pass was first used in the 1959 Tour de France
, on the 231 km stage 14 from Aurillac
to Clermont Ferrand, with Louis Bergaud
first across the summit. In the 2004 tour
, the pass was used on stage 10 from Limoges
to Saint-Flour
, approaching from the Salers
direction which includes a final three kilometres at an average of 12% and a maximum gradient of 15%, with Richard Virenque
first over the summit.
. The 10th stage was selected for the 2004 L'Étape du Tour
, in which amateur and club riders ride over a full stage of the tour.
Mountain pass
A mountain pass is a route through a mountain range or over a ridge. If following the lowest possible route, a pass is locally the highest point on that route...
located in Auvergne
Auvergne (région)
Auvergne is one of the 27 administrative regions of France. It comprises the 4 departments of Allier, Puy de Dome, Cantal and Haute Loire.The current administrative region of Auvergne is larger than the historical province of Auvergne, and includes provinces and areas that historically were not...
, France, and is the highest road pass in the Massif Central
Massif Central
The Massif Central is an elevated region in south-central France, consisting of mountains and plateaux....
. The pass is on the slopes of Puy Mary (1,787 m) and is situated at the junction of three roads:
- D17 to the south-west towards AurillacAurillacAurillac is a commune in the Auvergne region in south-central France, capital of the Cantal department.Aurillac's inhabitants are called Aurillacois, and are also Cantaliens or Cantalous in Occitan....
, via the Col de Redondet (1,531 m), then down the valley of the River Jordanne. - D680 to the north-west towards SalersSalersSalers is a commune in the Cantal department in south-central France.It is famous for the Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée cheeses Cantal and Salers...
- D680 to the east, towards DienneDienneDienne is a commune in the Cantal department in south-central France.-Population:...
, down the valley of the River Santoire
Tour de France
The pass is regularly used on the Tour de FranceTour de France
The Tour de France is an annual bicycle race held in France and nearby countries. First staged in 1903, the race covers more than and lasts three weeks. As the best known and most prestigious of cycling's three "Grand Tours", the Tour de France attracts riders and teams from around the world. The...
, most recently on stage 9 of the 2011 tour
2011 Tour de France
-Pre-race favourites:2010 winner Alberto Contador was suspended from cycling during a doping investigation from September 2010 to February 2011, during which time 2010 runner-up Andy Schleck was regarded as the favourite. When the suspension was lifted, Contador declared his desire to compete in...
. The pass was first used in the 1959 Tour de France
1959 Tour de France
The 1959 Tour de France was the 46th Tour de France, taking place between 25 June and 18 July 1959. The race featured 120 riders, of which 65 finished. The Tour included 22 stages over 4,391 km, and the winner had an average speed of 35.474 km/h....
, on the 231 km stage 14 from Aurillac
Aurillac
Aurillac is a commune in the Auvergne region in south-central France, capital of the Cantal department.Aurillac's inhabitants are called Aurillacois, and are also Cantaliens or Cantalous in Occitan....
to Clermont Ferrand, with Louis Bergaud
Louis Bergaud
Louis Bergaud was a French professional road bicycle racer.- Palmarès :1954Louis Bergaud was a French professional road bicycle racer.- Palmarès :1954...
first across the summit. In the 2004 tour
2004 Tour de France
The 2004 Tour de France was the 91st, taking place from July 3 to July 25, 2004. It consisted of 20 stages over 3391 km.Lance Armstrong became the first to win six Tours de France. Armstrong had been favored to win, his competitors seen as being German Jan Ullrich, Spaniards Roberto Heras and...
, the pass was used on stage 10 from Limoges
Limoges
Limoges |Limousin]] dialect of Occitan) is a city and commune, the capital of the Haute-Vienne department and the administrative capital of the Limousin région in west-central France....
to Saint-Flour
Saint-Flour, Cantal
Saint-Flour is a commune in the Cantal department in the Auvergne region in south-central France. Its inhabitants are called Sanflorains.-Geography:...
, approaching from the Salers
Salers
Salers is a commune in the Cantal department in south-central France.It is famous for the Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée cheeses Cantal and Salers...
direction which includes a final three kilometres at an average of 12% and a maximum gradient of 15%, with Richard Virenque
Richard Virenque
Richard VirenqueRichard Virenque's name is pronounced Ree-shah Vee-rahnk. Virenque considers himself a man of the South but pronounces his name in standard French. Confusion is caused by the southern habit of pronouncing "en" as "ang" or "eng", making it Vee-rank. But Virenque says Vee-rahnk or...
first over the summit.
Appearances in the Tour de France
The Tour de France has crossed the summit 9 times since 1947, including on stage 9 of the 2011 tour2011 Tour de France
-Pre-race favourites:2010 winner Alberto Contador was suspended from cycling during a doping investigation from September 2010 to February 2011, during which time 2010 runner-up Andy Schleck was regarded as the favourite. When the suspension was lifted, Contador declared his desire to compete in...
. The 10th stage was selected for the 2004 L'Étape du Tour
L'Étape du Tour
L'Étape du Tour is an organised mass participation cyclosportive event that allows amateur cyclists to race over the same route as a Tour de France stage...
, in which amateur and club riders ride over a full stage of the tour.
| Year | Stage | Category | Start | Finish | Leader at the summit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 2011 Tour de France -Pre-race favourites:2010 winner Alberto Contador was suspended from cycling during a doping investigation from September 2010 to February 2011, during which time 2010 runner-up Andy Schleck was regarded as the favourite. When the suspension was lifted, Contador declared his desire to compete in... |
9 | 2 | Issoire Issoire Issoire is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department in Auvergne in central France.-Geography:Issoire is located on the Couze River, near its junction with the Allier, SSE of Clermont-Ferrand on the Paris-Lyon-Méditerranée railway to Nîmes... |
St Flour | Thomas Voeckler Thomas Voeckler Thomas Voeckler is a French professional road racing cyclist who rides for the cycling team.- Biography :Voeckler has been a professional cyclist since 2001. He rides for , formerly known as Bbox Bouygues Telecom, Bouygues Télécom, Brioches la Boulangère, and Bonjour... |
| 2008 2008 Tour de France The 2008 Tour de France was the 95th Tour de France. The event took place from 5–27 July 2008. Starting in the French city of Brest, the tour entered Italy on the 15th stage and returned to France during the 16th, heading for Paris, its regular final destination, which was reached in the 21st stage... |
7 | 2 | Brioude Brioude Brioude is a commune in the Haute-Loire department in the Auvergne region in south-central France. It lies on the banks of the River Allier, a tributary of the Loire.-History:... |
Aurillac Aurillac Aurillac is a commune in the Auvergne region in south-central France, capital of the Cantal department.Aurillac's inhabitants are called Aurillacois, and are also Cantaliens or Cantalous in Occitan.... |
David de la Fuente David De La Fuente David de la Fuente Rasilla is a Spanish professional road bicycle racer. He rides for the cycling team. De la Fuente led the mountains classification of the 2006 Tour de France for a number of stages, donning the Polka Dot jersey after stage 2, and then again after stage 11 until Michael... |
| 2004 2004 Tour de France The 2004 Tour de France was the 91st, taking place from July 3 to July 25, 2004. It consisted of 20 stages over 3391 km.Lance Armstrong became the first to win six Tours de France. Armstrong had been favored to win, his competitors seen as being German Jan Ullrich, Spaniards Roberto Heras and... |
10 | 1 | Limoges Limoges Limoges |Limousin]] dialect of Occitan) is a city and commune, the capital of the Haute-Vienne department and the administrative capital of the Limousin région in west-central France.... |
St. Flour Saint-Flour, Cantal Saint-Flour is a commune in the Cantal department in the Auvergne region in south-central France. Its inhabitants are called Sanflorains.-Geography:... |
Richard Virenque Richard Virenque Richard VirenqueRichard Virenque's name is pronounced Ree-shah Vee-rahnk. Virenque considers himself a man of the South but pronounces his name in standard French. Confusion is caused by the southern habit of pronouncing "en" as "ang" or "eng", making it Vee-rank. But Virenque says Vee-rahnk or... |
| 1985 1985 Tour de France The 1985 Tour de France was the 72nd Tour de France, taking place June 28 to July 21, 1985, over 4109 km in 22 stages and a prologue.Bernard Hinault would attempt to equal the records of Jacques Anquetil and Eddy Merckx who had each won the Tour de France five times. Hinault was unable to... |
15 | 2 | Saint-Étienne Saint-Étienne Saint-Étienne is a city in eastern central France. It is located in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon in the Rhône-Alpes region, along the trunk road that connects Toulouse with Lyon... |
Aurillac Aurillac Aurillac is a commune in the Auvergne region in south-central France, capital of the Cantal department.Aurillac's inhabitants are called Aurillacois, and are also Cantaliens or Cantalous in Occitan.... |
Eduardo Chozas Eduardo Chozas Eduardo Chozas Olmo is a Spanish former professional road racing cyclist. He won four stages at the Tour de France and three in the Giro d'Italia. He was also chosen as the most combative rider of 1990 Tour de France.- Palmarès :... |
| 1983 1983 Tour de France The 1983 Tour de France was the 70th Tour de France, run from 1 to 22 July 1982 in 22 stages and a prologue, over a total distance of 3862 km., won by French rider Laurent Fignon. Sean Kelly of Ireland won the green jersey, and Lucien Van Impe of Belgium won the polka dot jersey... |
14 | 2 | Aurillac Aurillac Aurillac is a commune in the Auvergne region in south-central France, capital of the Cantal department.Aurillac's inhabitants are called Aurillacois, and are also Cantaliens or Cantalous in Occitan.... |
Issoire Issoire Issoire is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department in Auvergne in central France.-Geography:Issoire is located on the Couze River, near its junction with the Allier, SSE of Clermont-Ferrand on the Paris-Lyon-Méditerranée railway to Nîmes... |
Lucien Van Impe Lucien Van Impe Lucien van Impe was a Belgian cyclist from 1969 to 1987. He excelled mainly as a climber in multiple-day races such as the Tour de France... |
| 1975 1975 Tour de France The 1975 Tour de France was the 62nd Tour de France, taking place June 26 to July 20, 1975. It consisted of 22 stages over 3999 km, ridden at an average speed of 34.899 km/h. Eddy Merckx was attempting to win his sixth Tour de France, but became a victim of violence. Many Frenchmen were... |
14 | 3 | Aurillac Aurillac Aurillac is a commune in the Auvergne region in south-central France, capital of the Cantal department.Aurillac's inhabitants are called Aurillacois, and are also Cantaliens or Cantalous in Occitan.... |
Puy-de-Dôme Puy-de-Dôme (mountain) Puy de Dôme is a large lava dome and one of the youngest volcanoes in the Chaîne des Puys region of Massif Central in south-central France. This chain of volcanoes including numerous cinder cones, lava domes, and maars is located far from the edge of any tectonic plate. Puy de Dôme is located... |
Lucien Van Impe Lucien Van Impe Lucien van Impe was a Belgian cyclist from 1969 to 1987. He excelled mainly as a climber in multiple-day races such as the Tour de France... |
| 1968 1968 Tour de France The 1968 Tour de France was the 55th Tour de France, taking place June 27 to July 21, 1968. It consisted of 22 stages over 4684.8 km, ridden at an average speed of 34.894 km/h... |
17 | 3 | Aurillac Aurillac Aurillac is a commune in the Auvergne region in south-central France, capital of the Cantal department.Aurillac's inhabitants are called Aurillacois, and are also Cantaliens or Cantalous in Occitan.... |
Saint-Étienne Saint-Étienne Saint-Étienne is a city in eastern central France. It is located in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon in the Rhône-Alpes region, along the trunk road that connects Toulouse with Lyon... |
Aurelio Gonzalez |
| 1963 1963 Tour de France The 1963 Tour de France was the 50th Tour de France, taking place June 23 to July 14, 1963. The total race distance was 21 stages over 4137 km, with riders averaging 37.092 km/h... |
14 | 3 | Aurillac Aurillac Aurillac is a commune in the Auvergne region in south-central France, capital of the Cantal department.Aurillac's inhabitants are called Aurillacois, and are also Cantaliens or Cantalous in Occitan.... |
Saint-Étienne Saint-Étienne Saint-Étienne is a city in eastern central France. It is located in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon in the Rhône-Alpes region, along the trunk road that connects Toulouse with Lyon... |
Federico Bahamontes Federico Bahamontes Federico Martín Bahamontes is a Spanish former professional road racing cyclist.-Biography:Bahamontes was born in Santo Domingo-Caudilla , of Cuban descent. His family was devastated during the Spanish civil war and Bahamontes' father, Julián, took the family to Madrid as refugees... |
| 1959 1959 Tour de France The 1959 Tour de France was the 46th Tour de France, taking place between 25 June and 18 July 1959. The race featured 120 riders, of which 65 finished. The Tour included 22 stages over 4,391 km, and the winner had an average speed of 35.474 km/h.... |
14 | 2 | Aurillac Aurillac Aurillac is a commune in the Auvergne region in south-central France, capital of the Cantal department.Aurillac's inhabitants are called Aurillacois, and are also Cantaliens or Cantalous in Occitan.... |
Clermont-Ferrand Clermont-Ferrand Clermont-Ferrand is a city and commune of France, in the Auvergne region, with a population of 140,700 . Its metropolitan area had 409,558 inhabitants at the 1999 census. It is the prefecture of the Puy-de-Dôme department... |
Louis Bergaud Louis Bergaud Louis Bergaud was a French professional road bicycle racer.- Palmarès :1954Louis Bergaud was a French professional road bicycle racer.- Palmarès :1954... |
See also
- List of highest paved roads in Europe
- List of mountain passes