Think of the Tour de France and you invariably think of mountains, and it was on Stage 10 of the 1910 Tour that the riders went above 1,500m for the first time. The setting for this milestone was the Col de Peyresourde, 1,595m above sea level and the gateway to the Grand Boucle’s first foray into the high mountains – and what a foray it was. The Peyresourde led onto the Col d’Aspin, Col du Tourmalet, Col du Soulor and Col d’Aubisque to make for a 326km-long stage with some 6,500m of climbing.
Bagnères-de-Luchon hosted the , meaning there wasn’t so much as half a kilometre for the riders to warm up before they’ – ‘you are assassins’.
