Luz Ardiden

Geography

Luz-Ardiden is located in the north of the in the Pyrenees, at an altitude of between 1680 and. The ski resort is located west-north-west of the town centre of Luz-Saint-Sauveur, 12 km by road.

History

The idea of a ski resort at Luz-Ardiden was developed by the local elected officials of the five communes of Luz-Saint-Sauveur, Grust, Sazos, Sassis and Viscos from 1966. The work began with the opening of the road from Grust in 1970. The ski station opened on 16 January 1975 at the Béderet site. The Aulian sector was opened the following season.

Details of climb

Starting from Luz-Saint-Sauveur (710 m), the climb to Luz Ardiden (1720 m) is 14.7 km long. The elevation gain over this distance is 1010 m (an average of 6.9%). The maximum gradient is 10%.

Cycling

Luz Ardiden has been the finish-line for Tour de France and Vuelta a España stages several times.

Tour de France stage finishes

Stage 17 of the 1985 Tour de France, which included Luz Ardiden, was the scene of an infamous moment in cycling history. During the stage, Greg LeMond and a rival rider, Stephen Roche, were far ahead of the pack when the team boss Bernard Tapie and coach Paul Köchli asked LeMond to slow down, saying that Hinault was 45 seconds behind. LeMond refrained from attacking and waited at the stage's finish where he realized he'd been misled; Hinault was in fact more than three minutes behind. Hinault went on to win that year's Tour by 1 minute 42 seconds; in return for his assistance, LeMond was assured by Hinault that he would support LeMond the following year.

During the 1990 Tour Claudio Chiappucci had surprised all of the pre-race favorites by still leading the race by over two minutes going into stage 16, which ended in a mountaintop finish on Luz Ardiden. Late in the stage after the race had come back together Fabio Parra launched an attack which only LeMond and Miguel Induráin could answer.{{cite web|title=Classic Races: 1990 Tour de France

During the 2003 Tour de France, Lance Armstrong was riding with Iban Mayo at the start of the climb to Luz Ardiden when Armstrong crashed, bringing Mayo down with him. The fall was caused when Armstrong caught the handlebar of his bike on the strap of a spectator's bag. Jan Ulrich, who was riding just behind Armstrong and Mayo, avoided the crash, and in an act of chivalry he slowed to wait for the fallen riders. Armstrong would go on to win by his smallest ever margin.

Vuelta a España stage finishes

References

References

1. "Station de Luz Ardiden from Luz Saint Sauveur : 1720m".
2. Benson, Daniel. (15 July 2021). "Tour de France: Pogacar takes final mountain stage at Luz Ardiden". Cycling News.
3. Westermeyer, Susan. (14 July 2011). "Sanchez prevails on Luz-Ardiden". Cycling News.
4. (16 July 1994). "Le Tour". El Mundo Deportivo.
5. (18 July 1990). "Clasificaciones/Tour '90". El Mundo Deportivo.
6. (19 July 1988). "Clasificaciones". El Mundo Deportivo.
7. (15 July 1987). "Clasificaciones Oficiales". El Mundo Deportivo.
8. (17 July 1985). "Clasificaciones Oficiales". El Mundo Deportivo.
9. Moore, Richard. (2014). "Étape: The Untold Stories of the Tour de France's Defining Stages". [[HarperCollins]].
10. (2003). "The Official Tour de France Centennial 1903-2003". [[Weidenfeld & Nicolson]].
11. (20 September 1995). "La etapa de hoy". El Mundo Deportivo.
12. (21 September 1995). "Clasificaciones". El Mundo Deportivo.
13. (6 May 1992). "'92 La Vuelta". El Mundo Deportivo.