Pailhères when climbed from Ax-les-Thermes.
WHICH WAY?
Usson-les-Bains is on the D118, 19 kilometres southwest of the town of Axat, which is 51 kilometres west of the city of Perpignan on the D117. If approaching from Axat, turn right in Usson-les-Bains onto the D16 in the direction of Mijanès. Turn right onto the D16, still in the direction of Mijanès. In Mijanès turn left onto the D25 and follow this road to the top of the climb.
Tour riders in the Pyrenees © Luc Claessen
Lake on the descent of the Pailheres
All the information you need
Portet d’Aspet
‘CASARTELLI’S MEMORIAL’
Length: 18.1 km
Altitude: 1069 metres
Height gain: 557 metres
Average gradient: 3%
Maximum gradient: 10.8%
WHAT TO EXPECT
A very tough climb from either side, since 1995 the Portet d’Aspet has been connected with one of the three tragic deaths in Tour de France history, when an Italian rider, Fabio Casartelli crashed and was killed on the descent of the western side of the climb.
Actually, in an event where men throw themselves into tumultuous sprint finishes, flog their tired bodies up incredible mountains and hurtle down the other sides at impossible speeds, it’s amazing that there haven’t been more deaths than those of Francisco Cepeda in 1935, Tom Simpson in 1967 and Casartelli in 1995.
Aside from its tragic connection, the Portet d’Aspet is a real Pyrenean gem. It starts easily, even if some short descents on the way up keep loosing you what little height you gain in the first two-thirds of the climb.
At 12 kilometres you are still only 700 metres above sea level and have only risen about 200 metres, so with 389 metres left to be climbed in only six kilometres you know what is in store for you. The sense of foreboding won’t be lifted by the fact that the next two kilometres only averages a five percent gradient either.
Yes, you’ve guessed it, the last two kilometres are a brutal slog of ten percent and more as you climb the lacets that spin giddily upwards after the hamlet of Aspet. The one good thing about the top of the climb is that you are still in the shade of the trees that shelter you all the way up and down this climb.
The descent down the western side is very steep, twisty and has an irregular gradient that shifts between five and nine percent. There is a stretch of 17 percent. It was just after this that Casartelli came to grief in 1995. He crashed and slid across the road, smashing his head against one of the square blocks that are placed to stop vehicles plunging over the edge. Since his death some of the blocks have been replaced, especially close to where he fell, but not all. Be very careful.
WHICH WAY?
The eastern side of the climb starts in Audressein, a tiny village that is 12 kilometres southwest of St Girons on the D618. St Girons is 30 kilometres southeast of junction 20 of the A64 Autoroute on the D117. Continue through Audressein on the D618 to the top of the climb.
