Stefan Tabeling and Felix Schröder, dpa
These are the 21 most famous hairpin bends in the world, leading straight to the Mecca of cycling. When the Tour de France heads back to Alpe d’Huez for the big showdown after a four-year break, more than half a million fans will turn the mountain into a madhouse. The crowds lining the route will leave the riders with nothing but a narrow passageway up the climb. “This year will be iconic because we’re climbing it twice,” predicts Tour champion Tadej Pogacar.
The Alpe d’Huez legend – this cycling mecca provides the setting for the grand finale of the 113th Tour de France. On both Friday and Saturday, the stage finishes at the legendary ski resort, situated at an altitude of 1,850 metres. By then at the latest, any remaining doubts about the Tour champion should have been dispelled.
Alpe d’Huez is to cycling what Wembley is to football or the Streif is to skiing. Yet, at 13.8 kilometres long with an average gradient of 8.1 per cent, the climb isn’t actually that difficult. “It’s the history that makes this climb iconic,” says Pogacar.
Coppi, the first winner – the Dutch mountain
Alpe d’Huez, the setting for great dramas, heroic moments and triumphs. Fausto Coppi won the Tour’s first mountain finish here in 1952; there was then a 24-year hiatus before the Dutch riders discovered the mountain for themselves. Between 1976 and 1989, a Dutch rider was the first to reach the summit on eight occasions. Hennie Kuiper, Peter Winnen, Joop Zoetemelk, Steven Rooks and Gert-Jan Theunisse made Alpe d’Huez the Dutchers’ mountain. “Winning there means just as much to us as winning the World Championships,” said Kuiper.
Fittingly, the parish priest at the time, Jaap Reuten, was also of Dutch descent. Whenever the cyclists tackled the climb, he would ring the church bells. Even though the Netherlands doesn’t currently have a favourite to win the climb to the summit of the Oisans mountains, the Oranje will be seen and heard along the route. Turn seven is the ‘Dutch Corner’. Things will get a few decibels louder and a bit crazier here.
Hinault and Lemond, hand in hand
In 1986, Bernard Hinault and Greg Lemond crossed the finish line hand in hand on the Avenue du Rif Nel. The American let his team-mate Hinault take the victory after Hinault had supported him in the battle for the Yellow Jersey.
Things took a dramatic turn in 1999 when an amateur photographer got in the way of Giuseppe Guerini, then a professional for Telekom, and caused him to fall. The diminutive Italian managed to get back on his feet, however, and went on to win anyway.
In 2001, Jan Ullrich suffered one of his most bitter defeats against Lance Armstrong on Alpe d’Huez. His team had been pushing the pace all day because the Texan appeared to be flagging. It was all just a bluff. As they began the climb up Alpe d’Huez, Armstrong turned once more towards his German rival and pulled away with a staccato pedalling motion. ‘The Look’ became world-famous, although, as Armstrong later explained, his gaze was actually directed at his team-mate José Luis Rubiera.
Pantani holds the record
Be that as it may, history had been made. The official record is still held by Marco Pantani, who clocked 36 minutes and 50 seconds back in 1995. Will the insatiable Pogacar go on to beat this mark as well? If the world champion wins, he too will be immortalised on one of the bends. Each bend is named after a stage winner, with the names listed in reverse order. Some signs bear two names, as the Tour has climbed this route 31 times already.
“I’m definitely looking forward to seeing what the atmosphere is like. I’ve never been there myself,” said German champion and Tour debutant Felix Engelhardt. “If you’re not necessarily riding to win there, hopefully you can enjoy it a bit more.” He can find out more from his German colleague Nils Politt. “We’ve done it once before. It was really cool. Alpe d’Huez is the mountain in cycling,” says the Cologne native.
On Friday, the race heads to the ski resort in the traditional way via Le Bourg d'Oisans; on Saturday, the peloton then rides over the Col de Sarenne to Alpe d'Huez, with a section without spectators. But it never really gets quiet in Alpe d'Huez.
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