Hautacam is the finish line of the 18th stage of the 2014 Tour de France on 24 July. The Tour stopped there for the first time in 1994 and this year is the fifth time that the ski resort in the French Pyrenees has been a guest.
In the year 2000, Javier Otxoa was the first to cross the finish line in Hautacam, marked by the exertions of the stage and the bad weather. Behind him, Lance Armstrong chases up the climb, but the Spaniard is able to finish a few seconds ahead of him.
Previously, sprinters and breakaways had dominated the Tour de France, but now a first battle between the favourites around Armstrong, Ullrich and Pantani is eagerly awaited.
The stage has been proclaimed the queen stage, as in addition to the final climb to Hautacam, the Col de Marie-Blanque and the Col d'Ausbisque must also be conquered.
As if that wasn't hard enough, the weather is also a problem for the pros. Right from the start of the stage, it was cold and raining cats and dogs, and fog shrouded the mountains ahead of the riders - conditions that did not improve for the entire stage.
Javier Otxoa joins the breakaway group around the Belgian Nico Mattan and the French breakaway king Jacky Durand early on. The group has a lead of more than 16 minutes at times, but falls apart on the climbs - Otxoa proves to be the strongest climber.
He covers the last 50 kilometres before the final climb to Hautacam as a soloist. He reaches the start of the climb eleven minutes ahead of the group around Armstrong - time that he will need.
The favourites' race quickly gets moving at the start of the climb.
Marco Pantani breaks through the usual lurking and attacks early on. Only Armstrong hangs onto his rear wheel, stays behind briefly, increases the pace and then leaves Pantani behind. The Italian is no longer able to counter the American's attack and Ullrich is already powerless to counter the increase in speed.
Armstrong then sets off on a furious ride, riding almost the entire climb in his typical cadence.
He quickly catches up with the group that got away on the penultimate climb with the French climber Richard Virenque and the Spaniards Fernando Escartin, Joseba Beloki and Jose-Maria Jimenez and leaves them all behind. All but one. Javier Otxoa's lead melts rapidly in the final kilometres. The long solo escape and the effort of the last climb are clearly visible, but the Spaniard fights, supported by the many Basque fans along the route, and saves 42 seconds ahead of the charging Armstrong to the finish in Hautacam.
The stage win is the greatest success of his career. He finishes the Tour in 13th place.
Six months later, Javier Otxoa is involved in a tragic accident. He and his brother were hit by a car on a training ride. His brother dies at the scene of the accident and Javier remains in a coma for 65 days, fighting for his life. He survives, but has to struggle with balance problems and permanent brain damage. Despite this, he returns to cycling and celebrates great success at the 2004 Paralympics in Athens - he wins silver in the 3,000 metre pursuit on the track and gold in the time trial on the road.
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