Alpe d'Huez

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Coordinates: 45 ° 5 ′ 24 ″  N , 6 ° 4 ′ 12 ″  E

Map: France
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Alpe d'Huez
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France

L ' Alpe d'Huez [ lalpə dyˈɛz ] is a winter sports resort in the French Alps , which is located in the area of ​​the municipality of Huez . It is internationally known on the one hand as a mountain arrival at the Tour de France and on the other hand as one of the most important archaeological excavation sites of medieval silver mining in Europe.

Location and origin

Panorama of the 21 serpentines to L'Alpe d'Huez

The place is in the Isère department . In the vicinity, the foothills of the Oisans and Grandes Rousses massifs merge. Alongside Val-d'Isère , Tignes , Courchevel , La Plagne and Les Arcs , L'Alpe d'Huez is one of the major winter sports resorts in the French Northern Alps. It belongs to the second generation of winter sports centers, which developed more or less organically around a small, high mountain village. In the third generation, large tourism companies have set “ski-total-locations” like Courchevel with huge apartment blocks in a hitherto almost untouched landscape, which has resulted in environmental problems .

In the 12./13. In the 19th century, the town of Brandes en Oisans was 300 meters away and was home to productive silver mining. This is the target of an excavation that is ongoing to this day under the direction of archaeologist Marie-Christine Bailly-Maître .

With the hosting of the bobsleigh competitions of the 1968 Winter Olympics , L'Alpe d'Huez experienced an enormous upswing, while Ornon, on the opposite side of the valley, has retained its character as an original mountain village and cozy winter sports resort to this day. In addition to the Tour de France , the winter sports resort has also made a name for itself with a second summer event since the EDF Alpe d'Huez triathlon was held.

Notre-Dame des Neiges church, completed in 1970, is remarkable .

Cycling

Tour de France

L'Alpe d'Huez
The climb to L'Alpe d'Huez

L'Alpe d'Huez owes its importance to cycling to the ascent from Le Bourg-d'Oisans . With its 21 hairpin bends, it is one of the most famous climbs of the Tour de France, alongside the Col du Galibier , the Col du Tourmalet and the Mont Ventoux . In 1952 the Tour de France climbed the mountain for the first time in the retort settlement, which was won by the Italian "Campionissimo" Fausto Coppi . It was not until 24 years later - in 1976 - that the Tour visited L'Alpe d'Huez a second time. Since then, however, the legendary 21 bends, numbered backwards, have regularly been part of the program of the world's most important cycle tour.

Because of the difficulty of the ascent and the fact that, with a few exceptions, the greats of cycling have immortalized themselves with their victories, a stage win in L'Alpe d'Huez is of particular importance for both the riders and the spectators. That is why the reports often refer to the “ myth of L'Alpe d'Huez” or the “mythical mountain”. The names of the stage winners are listed in the 21 turns, starting with the first winner in the 21st turn. Since there have been more winners than sweeps since Lance Armstrong's victory in 2001, the signs have started to be labeled twice. Turn 21 is now dedicated to Fausto Coppi and Lance Armstrong.

Route profile

About 1.5 km from the center of Le Bourg-d'Oisans , the 13.8 km climb begins at an altitude of 760 m. The finish line is at 1850 m. This results in a height difference of 1090 m and an average gradient of 7.9%. The first kilometers are on average around 10% steep. In the middle part, the gradient is around 8%. The final part is relatively flat at approx. 5.5%. The steepest kilometer is the tenth kilometer with an average gradient of 11.5%. The steepest passages are after 3.5 km (14.8%) and 7.5 km (14.7%).

Stage winner of L'Alpe d'Huez

The bends are numbered and each dedicated to a stage winner

Best times

Since 1994 the time for the final ascent to L'Alpe d'Huez has been officially stopped. Earlier times are therefore not available or are only of an informal nature. The "mountain record" is held by Marco Pantani , who in 1997 needed 37:35 minutes for the last 14.5 km. The times mentioned in different sources sometimes differ greatly and are often not comparable, since the time measurements are based on different distances. From 1994 to 1997 the ascent was measured from the last intersection before the ascent (14.5 km from the destination). Since 1999, the time has been measured from the curve behind which the climb begins immediately (13.8 km before the finish).

Lance Armstrong could not beat Marco Pantani's fastest time despite the short stage length. He drove the increase of 13.8 kilometers in the fourth fastest measured time to date (as of 2017), 37:36 minutes, while Pantani's best times were 36:40, 36:53 and 37:15 minutes. The audience of almost 1 million people led to chaotic conditions, especially in the lower half of the mountain. Because there were no barriers here, the fans stood so close to the track that the drivers drove as if against a human wall that only opened at the last moment.

The times of Pantani were all achieved at the end of a long and difficult mountain stage. Armstrong, however, did not have such a previous burden in 2004. It should be noted, however, that other riders like Jan Ullrich , Andreas Klöden , Floyd Landis and Carlos Sastre all achieved their personal best at the end of a long mountain stage, and not, as one might assume, in the mountain time trial of 2004. This shows that a longer previous exposure does not necessarily have to have a negative effect. According to all that is known so far, Pantani's record times fall into the heyday of epo-doping, but the times of the 90s are additionally enhanced by the fact that the weight of the racing bikes at that time was over 8 kg. By comparison, Armstrong's bike weighed only 6.8 kg in 2004. However, one should also bear in mind that the competition body weight of Lance Armstrong (approx. 71 kg) was around 12 kg higher than Marco Pantani (approx. 59 kg). If you then determine a system weight, i.e. rider plus bike, and compare the power in watts per kilogram of system weight and accordingly, you get almost the same values ​​(around 6.1 watts per kilogram of system weight, i.e. driver and bike). In other words, both drivers were in top shape on the mountain "on paper" and were almost equally strong.

rank time Surname year country
1 37 '35 " Marco Pantani 1997 ItalyItaly Italy
2 38 '00 " Marco Pantani 1994 ItalyItaly Italy
3 38 '04 " Marco Pantani 1995 ItalyItaly Italy
4th 38 '23 " Jan Ullrich 1997 GermanyGermany Germany
5 38 '35 " Andreas Klöden 2006 GermanyGermany Germany
6 * 38 '37 " Jan Ullrich 2004 GermanyGermany Germany
7th 39 '02 " Richard virusesque 1997 FranceFrance France
8th 39 '06 " Iban Mayo 2003 SpainSpain Spain
9 * 39 '17 " Andreas Klöden 2004 GermanyGermany Germany
10 * 39 '21 " José Azevedo 2004 PortugalPortugal Portugal
11 39 '28 " Miguel Induráin 1995 SpainSpain Spain
12 39 '28 " Alex Zülle 1995 SwitzerlandSwitzerland Switzerland
13 39 '29 " Carlos Sastre 2008 SpainSpain Spain
14th 39 '30 " Bjarne Riis 1995 DenmarkDenmark Denmark
15th 39 '44 " Gianni Bugno 1991 ItalyItaly Italy
16 39 '45 " Miguel Induráin 1991 SpainSpain Spain
17th 40 '00 " Jan Ullrich 2001 GermanyGermany Germany
18th 40 '46 " Frank Schleck 2006 LuxembourgLuxembourg Luxembourg
19th 40 '51 " Alexander Vinokurov 2003 KazakhstanKazakhstan Kazakhstan
20th 41 '21 " Samuel Sanchez 2011 SpainSpain Spain
21st 41 '50 " Laurent Fignon 1989 FranceFrance France
22nd 41 '50 " Luis Herrera 1986 ColombiaColombia Colombia
23 42 '01 " Pierre Rolland 2011 FranceFrance France
24 42 '15 " Pedro Delgado 1989 SpainSpain Spain
25th 45 '20 " Gert-Jan Theunisse 1989 NetherlandsNetherlands Netherlands
26th 45 '22 " Fausto Coppi 1952 ItalyItaly Italy
27 48 '00 " Greg Lemond 1986 United StatesUnited States United States
28 48 '00 " Bernard Hinault 1986 FranceFrance France

The table above assumes 14.5 km for some times and 13.8 km for others. In many media, Pantani's time of 1997 is often given as 37'35 "as a record, but that refers to 14.5 km. Pantani drove the actual ascent of 13.8 km in 1997 in 36'53", but it was not Record was. He set this up in 1995 with 36'40 ". According to Climbing Records , the following table is correct, which only measures the last 13.8 km (as of 2015).

rank time Surname year country
1 36 '40 " Marco Pantani 1995 ItalyItaly Italy
2 36 '53 " Marco Pantani 1997 ItalyItaly Italy
3 37 '15 " Marco Pantani 1994 ItalyItaly Italy
4th 37 '36 " Lance Armstrong 2004 United StatesUnited States United States
5 37 '40 " Jan Ullrich 1997 GermanyGermany Germany
6th 38 '03 " Lance Armstrong 2001 United StatesUnited States United States
7th 38 '04 " Miguel Indurain 1995 SpainSpain Spain
8th 38 '04 " Alex Zülle 1995 SwitzerlandSwitzerland Switzerland
9 38 '06 " Bjarne Riis 1995 DenmarkDenmark Denmark
10 38 '20 " Richard virusesque 1997 FranceFrance France
11 38 '34 " Laurent Madouas 1995 FranceFrance France
12 38 '35 " Floyd Landis 2006 United StatesUnited States United States
13 38 '35 " Andreas Klöden 2006 GermanyGermany Germany
14th 38 '40 " Jan Ullrich 2004 GermanyGermany Germany
15th 38 '55 " Richard virusesque 1994 FranceFrance France
16 39 '00 " Carlos Sastre 2006 SpainSpain Spain
17th 39 '08 " Iban Mayo 2003 SpainSpain Spain
18th 39 '12 " Andreas Klöden 2004 GermanyGermany Germany
19th 39 '14 " José Azevedo 2004 PortugalPortugal Portugal
20th 39 '14 " Levi Leipheimer 2006 United StatesUnited States United States
21st 39 '20 " Francesco Casagrande 1997 ItalyItaly Italy
22nd 39 '21 " Bjarne Riis 1997 DenmarkDenmark Denmark
23 39 '22 " Nairo Quintana 2015 ColombiaColombia Colombia
24 39 '30 " Miguel Indurain 1994 SpainSpain Spain
25th 39 '30 " Luc Leblanc 1994 FranceFrance France
26th 39 '30 " Carlos Sastre 2008 SpainSpain Spain
27 39 '37 " Vladimir Pulnikov 1994 UkraineUkraine Ukraine
28 39 '40 " Giuseppe Guerini 2004 ItalyItaly Italy
29 39 '41 " Santos González 2004 SpainSpain Spain
30th 39 '41 " Vladimir Karpets 2004 RussiaRussia Russia
31 39 '42 " Fernando Escartin 1995 SpainSpain Spain
32 39 '42 " Claudio Chiappucci 1995 ItalyItaly Italy
33 39 '42 " Paolo Lanfranchi 1995 ItalyItaly Italy
34 39 '46 " Denis Menchov 2006 RussiaRussia Russia
35 39 '46 " Michael Rasmussen 2006 DenmarkDenmark Denmark
36 39 '46 " Pietro Caucchioli 2006 ItalyItaly Italy
37 39 '48 " Tony Rominger 1995 SwitzerlandSwitzerland Switzerland
38 39 '48 " Nairo Quintana 2013 ColombiaColombia Colombia
39 39 '51 " Pavel Tonkov 1995 RussiaRussia Russia
40 39 '51 " Joaquim Rodríguez 2013 SpainSpain Spain
41 39 '52 " Beat Zberg 1997 SwitzerlandSwitzerland Switzerland
42 39 '52 " Udo Bölts 1997 GermanyGermany Germany
43 39 '52 " Roberto Conti 1997 ItalyItaly Italy
44 39 '52 " Laurent Madouas 1997 FranceFrance France
45 39 '56 " David Moncoutié 2004 FranceFrance France
46 39 '57 " Carlos Sastre 2004 SpainSpain Spain
47 39 '58 " Ivan Basso 2004 ItalyItaly Italy
48 39 '58 " Stéphane Goubert 2004 FranceFrance France
49 40 '01 " Pēteris Ugrjumovs 1994 RussiaRussia Russia
50 40 '01 " Alex Zülle 1994 SwitzerlandSwitzerland Switzerland
51 40 '02 " Jan Ullrich 2001 GermanyGermany Germany
52 40 '07 " Laurent Jalabert 1995 FranceFrance France
53 40 '07 " Michael Rogers 2004 AustraliaAustralia Australia
54 40 '12 " Joseba Beloki 2001 SpainSpain Spain
55 40 '14 " Óscar Pereiro 2006 SpainSpain Spain
56 40 '14 " Michael Rogers 2006 AustraliaAustralia Australia
57 40 '14 " Cadel Evans 2006 AustraliaAustralia Australia
58 40 '14 " Iván Parra 2006 ColombiaColombia Colombia
59 40 '15 " Laurent Jalabert 1997 FranceFrance France
60 40 '15 " Marco Fincato 1997 ItalyItaly Italy
61 40 '18 " Abraham Olano 1997 SpainSpain Spain
62 40 '23 " Orlando Rodrigues 1997 PortugalPortugal Portugal
63 40 '27 " Gianni Bugno 1991 ItalyItaly Italy
64 40 '27 " Marcos Serrano 2004 SpainSpain Spain
65 40 '28 " Miguel Indurain 1991 SpainSpain Spain
66 40 '29 " Luc Leblanc 1991 FranceFrance France
67 40 '29 " Cyril Dessel 2006 FranceFrance France
68 40 '29 " Haimar Zubeldia 2006 SpainSpain Spain
69 40 '31 " Richard virusesque 1995 FranceFrance France
70 40 '31 " Ivan Gotti 1995 ItalyItaly Italy
71 40 '32 " Oscar Pereiro 2004 SpainSpain Spain
72 40 '32 " Mikel Astarloza 2006 SpainSpain Spain
73 40 '33 " Christophe Moreau 2001 FranceFrance France
74 40 '39 " Manuel Beltran 1997 SpainSpain Spain
75 40 '40 " José Enrique Gutiérrez 2004 SpainSpain Spain
76 40 '42 " Alejandro Valverde 2015 SpainSpain Spain
77 40 '42 " Christopher Froome 2015 United KingdomUnited Kingdom United Kingdom
78 40 '43 " Roberto Conti 1994 ItalyItaly Italy
79 40 '43 " Oscar Pelliccioli 1994 ItalyItaly Italy
80 40 '43 " Pascal Lino 1994 FranceFrance France
81 40 '43 " Fernando Escartin 1994 SpainSpain Spain
82 40 '43 " Armand de las Cuevas 1994 FranceFrance France
83 40 '45 " Frank Schleck 2006 LuxembourgLuxembourg Luxembourg
84 40 '46 " Georg Totschnig 2004 AustriaAustria Austria
85 40 '49 " Johan Bruyneel 1995 BelgiumBelgium Belgium
86 40 '49 " Sandy Casar 2004 FranceFrance France
87 40 '49 " Gilberto Simoni 2006 ItalyItaly Italy
88 40 '53 " Alexander Vinokourov 2003 KazakhstanKazakhstan Kazakhstan
89 40 '54 " Richie Porte 2013 AustraliaAustralia Australia
90 40 '54 " Christopher Froome 2013 United KingdomUnited Kingdom United Kingdom
91 40 '56 " Floyd Landis 2004 United StatesUnited States United States
92 40 '56 " Damiano Cunego 2006 ItalyItaly Italy
93 40 '57 " Oscar Seville 2001 SpainSpain Spain
94 40 '57 " Mikel Astarloza 2004 SpainSpain Spain
95 40 '57 " Juan Miguel Mercado 2004 SpainSpain Spain
96 40 '58 " Alejandro Valverde 2013 SpainSpain Spain
97 41 '00 " Christophe Moreau 2004 FranceFrance France
98 41 '02 " Jean-François Bernard 1991 FranceFrance France
99 41 '03 " Gilberto Simoni 2004 ItalyItaly Italy
100 41 '07 " Fernando Escartin 1997 SpainSpain Spain

Oddities

So far, only three winners from L'Alpe d'Huez have won the overall ranking of the Tour of the same year: Fausto Coppi in 1952, Carlos Sastre in 2008 and Geraint Thomas in 2018. Lance Armstrong also managed the stage to L'Alpe d'Huez and in 2001 win the overall ranking in the same year, but on October 22, 2012 all victories at the Tour of France were revoked due to years of doping abuse.

At times, L'Alpe d'Huez was also referred to as the "Mountain of the Dutch " because by 1989, eight out of fourteen stage successes were achieved by Dutch drivers. Since then, no Dutchman has been able to continue this tradition. In the “Nations Cup” on this mountain, the Netherlands are still just ahead of the Italians (7 wins) with eight wins.

In 1999, a photographing spectator brought down the leader Giuseppe Guerini shortly before the finish. Despite the fall, Guerini managed to win the stage.

Critérium du Dauphiné

In 2010, L'Alpe d'Huez was included as a premiere in the program of the Critérium du Dauphiné , after the increase was missing for the first time since 1976 in the Tour de France for two years in a row.

In 2013, L'Alpe d'Huez was again part of the Dauphiné tour - in the month before the double ascent of the 100th Tour de France - but not as the final ascent, but at the beginning of the 7th stage.

Winner on the climb from L'Alpe d'Huez at the Critérium du Dauphiné:

Lifts and cable cars in the ski area

Cable car Art Installation length Transport capacity per hour Manufacturer replaced elevator
Ascenseur Incliné Villard Reculas 20-seater funicular 1989 100 600 AKROS
Liaison Pôle Loisirs 18-seater funicular 2012 68 330 Poma
Alpette-Rousses 160 cabin cable car 1990 1644 1920 Poma
Vaujany-Alpette 160 cabin cable car 1990 2464 1530 Poma
Pic Blanc (YOC 1980) 93er cabin cable car 1980 2131 1015 Creissels
Marmottes 3 (YOC 2004) 33-seater Funitel - wind-stable gondola lift with two parallel hauling ropes a long way apart 2004 788 1056 Doppelmayr
Vaujany-Enversin 30-person group lift (gondolas) 1991 610 600 Montaz
Grand Rousses 1 25-seater gondola lift (double cable car) 1986 1550 3000 Poma
Grand Rousses 2 25-seater gondola lift (double cable car) 1986 2000 3000 Poma
Télécentre (YOC 1982) 24-seat cage lift 1982 795 960 Montaz
Télévillage (YOC 1981) 20-person group lift (gondolas) 1981 1135 436 Poma
Alpette 12-seater gondola lift (single-cable gondola lift) 1988 1950 1600 Poma
Poutran 2 12-seater gondola lift (single-cable gondola lift) 1987 1338 2000 Poma
Poutran 1 12-seater gondola lift (single-cable gondola lift) 1987 1400 2000 Poma
Marmottes 2 6-seater gondola lift (one-cable gondola lift) 2000 1474 1650 Poma
Villete- Montfrais 6-seater gondola lift (one-cable gondola lift) 1987 883 1500 Poma
Vaujany-Villette (YOC 1987) 6-seater gondola lift (one-cable gondola lift) 1987 900 1500 Poma
Rif Nel Express Combined lift with 6-seater armchairs and 10-seater gondolas 2012 665 2700 Leitner Button lift
Télémixte des Jeux (YOC 2013) Combined lift with 6-seater armchairs and 8-seater gondola 2013 1388 3900 Poma Button lift
Marmomottes 1 6-seater high-speed chairlift with covers 2009 2243 3000 Poma 6-seater gondola lift (one-cable gondola lift)
Fontfroide 6-seater high-speed chairlift, detachable 2009 1000 2400 Leitner
Romains 6-seater high-speed chairlift, detachable 2005 1109 3600 Poma
Le Villarais 4-seater high-speed chairlift, detachable 1997 1890 2000 Leitner
Louvets 4-seater high-speed chairlift, detachable 1992 856 2000 Poma
Auris Express 4-seater high-speed chairlift, detachable 1991 1787 1800 Poma
Alpauris 4-seater high-speed chairlift, detachable 1988 1437 2400 Poma
Lombard 4-seater chairlift, firmly clamped 2010 1747 2400 Poma 4-seater chairlift, firmly clamped
Lac Blanc 4-seater chairlift, firmly clamped 2003 245 2000 Skirail
Herpie 4-seater chairlift, firmly clamped 2002 993 2000 Poma
Glacier 4-seater chairlift, firmly clamped 2001 960 1600 Poma
Lievre Blanc 4-seater chairlift, firmly clamped 1998 1520 2000 GMM
Vallonet 4-seater chairlift, firmly clamped 1989 1118 1600 Poma
Sures 4-seater chairlift, firmly clamped 1988 775 2400 Poma
Clos Giraud 4-seater chairlift, firmly clamped 1987 1514 1600 Poma
Montfrais 4-seater chairlift, firmly clamped 1987 881 1500 Poma
Bergers 4-seater chairlift, firmly clamped 1986 631 2400 Poma
signal 4-seater chairlift, firmly clamped 1985 812 1800 Poma Button lift
signal 4-seater chairlift, firmly clamped 1985 812 1800 Poma Button lift
Eclose Double chairlift, firmly clamped 1986 270 1500 Poma
Piegut Double chairlift, firmly clamped 1981 1014 900 Poma
Chalvet Double chairlift, firmly clamped 1980 1650 1030 CECIL
Maronne Double chairlift, firmly clamped 1974 953 9000 CECIL
Grande Sure Double chairlift, firmly clamped 1963 945 576 Poma

literature

  • Racing bike guide: Kristian Bauer: Roadbook Tour de France: conquer 40 top climbs from the Alps to the Pyrenees on your own racing bike. Bruckmann Verlag, Munich 2006, ISBN 3-7654-4477-4 .
  • History: Peter Leissl: The legendary climbs of the Tour de France. Covadonga Verlag , Bielefeld, 2004, ISBN 3-936973-09-1 .
  • Photo book: Philippe Bouvet, Philippe Brunel, Serge Laget, Philippe Le Men, Christian Naitslimane: Cols mythiques du Tour de France. L'Équipe , 2005, ISBN 978-2-915535-09-9 (French).
  • Marie-Christine Bailly-Maître : Une aventure minière: Huez et l´argent au Moyen Âge. L'argentaria de brandis. Collection Musée d`Huez et de l´Oisans 8. Alpe d´Huez 2008.
  • Marie-Christine Bailly-Maître and JB Dupraz: Brandes en Oisans. Medieval silver ore mining in the French Alps. In: Der Anschnitt 42, 1990, pp. 122-130.
  • Marie-Christine Bailly-Maître: Brandes-en-Oisans. La mine d´argent des Dauphins (XII – XIVe s.) Isère. Documents d´Archéologie en Rhône-Alpes 9, Lyon 1994.

Web links

Commons : L'Alpe d'Huez  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. Archive link ( Memento from July 24, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
  2. SPIEGEL ONLINE of July 23, 2008
  3. Climbing Records July 2015
  4. live-radsport.ch: Critérium du Dauphiné with name change and arrival in L'Alpe d'Huez April 16, 2010
  5. live-radsport.ch: Dauphine 2013 - Stage 7 June 8, 2013