[Photo] Benjamin Becker
[Photo] Justin Galant
This year’s L’Etape du Tour de France was the 30th anniversary edition, and to celebrate, the organizers highlighted a route that has been one of the Tour’s most storied, climbing three notable mountain passes and covering more than 100 miles and climbing more than 15,000 feet. The professional cyclists of the Tour de France raced the exact route just four days later during stage 12 on July 14—France’s Bastille Day.
[Photo] Benjamin Becker
The route between Briançon and Alpe d’Huez was made most famous in the 1986 Tour de France, when American Greg LeMond battled with teammate and reigning champion Bernard Hinault. The story of their duel would later be documented in the ESPN 30 for 30 documentary “Slaying the Badger.”
[Photo] Benjamin Becker
After departing Briançon, the route climbed gently northwest toward Col de Lautaret before spiking upward to the highest point of the day, the open and exposed Col du Galibier at 8,668 feet. Following a descent northward to the Col du Télégraphe, the course plummeted downward to the towns of Saint-Michele-de-Maurienne and Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne before grinding upward for more than 15 miles over the Col de la Croix de Fer. Later, after a scenic and winding descent past Lac de Grand Maison and into the town of Le Bourg-d’Oisans, the finished on its most challenging and iconic climb: the Alpe d’Huez.
[Photo] Justin Galant
This storied climb features 21 switchbacks over its 8.7 miles, averaging a commanding grade of nearly 8 percent. In the heat of the day, riders took breaks and huddled in the shade while spectators lined the course, cheering and pouring water onto the heads and backs of those pushing their pedals upward. At the summit, spectators lined the finish chute three deep, cheering in a cacophonous roar that would echo across the Alps for the following week.
[Photo] Louis Legon
Just more than 9,000 riders finished the 2022 edition of L’Etape du Tour de France. Along the way, Julbo athletes and employees sampled many of the products coming down the pike from the company in the next several months. These photos capture just a preview of the many exciting things to come.
[Photo] Benjamin Becker
