Course

Long Course

On the long route of the GFNY Lourdes Tourmalet, you quickly leave Lourdes and its Sanctuary of Notre Dame de Lourdes to tackle 60km with a series of passes between 600m and 800m high in the foothills of the Pyrenees.

At 75km, you begin the ascent of the Col d'Aspin: 12km long, 800m vertical drop, a maximum gradient of 10% and a summit at 1493m. Aspin is a Tour de France legend, and has been climbed no fewer than 71 times.

After descending the Col d'Aspin, you start climbing again. You're now racing on one of cycling's hallowed grounds: the 2115m-high Col du Tourmalet. The climb from Sainte-Marie-de-Campan on the west side is 17.1 km long and gains 1267 m with an average gradient of 7.4% and a maximum of 11%.

From the top of the Col du Tourmalet, there's a 34 km descent followed by 13 km of downhill false flats. Find a group to collaborate with on this last part of the return to Lourdes, to deal with the headwinds. Back in Lourdes, the post-race festivities await you.

LONG COURSE IS A COMPETITION: Only the finishers of the long course are eligible for category rankings and Overall and Podium awards. If you want to race and be ranked in your category, you must complete the long course. Top 10% of finishers in each age group earn a spot in the Qualifier Corral at every GFNY World event.

Medium Course

The non-competitive medium course is all about the Col du Tourmalet. You start together with the long course riders in Lourdes. In Bagnere-de-Bigorre, the medium course heads directly up the valley along the Adour River towards the bottom of Col du Tourmalet.

Now you are climbing one of the holy cycling grounds: the 2115m-high Col du Tourmalet. The climb from Sainte-Marie-de-Campan on the western side is 17.1km long and gains 1267m with an average gradient of 7.4% and a maximum of 11%.

From the top of Col du Tourmalet, you have a 34km descent followed by 13km of slight downhill and flat cycling. Find a group to work with for this final stretch back to Lourdes to navigate the headwinds. Back in Lourdes, the post-race celebrations awaits you.

MEDIUM COURSE IS NOT A COMPETITION: The riders of the medium course will be provided their start-to-finish time, but will not be ranked by finish time. All finish times will be listed in alphabetical order.