- Luz Ardiden
Luz Ardiden is a
ski resort in thePyrenees . It is situated in theHautes-Pyrénées department, in theMidi-Pyrénées . Theski resort , which lies at a height of 1720 meters, opened onJanuary 16 ,1975 . In more recent times, the road toLuz Ardiden has served as an occasional stage finish inTour de France .Details of climb
Starting from
Luz-Saint-Sauveur (710 m.), the climb to Luz Ardiden (1720 m.) is 14.7 km long. Over this distance, the climb is 1010 m. (an average of 6.9%). The maximum gradient is 10%. [http://www.climbbybike.com/climb.asp?Col=Luz-Ardiden&qryMountainID=6956]Tour de France
Luz Ardiden has been the finish-line for a
Tour de France stage several times.Tour de France stage finishes
On the
2003 Tour de France ,Lance Armstrong was riding withIban Mayo at the start of the climb to Luz Ardiden when Armstrong crashed, bringing Mayo down with him. The fall was caused when Armstrong caught the handlebar of his bike on the strap of a spectator's bag.Jan Ulrich , who was riding just behind Armstrong and Mayo, avoided the crash, and in an act of chivalry he slowed to wait for the fallen riders. Armstrong quickly re-mounted his bike and caught Ulrich. Immediately, Armstrong attacked the group of riders, none of whom could follow him and he powered his way to win the stage by 40 seconds, on his way to a victory on the Champs Elysees by 1 minute 1 second. [cite book | author= | title= The Official Tour de France Centennial 1903-2003 | publisher=Weidenfeld & Nicholson | year=2003| isbn=1-84188-239-9]References
External links
* [http://www.luz.org/en/ Official website of the Ski Resort]
* [http://www.climbbybike.com/climb.asp?Col=Luz-Ardiden&qryMountainID=6956 Profile on climbbybike.com]
* [http://www.salite.ch/luz.asp Profile of the climb fr]
* [http://mrambaul.club.fr/villes_etapes/villes_l/luz_ardiden.htm Luz-Ardiden dans le Tour de France fr]
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