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Alpe d'Huez is a mountain resort in the French Alps, about an hour from Grenoble. Some 1869 meters (1.16 miles) above sea level, it is home to about 1700 year-round residents. The area is the site of one of Europe's largest and highest ski resorts, and rotates as one of the sites of the
Last updated: July 21, 2004.
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| Alpe d'Huez | |
|---|---|
 Tour de France arrival line, avenue du Rif Nel. |
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| Elevation | 1,860 metres (6,102 ft) |
| Location |  France |
| Range | Alps |
| Coordinates | 45°03′N 6°02′E / 45.05°N 6.033°E |
Alpe d'Huez is a ski resort at 1,860 to 3,330 metres (6,100 to 10,900 ft). It is a mountain pasture in the Central French Alps, in the commune of Huez, in the Isère département.
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Alpe d'Huez is one of the main mountains in the Tour de France. It has been a stage finish almost every year since 1976. The first was in 1952, won by Fausto Coppi.[1]
The mountain was brought to the race by Élie Wermelinger, the chief commissaire or referee.[2] He drove his Dyna-Panhard car between snow banks that lined the road in March 1952, invited by a consortium of businesses who had opened hotels at the summit.[3] Their leader was Georges Rajon, who ran the Hotel Christina.[4] The ski station there opened in 1936 but the road had been widened even if it was still potholed. Wermelinger reported to the organiser, Jacques Goddet, and the Tour signed a contract with the businessmen to include the Alpe.[5] It cost them the modern equivalent of €3,250.[6]
Coppi attacked six kilometres from the summit to rid himself of the French rider, Jean Robic. Coppi said: "I knew he was no longer there when I couldn't hear his breathing any more or the sound of his tyres on the road behind me."[7][8] He turned the Alpe into an instant legend because his was the year that motorcycle television crews came to the Tour.[9] It was also the Tour's first mountain-top finish.[10] The veteran reporter, Jacques Augendre, said:
After Coppi, however, the Alpe was dropped until 1964 and then again until 1976,[12] both times at Rajon's instigation.[13]
The climb is 13.8 km at an average 7.9 per cent, with 21 hairpins (les 21 virages) named after the winners of stages there. There were too many when the race made the 22nd climb in 2001 so naming restarted at the bottom with Lance Armstrong's name added to Coppi's.
French journalist and L'Equipe sportswriter Jean-Paul Vespini wrote a book about Alpe d'Huez and its role in the Tour de France: The Tour Is Won on the Alpe: Alpe d'Huez and the Classic Battles of the Tour de France.
The Alpe has chaotic crowds of spectators. In 1999 Giuseppe Guerini won despite being knocked off by a spectator who stepped into his path to take a photograph. The 2004 individual time trial became chaotic when fans pushed riders toward the top. Attendance figures on the mountain have to be treated with caution. A million spectators were claimed for 1997. Eric Muller, the mayor of Alpe d'Huez, however, said there were 350,000 in 2001, four years later despite acceptance that the number rises every year. "We expect more than 400,000 for the centenary race in 2003," he said.[14] The author Tim Moore wrote:
Alpe d'Huez is the "Dutch Mountain", a Dutchman having won eight of the first 14 finishes. The writer Geoffrey Nicholson said:
The Dutch have won none of the last 12 stages, however; six have been won by Italians, three by Americans, one by Spanish rider Iban Mayo, one by Fränk Schleck of Luxembourg, and the most recent by a Spaniard, Carlos Sastre.
1952: Jean Robic attacked at the start of the climb and only Fausto Coppi could stay with him. The two climbed together until Coppi attacked at bend five, four kilometres from the top. He won the stage, the yellow jersey and the Tour.
1977: Lucien van Impe, a Belgian rider leading the climbers' competition, broke clear on the col du Glandon. He gained enough time to threaten the leader, Bernard Thévenet. He was still clear on the Alpe when a car drove into him. The time that van Impe waited for another wheel was enough to keep Thévenet in the lead by eight seconds.
1978: Another Belgian leading the mountains race also came close to taking the yellow jersey. Michel Pollentier also finished alone, but he was caught soon afterwards defrauding a drugs control and was disqualified.
1984: The Tour invited amateurs to take part in the 1980s. The best was Luis Herrera, who lived at 2,000m in Colombia. None of the professionals could follow him. He won alone to the cacophony of broadcasters who had arrived to report his progress.
1986: Bernard Hinault said he would help Greg LeMond win the Tour but appeared to ride otherwise. The two crossed the line arm in arm in an apparent sign of truce.
1997: Marco Pantani, who won on the Alpe two years earlier, attacked three times and only Jan Ullrich could match him. He lasted until 10 km from the summit and Pantani rode on alone to win in what is often quoted as record speed (see below).
The 2008 finish is at 1,850 metres (6,100 ft), instead of previous years at 1,860 metres (6,100 ft).[17]
*In 1979 there were two stages at Alpe d'Huez.
The peak is also finish of La Marmotte, a one-day, 175 km ride with 5000m of climbing. It is also used for downhill, or Alpine skiing.
The climb has been timed since 1994 so earlier times are subject to discussion. From 1994 to 1997 the climb was timed from 14.5 km from the finish. Since 1999 photo-finish has been used from 14 km. Other times have been taken 13.8 km from the summit, which is the start of the climb. Others have been taken from the junction 700m from the start.[18]
These variations have led to a debate. Pantani's 37m 35s has been cited by Procycling and World Cycling Productions, publisher of Tour de France DVDs, and by Cycle Sport. In a biography of Pantani,[19] Matt Rendell notes Pantani at: 1994 - 38m 0s; 1995 - 38m 4s; 1997 - 37m 35s. The Alpe tourist association describes the climb as 14.454 km and lists Pantani's 37m 35s (23.08 km/h) as the record.[20]
Other sources give Pantani's times from 1994, 1995 and 1997 as the fastest, based on timings adjusted for the 13.8 km.[21] Such sources list Pantani's time in 1995 as the record at 36m 40s. In Blazing Saddles, Rendell has changed his view and listed it as 36m 50s[22] as does CyclingNews.[20] Second, third, and fourth fastest are Pantani in 1997 (36m 5s), Pantani in 1994 (37m 15s) and Jan Ullrich in 1997 (37m 30s). Armstrong's time in 2004 (37m 36s) makes him fifth fastest, highlighting how the 1990s had faster ascents than other eras.
A number of cycling publications cite times prior to 1994, although distances are typically not included, making comparisons difficult. Coppi has been listed with 45m 22s for 1952.[21]
In the 1980s Gert-Jan Theunisse, Pedro Delgado, Luis Herrera, and Laurent Fignon rode in times stated to be faster than Coppi's, but still not breaking 40m. Greg Lemond and Bernard Hinault have been reported as having the times of 48m 0s in 1986.[23]
It was not until Gianni Bugno and Miguel Indurain in 1991, that times faster than 40m were reported, including in the 39m range for Bjarne Riis in 1995 and Richard Virenque in 1997. For 2006, Floyd Landis was listed at 38'34" and Andreas Kloden at 38m 35s.[24]
Procycling listed Fränk Schleck in 2006 as 40m 46s, the first in more than 40 minutes since 1994. The increased speed in the 1990s had been attributed to Erythropoietin or EPO. Riders with sub-40m times, such as Alex Zülle, Riis, and Virenque, have admitted using such products. Landis subsequently had a positive drugs test. There is also strong evidence that Pantani took EPO.[25][26]
* The 2004 stage was an individual time trial.
** Convicted of doping in that particular Tour de France.
The resort caters for mountain bikers during the summer months, the pinnacle of which is the Megavalanche, a 'Downhill Enduro' Event that takes riders from lift station at the highest peak, Pic Blanc, to Alamond in the valley floor.
| Alpe d'Huez | |
|---|---|
| Location: | Alpe d'Huez, France |
| Nearest city: | Alpe d'Huez, France |
| Coordinates: | 45°05′36″N 06°05′01″E / 45.09333°N 6.08361°ECoordinates: 45°05′36″N 06°05′01″E / 45.09333°N 6.08361°E |
| Vertical: | 2,224 metres (7,300 ft) |
| Top elevation: | 3,330 metres (10,900 ft) |
| Base elevation: | 1,120 metres (3,700 ft) |
| Skiable area: | 236 square kilometres (58,000 acres) |
| Runs: | 123 (249km) (easy 38, intermediate 68, difficult 17)[27] |
| Longest run: | 16 km |
| Lift system: | 84 (6 cable cars, 10 gondolas, 3 access lifts, 24 chairlifts, 41 drag lifts) |
| Lift capacity: | 95,000 skiers/hr |
| Snowfall: | 5.48 m/year (216 in./year) |
| Snowmaking: | 64 square kilometres (16,000 acres) |
| Night skiing: | Limited, 1 lift, 2 days/week |
| Web site: | Alpe d'Huez |
Alpe d'Huez is one of Europe's premier skiing venues. The site of the Pomagalski's first surface lift in the mid thirties, the resort gained popularity when it hosted the bobsleigh events of the 1968 Winter Olympics. At that time the resort was seen as a competitor to Courchevel as France's most upmarket purpose built resort but the development of Les Trois Vallées, Val d'Isère, Tignes, La Plagne and Les Arcs saw Alpe D'Huez fall from favour in the 1970s and early 1980s.
With 236 km of piste and 84 ski lifts, the resort is now one of the world's largest. Extensive snowmaking facilities helped combat the ski area's largely south-facing orientation and helped Alpe d'Huez appeal to beginner skiers, with very easy slopes. The expansion of the skiing above the linked resorts of Vaujany, Oz-en-Oisans, Villard Reculas and Auris boosted the quantity and quality of intermediate grade slopes but the resort is mostly known for freeskiing, drawing many steep skiing enthusiasts to its high altitude terrain.
Aside from the Tunnel and Sarenne black runs, the latter the world's longest at 16 km, many Off-piste opportunities exist both from the summit of the 3330 m Pic Blanc and the 2808 m Dome des Petites Rousses. These include the 50-degree Cheminees du Mascle couloirs, the open powder field of Le Grand Sablat, the Couloir Fleur and the Perrins bowl. Up to 2200 m of vertical descent are available with heli drops back to the resort's altiport. The proximity to the exclusively off-piste resort of La Grave as well as tree skiing at Serre Chevalier and the glacier and terrain parks of Les Deux Alpes have made Alpe d'Huez a popular base for skiers looking to explore the Oisans region.
Alpe d'Huez hosted the bobsleigh events at the 1968 Winter Olympics based at Grenoble 65 kilometres (40 mi) away.[28] The track, built in spring 1966 for FRF 5,500,000, hosted the 1967 FIBT world championship. The cooling could not keep the ice solid in bright daylight — not least because the track faced south. The four-man event was cancelled because of thawing ice, and modifications were made in spring 1967 to prepare for the Games.[28] The refrigeration system was strengthened in turns 6, 9, 12, and 13; turn 12 was covered with stone and earthwork to prevent concrete coming up, turn 12 was cooled with liquid nitrogen, and shades were built on turns 6, 9, 12, and 13 to minimise direct sunlight.[28] Thawing remained a problem and Olympic bobsleigh events had to be scheduled before sunrise. The track shut in 1972 due to high operating costs but the structure remains as demolition would have been uneconomic.
| Sport | Length (meters) | Turns | Vertical drop (start to finish) | Average grade (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bobsleigh | 1500 | 13 | 140 | 9.33 |
No turn names were given for the track.
Alpe d'Huez's sister cities are:
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