The 21 Hairpin Bends

The 13.8-kilometre road from Le Bourg-d'Oisans to the resort climbs 1,071 metres at an average gradient of 8.1 per cent. The 21 bends are numbered in reverse from the top (so the first you reach from the valley is bend 21, the last is bend 1) and each carries a plaque with the name of a Tour de France stage winner.

For amateur cyclists, the climb is a bucket-list ride. Allow yourself anywhere from 60 minutes (very strong) to two hours and accept that the heat in July and August is brutal. There are several fountains on the way up and a café at bend 7 (Dutch Corner) that is always lively. Drive it instead and you will understand why the Tour visits so often: the gradients change constantly, the views back across the valley to La Meije are spectacular, and every corner is photogenic.

things to do sight cycling
A story
When Marco Pantani set the climb record of 37 minutes 35 seconds in 1997, the Italian commentator broke down sobbing on live television. The record has never been bettered cleanly — Lance Armstrong rode faster in 2004 but was later stripped, and the climb has since become a yardstick for what was once possible on the Tour.