Col de Port
Mountain pass in France
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Col de Port (elevation 1,250 m (4,100 ft)) is a mountain pass in the French Pyrenees between Massat and Tarascon-sur-Ariège in the "massif de l'Arize". It links the Couserans and Ariège valleys.
| Col de Port | |
|---|---|
Cows grazing at Col de Port | |
| Elevation | 1,250 m (4,101 ft)[1] |
| Traversed by | D618 |
| Location | Ariège, France |
| Range | Pyrenees |
| Coordinates | 42°53′56″N 1°27′10″E |
  Col de Port Location in the Pyrenees | |
The pass is used occasionally in the Tour de France and is popular with touring cyclists.
The name of the pass is tautological as Col means pass in French and Port means pass in Occitan.
Details of the climb
Starting from the D8/D618 junction, (Tarascon-sur-Ariège) (east) the Col de Port is 17.0 km (10.6 mi) long. Over this distance, the climb is 777 m (2,549 ft) (an average gradient of 4.6%). The steepest section is 9.0%.[2]
Starting from Massat, (west) the Col de Port is 12.8 km (8.0 mi) long. Over this distance, the climb is 601 m (1,972 ft) (an average gradient of 4.7%).The steepest section is 6.5%.[3]
From Massat, the D18 to the south links with the route from Aulus-les-Bains and Vicdessos between the Col d'Agnes (1,570 m (5,150 ft)) and the Port de Lers (1,517 m (4,977 ft)).
Tour de France
The Col de Port was first used in the Tour de France in 1910. The first cyclist over the summit was Octave Lapize.[4]
Appearances in the Tour de France (since 1947)
The Tour de France has crossed the summit 11 times since 1947, including on stage 16 of the 2021 tour.[5] The 15th stage was selected for the 2007 L'Étape du Tour, in which amateur and club riders ride over a full stage of the tour.
| Year | Stage | Category | Start | Finish | Leader at the summit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 16 | 2 | El Pas de la Casa | Saint-Gaudens |  Mattia Cattaneo (ITA) |
| 2009 | 8 | 2 | Andorra la Vella | Saint-Girons |  Sandy Casar (FRA) |
| 2007 | 15 | 2 | Foix | Loudenvielle |  Juan Manuel Gárate (ESP) |
| 2002 | 12 | 2 | Lannemezan | Plateau de Beille | Laurent Jalabert (FRA) |
| 1998 | 11 | 2 | Bagnères-de-Luchon | Plateau de Beille |  Roland Meier (SUI) |
| 1997 | 10 | 2 | Bagnères-de-Luchon | Andorra–Arcalis | Laurent Brochard (FRA) |
| 1976 | 13 | 2 | Font-Romeu | Saint-Gaudens | Roland Smet (FRA) |
| 1968 | 13 | 3 | Saint-Gaudens | La Seu d'Urgell | Andrés Gandarias (ESP) |
| 1965 | 10 | 3 | Bagnères-de-Bigorre | Ax-les-Thermes |  Rik Van Looy (BEL) |
| 1957 | 17 | Uncategorized | Ax-les-Thermes | Saint-Gaudens | Désiré Keteleer (BEL) |
| 1947 | 14 | 2 | Carcassonne | Bagnères-de-Luchon | Albert Bourlon (FRA) |