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The French Pyrenees

25/10/2026

π‘‚π‘’π‘Ÿ π‘‡π‘Ÿπ‘’π‘Žπ‘ π‘’π‘Ÿπ‘’π‘Ÿ π‘ƒπ‘Žπ‘’π‘™ π‘€π‘πΊπ‘’π‘–π‘Ÿπ‘’ β„Žπ‘Žπ‘  𝑗𝑒𝑠𝑑 π‘Ÿπ‘’π‘‘π‘’π‘Ÿπ‘›π‘’π‘‘ π‘“π‘Ÿπ‘œπ‘š π‘Ž β„Žπ‘œπ‘™π‘–π‘‘π‘Žπ‘¦ 𝑖𝑛 πΈπ‘’π‘Ÿπ‘œπ‘π‘’ π‘€β„Žπ‘–π‘β„Ž 𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑑𝑒𝑑 π‘Ž 𝑐𝑦𝑐𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 π‘‘π‘œπ‘’π‘Ÿ 𝑖𝑛 π‘‘β„Žπ‘’ πΉπ‘Ÿπ‘’π‘›π‘β„Ž π‘ƒπ‘¦π‘Ÿπ‘’π‘›e𝑒𝑠.  

My six days on the Pyrennean Classic Cols tour with Marmot Tours (https://marmot-tours.co.uk) was definitely a highlight of our holiday. We had superb mountain scenery, stayed in picturesque towns and did some beautiful but challenging rides.

We had a great group of seven British, six Americans, four Irish and two Australian cyclists plus our two guides. I hired a titanium frame road bike from the tour company with suitable gearing for tackling the terrain. We rode a number of the classic climbs that regularly feature in the Tour de France, albeit at a much slower pace. 

After a relatively gentle introduction on the first day, we rode Col de Port, Col de Portet d'Aspet and Col de MentΓ© on the second and third days. With the temperature exceeding 30 degrees I struggled with the heat and suffered a few cramps. I must admit I was a bit concerned as to how I would go on the bigger climbs later in the week, but fortunately we had a change in the weather.

On day four we had a number of options from the beautiful spa town of BagnΓ¨res-de-Luchon. I chose the flat but picturesque Garonne greenway paths to conserve some energy for the days ahead. On the fifth day we did two category one climbs. The consensus of the group was that Col de Peyresourde was the most spectacular climb of the trip, with the mist adding to the beauty. We then rode the slightly easier Col d'Aspin. I paced myself and focused on my hydration and felt comfortable throughout. On the final day we tackled the hors catΓ©gorie Col du Tourmalet, one of the iconic climbs in the Tour de France. At 18.9km with an average gradient of 7.4% (and 9.1% for the last 9km) it is a challenging climb, but the cool, cloudy conditions worked in our favour. The downside was that we couldn't see much at the top. 

In the six days I rode 450km with around 8,300 metres of elevation. I stuck to the classic routes, but there were also challenge options for the stronger riders in the group who wanted to do a few extra cols. 

This was my third holiday with Marmot Tours, having done the Cévennes & Ardèche tour in France in 2023 and the Picos & Angliru tour in Spain in 2025. As with my previous trips the organisation was impeccable, with the two guides and support vehicles catering to our every need, excellent maps including step-by-step directions to download to our GPS, comfortable three-star hotels and great food. Most of the riders on all the trips I have done were repeat customers. I would thoroughly recommend Marmot for anyone looking for a reasonably challenging cycling tour in Europe.

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