Grand Raid des Pyrénées Tour des Cirques - Elevation Profile, Aid Stations and Cutoffs
- Piau-Engaly, Hautes-Pyrénées, France
- 126.7 km
- 7,036 m D+
- 10 aid stations
Map, checkpoints and cutoffs Map · checkpoints · forecast opens Aug 11 Race-day forecast is live
Race-day conditions
Weather, daylight and your arrival time at all 12 checkpoints, set to the 07:00 start.
- Start
- 07:00
- Daylight at the start
- 07:10-20:55
- Aid stations
- 10
Course profile
Piau-Engaly, Hautes-Pyrénées, France Vielle-Aure, Hautes-Pyrénées, France · point-to-point
- Distance
- 126.7 km Finishes 1,068 m lower than it starts
- Elevation
- +7,036 m -8,104 m About 56 m of climb per km
- Highest point
- 2,596 m Port de Campbieil
Next edition Est. Fri 20 Aug 2027
Our estimate for Fri 20 Aug 2027. The organiser has not announced the date for this race yet.
- Start
- Sunrise Vielle-Aure, Hautes-Pyrénées, France 0h10 after the start
- Sunset Vielle-Aure, Hautes-Pyrénées, France 13h55 after the start
- Winner ~17h05 17h05 after the start
- Median finisher 2026 median 29h17 after the start
- Cutoff 41h after the start
A median finisher runs 10h26 in the dark.
Grand Raid des Pyrénées Tour des Cirques is a 126.7 km ultra-trail with around 7,036 m of elevation gain, starting in Piau-Engaly, Hautes-Pyrénées, France. The overall cutoff is 41 hours. The highest point on the course is Port de Campbieil at 2,596 m. That is 56 m of climbing per kilometre. Grand Raid des Pyrénées has 7 races, from 41.6 to 174.2 km; this one ranks 2 of 7 by distance and 7 of 7 by climbing per kilometre.
The biggest climb between checkpoints gains around 1,610 m from Luz-Saint-Sauveur (base vie) (km 73.2) to Refuge de la Glère (km 88.2). The steepest sustained section on the elevation profile averages about 19% over roughly 2.3 km around km 13. Crew access is allowed at Piau-Engaly (7.1 km), Gèdre (outbound) (24.6 km), Gavarnie (34.6 km), Gèdre (return) (58.7 km), Luz-Saint-Sauveur (base vie) (73.2 km), Tournaboup (96.6 km) and Restaurant Merlans (113.5 km). Drop bags are available at Luz-Saint-Sauveur (base vie).
Data is approximate and courses change between editions - always verify against the official race guide.
Other distances at Grand Raid des Pyrénées
| Race | Distance | D+ | Cutoff | Next start |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GRP Ultra Tour 160 | 174.2 km | 10,406 m | 50h00 | Aug 20, 2027 (est.) |
| GRP Tour des Cirques (this page) | 126.7 km | 7,036 m | 41h00 | Aug 20, 2027 (est.) |
| GRP Tour des Lacs | 80.5 km | 5,187 m | 25h00 | Aug 21, 2027 (est.) |
| GRP Tour du Moudang | 60.8 km | 3,515 m | 17h00 | Aug 19, 2027 (est.) |
| GRP Tour du Bastan | 53.3 km | 3,070 m | 15h30 | Aug 19, 2027 (est.) |
| GRP Tour du Néouvielle | 43.1 km | 2,439 m | 12h00 | Aug 20, 2027 (est.) |
| GRP Tour de la Gela | 41.6 km | 3,427 m | 12h30 | Aug 19, 2027 (est.) |
Plan against the cutoffs
Enter a goal finish time and see estimated arrivals vs checkpoint cutoffs.
Estimate your finish
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Course math
Four numbers worked out from this course's distance, elevation and checkpoints.
TrailMath effort-km
238 effort-km
About 30 h for a mid-pack finisher (index 500). Not a pacing guarantee.
Distance + gain ÷ 100 + loss ÷ 200, beside ITRA's gain-only km-effort. Model TM1.0.
How TrailMath works →UTMB Index category
100M
197 km-effort (distance + gain ÷ 100). Calculated from the course figures, not an official classification.
Estimate your UTMB Index → ITRA and UTMB indexes explainedBiggest climb section
+1,610 m
Luz-Saint-Sauveur (base vie) → Refuge de la Glère · km 73.2–88.2
The largest gain between two checkpoints, not one continuous climb.
Luz-Saint-Sauveur (base vie) cutoff: Sat 03:45
Plan against barriers →Biggest descent section
−1,619 m
Piau-Engaly → Gèdre (outbound) · km 7.1–24.6
The largest loss between two checkpoints. ITRA's km-effort ignores descent; TrailMath counts it: 238 km-effort.
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Grand Raid des Pyrénées Tour des Cirques · 2026
Finish times, 2026 edition
701 runners started. 523 came back. Half of them took longer than 29:16:48. That left the median finisher 11:43:12 inside the 41h cutoff.
Median finish
29:16:48
Half of the 523 finishers were still out there at this point.
11:43:12 in hand before the 41h cutoff
The start line
74.6%
523 of 701 starters made it; 178 did not.
still moving when a cutoff closed
stopped by choice or by the medics
Men and women
Two medians on the same scale. The bars run from the start to the cutoff, so the gap between them is the gap in time.
Men
29:08:54
median finish; average 29:27:52
464 finishers, 89% of the field
Women
30:49:55
median finish; average 30:48:58
59 finishers, 11% of the field
1:41:01 separates the two medians, across 464 men and 59 women.
Finish time by age group
Every track runs from the start to the 41h cutoff, so the empty part of a bar is the time that group's median finisher still had. Men and women are drawn on the same scale.
| Age | Median finish | Median against the cutoff | Finishers |
|---|---|---|---|
| ES | 27:01:28 | 3 - small sample, read with care | |
| SE | 26:50:05 | 105 | |
| M0 | 28:21:26 | 82 | |
| M1 | 29:22:59 | 109 | |
| M2 | 30:00:08 | 78 | |
| M3 | 31:52:07 | 49 | |
| M4 | 34:58:16 | 19 - small sample, read with care | |
| M5 | 31:49:37 | 14 - small sample, read with care | |
| M6 | 30:45:07 | 3 - small sample, read with care | |
| M7 | - | 1 - too few finishers to publish a time | |
| M8 | - | 1 - too few finishers to publish a time |
| Age | Median finish | Median against the cutoff | Finishers |
|---|---|---|---|
| SE | 31:02:31 | 18 - small sample, read with care | |
| M0 | 27:24:51 | 11 - small sample, read with care | |
| M1 | 29:48:25 | 7 - small sample, read with care | |
| M2 | 28:35:55 | 10 - small sample, read with care | |
| M3 | 35:25:19 | 7 - small sample, read with care | |
| M4 | 34:50:16 | 4 - small sample, read with care | |
| M5 | - | 2 - too few finishers to publish a time |
Full bar: 20 finishers or more. Tick alone: fewer than 20, too few for a median to say much. The shaded row is the biggest group.
Where the finishers came from
96% of the finishers came from France alone.
| Nation | Finishers | Share |
|---|---|---|
| France FR | 504 96.4% | |
| Belgium BE | 9 1.7% | |
| Spain ES | 3 0.6% | |
| United Kingdom GB | 2 0.4% | |
| Australia AU | 1 0.2% | |
| Lithuania LT | 1 0.2% | |
| Mauritius MU | 1 0.2% | |
| Portugal PT | 1 0.2% | |
| All other nations | 1 0.2% |
Showing 8 of 8 nations.
Bar length is against the largest nation. The smallest counts are drawn at a minimum visible width, so their bars are not to scale.
Edition by edition
Every edition we have recomputed in full, newest first. The course, the weather and the field change from year to year, so a slower edition is not a harder one.
| Edition | Distance run | Starters | Finishers | Finish rate | Median finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 Latest | 127 km | 701 | 523 | 74.6% | 29:16:48 |
| 2025 | 127 km | 700 | 520 | 74.3% | 30:24:04 |
How these numbers were computed
These are times for runners who finished. They exclude everyone who started and did not, so they describe how long finishing took, not how long the race takes. Bands with only a handful of finishers move a lot from one edition to the next.
We plot the median, not the average. A handful of very quick runners drags the average well below the time half the field actually beat, so the median is the honest number to plan against.
Nationality here shows who travels to this race, not who runs it best. That alone is why a host nation tops almost every list.
Computed from the full official results, verified October 24, 2026 - Official results
Ask the course
Ask GRP Tour des Cirques anything about climbs, pacing, crew or cutoffs.
Answers come from this course's data, your plan and your training.
Which climb should I respect most?
Luz-Saint-Sauveur (base vie) to Refuge de la Glère: +1,610 m over 15 km, from km 73.2. Hike the steep sections at an effort you could hold for hours - the race is decided after this climb, not on it.
Where can my crew meet me?
Piau-Engaly, km 7.1 - the first of 6 crew points. The next is Gèdre, km 24.6. Have them bring warm layers: the course tops out at 2,596 m, through the night, in August.
Is 29h a realistic finish for me?
29h would put you in the faster half of 2026 finishers - the median was 29:16:48. It means holding 13:44/km overall.
The assistant answers that once it can see your training.
Build your GRP Tour des Cirques plan and your question is the first thing waiting in the TrailMath Assistant. Your first 5 questions are free, no card.
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To answer this for you, the Course Assistant uses your training and your race plan.
Example answer
Your long runs peak at 30 km, so the plan builds to 4-hour long runs, two of them at night. Cutoff buffer at Gèdre: 2h46.
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~43 weeks · peak ~8 h/week · 5 run + 2 strength days
For a 126.7 km race, aim for about 12 h/week at peak. Set your availability to 14 h/week in the app for the headroom to build there gradually.
Typical structure for your volume - your live plan adjusts sessions inside each week.
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Aid stations and checkpoints
| Checkpoint | Km | Cumulative gain (m) | Cumulative loss (m) | Cutoff |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start - Piau-Engaly Services not published | 0 | 0 | 0 | - |
| Piau-Engaly Crew | 7.1 | 482 | 482 | Fri 08:45 |
| Gèdre (outbound) Crew | 24.6 | 1,252 | 2,101 | Fri 13:15 |
| Gavarnie Crew | 34.6 | 2,029 | 2,513 | Fri 16:15 |
| Refuge d'Espuguettes | 42.3 | 2,681 | 2,513 | Fri 18:30 |
| Gèdre (return) Crew | 58.7 | 3,169 | 4,018 | Fri 23:15 |
| Luz-Saint-Sauveur (base vie) Crew Drop bag | 73.2 | 3,952 | 5,119 | Sat 03:45 |
| Refuge de la Glère | 88.2 | 5,562 | 5,281 | - |
| Tournaboup Crew | 96.6 | 5,622 | 6,021 | Sat 12:30 |
| Refuge d'Aygues Cluses | 103.1 | 6,317 | 6,031 | Sat 16:15 |
| Restaurant Merlans Crew | 113.5 | 6,861 | 6,681 | Sat 20:15 |
| Vielle-Aure (Finish) Crew | 126.7 | 7,036 | 8,104 | Sun 00:00 |
Data is approximate and courses change between editions - always verify against the official race guide. Source: official race guide, verified October 24, 2026 - Official race website
FAQ
How much elevation gain does Grand Raid des Pyrénées Tour des Cirques have?
Grand Raid des Pyrénées Tour des Cirques has around 7,036 m of cumulative elevation gain and 8,104 m of loss over 126.7 km.
What is the cutoff time for Grand Raid des Pyrénées Tour des Cirques?
The overall Grand Raid des Pyrénées Tour des Cirques cutoff is 41 hours, with intermediate time barriers at major checkpoints. Winning times are typically around 17 hours.
How long is Grand Raid des Pyrénées Tour des Cirques?
Grand Raid des Pyrénées Tour des Cirques covers approximately 126.7 km, starting in Piau-Engaly, Hautes-Pyrénées, France.
What is the highest point of Grand Raid des Pyrénées Tour des Cirques?
The highest point of Grand Raid des Pyrénées Tour des Cirques is Port de Campbieil at 2,596 m.
How many aid stations does Grand Raid des Pyrénées Tour des Cirques have and which allow crew?
The checkpoint table lists 10 major aid points between the start and the finish. Crew access is allowed at Piau-Engaly (7.1 km), Gèdre (outbound) (24.6 km), Gavarnie (34.6 km), Gèdre (return) (58.7 km), Luz-Saint-Sauveur (base vie) (73.2 km), Tournaboup (96.6 km) and Restaurant Merlans (113.5 km). Drop bags are available at Luz-Saint-Sauveur (base vie).
Training for this race?
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