Grand Raid des Pyrénées Tour des Cirques course and race-day weather
- Piau-Engaly, Hautes-Pyrénées, France
- 126.7 km
- 7,036 m D+
- 10 aid stations
Analyzing route...
GRP Tour des Cirques course, section by section
The GRP Tour des Cirques course runs 126.7 km with 7,036 m of climbing and 8,104 m of descent - 56 m of climbing per kilometre. It tops out at 2,596 m, and its lowest point on the GPX is 660 m. 42% of the distance climbs at more than 3%, 44% descends at more than 3%, and the remaining 14% is flat or rolling.
The organiser's 12 checkpoints split the course into 11 sections. The table gives each leg's own climb, descent, average grade and high point, measured on the official GPX.
| Section | Km | Distance | D+ | D- | Avg grade | High point |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start - Piau-Engaly → Piau-Engaly | 0.0-7.1 | 7.1 km | +560 m | -561 m | 0.0% | 2,323 m |
| Piau-Engaly → Gèdre (outbound) | 7.1-24.6 | 17.5 km | +802 m | -1,650 m | -4.9% | 2,591 m |
| Gèdre (outbound) → Gavarnie | 24.6-34.6 | 10.0 km | +779 m | -420 m | +3.6% | 1,649 m |
| Gavarnie → Refuge d'Espuguettes | 34.6-42.3 | 7.7 km | +632 m | -33 m | +7.8% | 1,971 m |
| Refuge d'Espuguettes → Gèdre (return) | 42.3-58.7 | 16.4 km | +550 m | -1,412 m | -5.3% | 2,424 m |
| Gèdre (return) → Luz-Saint-Sauveur (base vie) | 58.7-73.2 | 14.5 km | +734 m | -1,154 m | -2.9% | 1,404 m |
| Luz-Saint-Sauveur (base vie) → Refuge de la Glère | 73.2-88.2 | 15.0 km | +1,749 m | -321 m | +9.5% | 2,234 m |
| Refuge de la Glère → Tournaboup | 88.2-96.6 | 8.4 km | +63 m | -714 m | -7.8% | 2,116 m |
| Tournaboup → Refuge d'Aygues Cluses | 96.6-103.1 | 6.5 km | +697 m | -7 m | +10.6% | 2,154 m |
| Refuge d'Aygues Cluses → Restaurant Merlans | 103.1-113.5 | 10.4 km | +508 m | -626 m | -1.1% | 2,455 m |
| Restaurant Merlans → Vielle-Aure (Finish) | 113.5-126.7 | 13.2 km | +173 m | -1,417 m | -9.4% | 2,209 m |
The climbs that shape the race
The track holds 8 major climbs and 10 major descents. The biggest climb runs from km 73 to km 87 (from Luz-Saint-Sauveur (base vie)): +1,770 m over 14.2 km at an average of 11.1%. The steepest sustained climb averages 15.7% over 3.6 km from km 1, with pitches of 28.3%. 2 of the major climbs start in the last 30% of the course. The longest descent drops 1,417 m over 11.7 km from km 115 (down to Vielle-Aure (Finish)), at an average of 12.3%.
Distance, total climb and high point are the organiser's. Each section's climb, descent, grade and high point, the low point and the named climbs are measured on the official GPX with the same method as the interactive profile, so the sections can add up to a slightly different total.