Grand Raid des Pyrénées Tour de la Gela - Elevation Profile, Aid Stations and Cutoffs
- Piau-Engaly, Hautes-Pyrénées, France
- 41.6 km
- 3,427 m D+
- 3 aid stations
Map, checkpoints and cutoffs Map · checkpoints · forecast opens Aug 10 Race-day forecast is live
Race-day conditions
Weather, daylight and your arrival time at all 5 checkpoints, set to the 08:30 start.
- Start
- 08:30
- Daylight at the start
- 07:09-20:56
- Aid stations
- 3
Course profile
Piau-Engaly, Hautes-Pyrénées, France
- Distance
- 41.6 km
- Elevation
- +3,427 m -3,427 m About 82 m of climb per km
- Highest point
- 2,723 m Pic de Port Vieux
Next edition Est. Thu 19 Aug 2027
Our estimate for Thu 19 Aug 2027. The organiser has not announced the date for this race yet.
- Start
- Winner ~5h01 5h01 after the start
- Median finisher 2026 median 9h25 after the start
- Sunset 12h27 after the start
- Cutoff 12h30 after the start
Grand Raid des Pyrénées Tour de la Gela is a 41.6 km ultra-trail with around 3,427 m of elevation gain, starting in Piau-Engaly, Hautes-Pyrénées, France. The overall cutoff is 12 hours 30 minutes. The highest point on the course is Pic de Port Vieux at 2,723 m. That is 82 m of climbing per kilometre. Grand Raid des Pyrénées has 7 races, from 41.6 to 174.2 km; this one ranks 7 of 7 by distance and 1 of 7 by climbing per kilometre.
The biggest climb between checkpoints gains around 1,160 m from Piau-Engaly (km 8.5) to Tunnel de Bielsa (km 23.7). The steepest sustained section on the elevation profile averages about 26% over roughly 2.3 km around km 25. Crew access is allowed at Piau-Engaly (8.5 km) and Tunnel de Bielsa (23.7 km).
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 | 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 (this page) | 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
93 effort-km
About 9 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
50K
75 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
+1,160 m
Piau-Engaly → Tunnel de Bielsa · km 8.5–23.7
The largest gain between two checkpoints, not one continuous climb.
Piau-Engaly cutoff: Thu 10:40
Biggest descent section
−1,198 m
Piau-Engaly → Tunnel de Bielsa · km 8.5–23.7
The largest loss between two checkpoints. ITRA's km-effort ignores descent; TrailMath counts it: 93 km-effort.
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Grand Raid des Pyrénées Tour de la Gela · 2026
Finish times, 2026 edition
641 runners started. 505 came back. Half of them took longer than 9:24:52. That left the median finisher 3:05:08 inside the 12h30 cutoff.
Median finish
9:24:52
Half of the 505 finishers were still out there at this point.
3:05:08 in hand before the 12h30 cutoff
Average 9:21:37, 0:03:15 quicker than the median: a fast front pulls it down.
The start line
78.8%
505 of 641 starters made it; 136 did not.
still moving when a cutoff closed
stopped by choice or by the medics
Organisation stops and disqualifications: 1.
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
9:16:29
median finish; average 9:14:55
403 finishers, 80% of the field
Women
9:52:56
median finish; average 9:48:07
102 finishers, 20% of the field
0:36:27 separates the two medians, across 403 men and 102 women.
Finish time by age group
Every track runs from the start to the 12h30 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 | 8:18:58 | 24 | |
| SE | 8:56:42 | 171 | |
| M0 | 9:39:26 | 80 | |
| M1 | 9:28:29 | 51 | |
| M2 | 9:59:41 | 32 | |
| M3 | 9:52:03 | 21 | |
| M4 | 10:29:27 | 9 - small sample, read with care | |
| M5 | 10:29:56 | 9 - small sample, read with care | |
| M6 | 9:47:02 | 5 - small sample, read with care | |
| M7 | - | 1 - too few finishers to publish a time |
| Age | Median finish | Median against the cutoff | Finishers |
|---|---|---|---|
| ES | 8:48:12 | 3 - small sample, read with care | |
| SE | 10:09:17 | 45 | |
| M0 | 9:30:53 | 18 - small sample, read with care | |
| M1 | 9:04:42 | 17 - small sample, read with care | |
| M2 | 9:20:08 | 6 - small sample, read with care | |
| M3 | 9:34:57 | 6 - small sample, read with care | |
| M4 | - | 2 - too few finishers to publish a time | |
| M5 | 10:38:06 | 4 - small sample, read with care | |
| M6 | - | 1 - 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 | 487 96.4% | |
| Spain ES | 5 1.0% | |
| Portugal PT | 4 0.8% | |
| United Kingdom GB | 3 0.6% | |
| Argentina AR | 1 0.2% | |
| Belgium BE | 1 0.2% | |
| China CN | 1 0.2% | |
| All other nations | 3 0.6% |
Showing 7 of 7 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 | 42 km | 641 | 505 | 78.8% | 9:24:52 |
| 2025 | 41 km | 667 | 603 | 90.4% | 8:27:43 |
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 de la Gela 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?
Piau-Engaly to Tunnel de Bielsa: +1,160 m over 15.2 km, from km 8.5. 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 8.5 - the first of 2 crew points. The next is Tunnel de Bielsa, km 23.7. Have them bring warm layers: the course tops out at 2,723 m, in August.
Is 9h a realistic finish for me?
9h would put you in the faster half of 2026 finishers - the median was 9:24:52. It means holding 12:59/km overall.
The assistant answers that once it can see your training.
Build your GRP Tour de la Gela 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 10 km, so the plan builds to 4-hour long runs. Cutoff buffer at Tunnel de Bielsa: 52 min.
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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 | 8.5 | 779 | 779 | Thu 10:40 |
| Tunnel de Bielsa Crew | 23.7 | 1,939 | 1,977 | Thu 14:30 |
| Port Vieux | 28.9 | 2,771 | 2,246 | Thu 16:50 |
| Piau-Engaly (Finish) Crew | 41.6 | 3,427 | 3,427 | Thu 21:00 |
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 de la Gela have?
Grand Raid des Pyrénées Tour de la Gela has around 3,427 m of cumulative elevation gain and 3,427 m of loss over 41.6 km.
What is the cutoff time for Grand Raid des Pyrénées Tour de la Gela?
The overall Grand Raid des Pyrénées Tour de la Gela cutoff is 12 hours 30 minutes, with intermediate time barriers at major checkpoints. Winning times are typically around 5 hours.
How long is Grand Raid des Pyrénées Tour de la Gela?
Grand Raid des Pyrénées Tour de la Gela covers approximately 41.6 km, starting in Piau-Engaly, Hautes-Pyrénées, France.
What is the highest point of Grand Raid des Pyrénées Tour de la Gela?
The highest point of Grand Raid des Pyrénées Tour de la Gela is Pic de Port Vieux at 2,723 m.
How many aid stations does Grand Raid des Pyrénées Tour de la Gela have and which allow crew?
The checkpoint table lists 3 major aid points between the start and the finish. Crew access is allowed at Piau-Engaly (8.5 km) and Tunnel de Bielsa (23.7 km).
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