Pyrenees

The sheer brutal nature of first the Alps and then the Pyrenees, defines the Tour De France as the ultimate road race. As the peloton climbed the Col Du Tourmalet at 2,115 metres above sea level before thousands of spectators that packed the narrow fearsome climb to the top, the seven times winner, Lance Armstrong (who also appeared in the last blog posting!) makes his final ascent of the mountains in a tour event he first won in 1999.

A banner on the lower slopes of the Port de Pailheres earlier this week read 'Welcome to hell'.

This years tour celebrates one hundred years since the Pyrenees were added to the itinerary in 1910, when the same four climbs were used to mark the occasion. However, in 1910 the riders set out at 3.00am (yes, in the early hours of the morning!). The final rider completing the stage 22 hours later and the previous year's tour winner famously yelled 'Assassins!' to the race organisers as he crossed the top of the final summit.



Today the roads are paved better (in 1910 the riders used goat tracks in the mountain stages), the bikes are incomparably superior and the riders are allowed the luxury of a fleet of support vehicles. Back in 1910 the riders were expected to repair their bikes en route!

Although there are 172 riders still left in the race (from an original field of 198) realistically only two individuals will battle for the yellow jersey in Paris on Sunday - Andy Schleck and a previous race winner Alberto Contador. After 15 stages and 75 hours of road racing they are separated by only 8 seconds. The final time trial in Bordeaux may ultimately decide the winner.