Part of a chain of three road climbs in the Pyrenees (the others being Col de Peyresourde and Col d’Aspin), the hors catégorie Tourmalet has been used more than any other climb in the history of the Tour! 2023’s stage 6 marks its 88th appearance in the world’s greatest bike race.

The Tourmalet’s first appearance in the Tour was in 1910 when the Pyrenees were introduced. Octave Lapize was the first rider over the top, and he went on to win the GC in Paris. In 1913, Eugène Christophe famously broke his fork on the Tourmalet and repaired it himself at a forge in Sainte-Marie-de-Campan.

There are two roads to the top of real-life Col du Tourmalet: one beginning northeast of the summit in Sainte Marie de Campan, the other beginning southwest from Luz-Saint-Sauveur. Zwift’s Tourmalet is the shorter route from Sainte Marie de Campan.

See the IRL climb from Sainte Marie de Campan: