Where do you turn when you want to ride in the mountains, to follow in the wheeltracks of professional racers by climbing the famous passes of the Tour de France? There are several books and websites that highlight these renowned ascents, detailing their location, length and every little change in gradient. But how do you go about finding a route that links these passes together, that describes not only where they are and what they're like to ride, but highlights which is the best side to tackle them from and which roads to avoid?
Award-winning author Peter Cossins's new series of guides to riding in the Western Europe's high mountains will provide these details - and much more. Inspired by Alfred Wainwright's walking guides to the Lake District, they are intended as the bible for any cyclist riding in Europe's most stunning terrain.
The first in the series is The Roads, Cols and Passes of the Pyrenees, which is due
for publication by Great Northern Books in June 2020. Featuring 120 routes, 400 Pyrenean climbs and more than 12,000
kilometres of riding, it will detail the best road cycling routes on both the French and Spanish sides of the 600km-long Pyrenean chain, as well as in Andorra.
The routes will range from 50-kilometre loops passing some of the most extraordinary of France's Cathar Castles perched on almost impregnable pinnacles to 200-kilometre Tour de France-like epics over several passes. It will not only include
illustrious Tour ascents such as the Col du Tourmalet, the Col d'Aubisque and Plateau de Beille, but also draw attention to other climbs and regions that also merit exploration on two wheels, highlighting points of historical significance and the best the roads on which to access them, always aiming to make the riding experience as pleasurable as possible.
The book is aimed at anyone who wants to ride in the Pyrenees, from newcomers to road riding who want to take their first
tentative steps in the high mountains right through to very experienced cyclists who want to push themselves and explore new terrain at the same time. There will be something for everyone, in every part of the Pyrenees.