Lourdes / Lannemezan

Leaving Lourdes, the Vélosud cycle route leads you northwards through the Echez Valley, towards Tarbes. As the evolution of the Pyrenean Range also created a lot of foothills full of steep slopes and geological folds that only the Adour River has managed to cut a sensible path through, we’ve sought out this gentle way leading you via the northern part of the département (county) of Hautes-Pyrénées. Getting through the town of Tarbes means crossing the Adour, an impetuous torrent, its waters starting at the Pic du Midi de Bigorre, an iconic mountain summit not just in the Tarbes area, but right across the old province of Bigorre. Next, the cycle route makes you embark on a ride across a series of hills connecting parallel valleys that have cut a path through the northern edge of the Lannemezan Plateau. There’s no way of hiding it, the accumulation of relatively small shifts in altitude does start to add up by the end of the day. However, if the weather is fine, the views across the Pyrenees brings joy each time you reach the top of a hill.

The route

This stage is entirely along roads shared with motorized traffic, with just a few little sections dedicated to cyclists as you arrive in Tarbes. Take care at crossroads and junctions as you cross this town, as well as on the routes départementales (county roads) leading to this little city that is the administrative capital, or Préfecture, of the département of Hautes-Pyrénées.
The whole stage is signposted V81 / Vélosud.

Points at which to take care:

• At Louey, at the Mathet round-about, cross the D921a road riding straight on at the round-about, but take good care, as traffic is often heavy here.
• In Tarbes: you have to cross the town on roads shared with motorized vehicles. Take great care along the avenues and at all crossroads and junctions, rarely laid out with cyclists in mind here. 
• At Séméac, there’s a round-about followed by a tunnel. The round-about is busy, so approach it with care, turning left off it, then stick to the right to ride into the tunnel. 
• At Lannemezan, with the D817 road and round-about, you’ll need to descend onto the D817 towards the right to enter Lannemezan; after that, take care at the round-about and on Rue Alsace Lorraine.

Connections with further cycle routes

Just 400m after leaving from in front of Lourdes Tourist Office, you encounter the Voie Verte des Gaves, a greenway you can take to the right, leading you off south to Argelès-Gazost (12km from Lourdes) and the Gavarnie Valleys. This offers a good way to join the famed Route des Cols, to take on a whole series of renowned Pyrenean passes, including Soulor, Hautacam, Luz-Ardiden and Tourmalet.

At Galan (Kilometre 69.3), you reach the intersection with the V82 cycle route, offering the possibility of riding across the département (French county) of Gers via the Baïse Valley, and in the direction of the Canal des Deux Mers à Vélo (V80) and the Scandibérique (EV3), further major cycle routes.

Don't miss

• Tarbes: the Tarbes covered markets, in case you feel hunger pangs crossing town; so, signal right to slip down Rue Brauhauban to find the covered market of the same name, one of two in town, this one, inaugurated in May 1906, occupying part of a neo-Renaissance building that also houses the town hall, looking proudly down on a major central square, Place de la République. The Adour River is a torrent whose waters start from the slopes of the iconic Pic du Midi de Bigorre Mountain as well as the Plateau de Payolle, in the Upper Campan Valley, so it can be very lively when the snows melt in spring, but it always makes its presence felt as you cross Tarbes. 
• Arrêt-Darré: the lake here is a reservoir in the hills, covering 110 hectares, created in order to regulate the flow of water in the Arros Valley; it also makes a perfect place to take a break along the Vélosud cycle route, especially with the opening, in recent times, of a special stop (halte d’accueil) catering to cyclists! 
• Views across the Pyrenees: between the Adour and Baïse Valleys, the cycle route crosses the very undulating valleys of the historic County of Bigorre and at times offers exceptionally wide views of the Pyrenean Range, from the Comminges mountains to those of Bigorre.

Cyclists’ special address: Bike & Py, in Lourdes, a cyclists’ café, with specialist shop and workshop.