Col de la Llose: The Empty D4c Through Talau and Ayguatébia

Ayguatébia gets its name from the Latin aqua tepida, lukewarm water, and for a rider its fountain is the one that matters: it's the last water before the col. This is the shorter, more direct way to the Col de la Llose. Instead of swinging round by Railleu like our Olette to Col de la Llose route, the D4c heads straight up through Talau and Ayguatébia, two tiny villages that together had 49 residents in 2023. From the junction near Oreilla it's 13.8 km (8.6 mi) at 6%, with 841 m (2760 ft) of climbing to the col at 1863 m (6112 ft).

It's irregular more than hard. The road keeps switching between pitches of 7.8 to 8.2% and short easier stretches of 3 to 4%, so you're forever shifting, but no full kilometer is steeper than about 8.2%. Talau sits on the slope above the Cabrils valley, and from Ayguatébia there are views back across the Conflent to the Canigou. Higher up the road climbs through beech woods, then open, sweet-smelling pine forest, and over the last 3 km it joins the road coming up from Railleu.

The col is a wide clearing at the Col de la Llose Nordic ski area, with a big car park and a timber lodge. In winter it's busy with cross-country skiers; in summer it's mostly empty, and the best views are the ones behind you on the way up rather than at the top. Riders who want more push on toward the Puig de la Tossa (2032 m) from just past the col, but it's army ground: the road crosses a firing range, a board lists the days it's closed, the tarmac gives out before the top and the summit itself is off limits.